More than half of headteachers say that they would consider phased retirement, but some do not think it will be possible, research suggests.
According to a poll, 53 per cent of heads would consider it, but a third of those do not think it will be feasible.
Of those who answered the survey - carried out by Teacher Tapp for Wesleyan Financial Services - 39 per cent think phased retirement can help school leaders avoid burnout.
Some 29 per cent of the 500 school leaders aged 50 or older who were surveyed said that a longer and more phased approach to retirement can help heads retain a sense of purpose as they transition away from their roles in schools - and 21 per cent said it can support succession planning.
School culture ‘frowns’ on phased retirement
Phased retirement allows employees to take a more flexible approach and begin to access their pension while still working part-time.
The research comes amid growing concerns over school leader burnout leading to increased attrition.
A poll published last year revealed that the proportion of senior leadership team members experiencing consistent feelings of “burnout” had more than doubled in five years.
But school leaders say that the pathway to choosing options to reduce their hours is unclear and warned that they feel the sector “frowns upon” those who choose to do so.
Meanwhile, 37 per cent of those surveyed said that school leaders may opt instead for retiring fully due to a lack of clarity about their options, while 19 per cent said phased retirement could be avoided due to concerns about disruption to their schools.
And 15 per cent pointed to concerns over insufficient school budgets as an obstacle to choosing a phased approach to retirement, while 14 per cent said a culture that “frowns on phased retirement” dissuades heads from choosing this route.
Of those surveyed, 18 per cent said they were unsure how phased retirement works.
Darren Mills, specialist financial adviser at Wesleyan Financial Services, said that as attrition concerns bite, “encouraging phased retirement would be an effective way of keeping experienced senior leaders in the profession for longer”.
He added: “It’s disappointing that so many teachers are telling us that phased retirement is not a realistic option when it is such a brilliant way for them to achieve the work-life balance they want in their later years.”
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