INCREASING Xworkloads have pushed three men teaching at the same school to go part-time, so they can spend more time with their families.

Peter Bell, a physics teacher at Chilwell school in Nottingham, took the part-time plunge last Easter. Maths teacher Chris White and a third colleague followed this term.

A recent survey (TES, August 31) by The TES and the Secondary Heads Association suggested heads were increasingly employing part-timers or job-sharers in a bid to recruit staff - or were seeing senior staff “downsize” to part-time or less responsible posts. One newly-qualified maths teacher demanded a four-day week, while an Ipswich comprehensive had to double its number of part-timers to 22.

In January 2001 men made up an estimated 7,300 of the 73,900 part-time teachers working in England. In the financial year 19992000 6,500 full-time teachers went part-time. They have traditionally been women returning from maternity leave and middle-aged women married to well-paid men.

Chris White, 49, wanted to spend more time with his wife Karen and their five-year-old son Joe.

“The one thing that has been sneaking up on teachers is this increasing intrusion into your own time,” he said.

“Families suffer. You find time is running out and there are things you haven’t done. Having a young son brings that home.”

He is not against some of the initiatives that have added to teacher workload, including the national curriculum and the integration special-needs children. But resources to back them up have been lacking, class sizes have increased, and other developments, such as teacher observations, show a lack of trust in the profession.

“Going part-time is a positive step: it’s reduced my hours to full-time,” he added.

Headteacher Helen Robson said workload, stress, and the desire to have more quality time with their families had all contributed to the trio’s decisions. She added: “Quite a few people, if they could afford to do it, would consider going part-time. But if you are tied into bringing up families and a mortgage, it’s a financial matter as well.

“It’s workload and the pace of things. Some weeks go by and I don’t see my family because I’m in early and working late.”

Mr Bell, 48, who used to be deputy head of science and technology, gave up his last responsibility point last year. He suffered a serious back injury in 1990, exacerbating difficulties with rising workload and pupil indiscipline.

“It was things like early starts in the morning, no breaks during the day, meetings at night. There were no concessions for a disabled person. You just get physically drained. Something has to give, and it wasn’t going to be my family or my health anymore,” he said.

“Teachers need time to have a breather, to consolidate what they’re doing, to have a say in what they’re doing. We have no say in what we’re doing at the moment.”

He is now taking an Open University course in computing, continuing with exam marking - and seeking another profession.