Looking after children, a temporary career switch, illness - these are just a few of the many reasons a teacher may take a break from their teaching career.
That break can have multiple benefits to a school: returners’ wisdom, expertise and sense of perspective are so valuable to what can sometimes be an industry suffering from tunnel vision and isolationism.
But so often, we fail to support those returning teachers properly. And in September, the challenges of reintegrating returners will be even more pronounced.
So, what should schools be doing?
There are lots of easy strategies that schools can implement to get teachers back up to speed. Here are three to get you started.
1. Preparation
Two of the biggest barriers for returners are outdated curriculum knowledge and lack of recent experience in the classroom.
Talk to your returners about what apprehensions they might have, and - in collaboration with their new head of department or Key Stage lead - spend some time auditing the subject and pedagogical knowledge you know they will need if they are to hit the ground running on their first day.
Together, design a programme of preparatory CPD that fits around their current schedule. This could be attending school-based training, observing key groups, exam marking on a new curriculum, reading set texts, or completing online courses on platforms such as FutureLearn or Tes Institute.
For teachers returning after a break to care for families, there’s the MTPT Project’s Accreditation, which comes with the added bonus of ongoing coaching sessions, and a nationwide network.
The key here is that everyone is in agreement of expectations, timelines and financial reimbursement for any work completed before a contractual start date.
2. Mentoring
An empowering mentoring relationship can be the cornerstone to a returner’s success. Matching them with an understanding mentor, empathetic of their context, as a matter of policy, means that they have a fixed time each week when they can discuss their return and emerging needs openly without feeling any guilt about taking time away from an already busy team member.
The purpose of these mentor meetings will quickly become apparent to both mentor and returner: they might be essential to providing ongoing subject-specific CPD; observation opportunities with similar groups; a moment to touch base on the lessons to be taught that week; guidance navigating school systems, or simply a welcome burst of encouraging conversation.
3. Phased returns
It’s not news that flexible working can be a tempting recruitment strategy, especially for teachers who have other professional interests or caring commitments.
A phased return can take many forms: teachers might work a day less a week to begin with and build up to full capacity, or they could be in school, but on a reduced timetable for a set period of time, building up in the same way a PGCE or School Direct teacher might.
In our current climate, it’s important to keep a watchful eye on workload, and this is especially true for teachers who may feel they have a lot of catch up to do. Even if a returner wants to work full time eventually, offering a phased return might be an attractive transition option in the first weeks or half term of their appointment as they get used to a different pace of life.
