Malmesbury School is delighted to have been appointed as the Flexible Working Ambassador School for the South West. Malmesbury is one of five secondary schools based in Wiltshire, Gloucestershire and South Gloucestershire that make up the Athelstan Trust – www.theathelstantrust.org.
In 20 years in school leadership teams in various roles there is no doubt that the hardest, most important and often the most satisfying thing I have done is recruit great staff to work in our schools. I absolutely believe that we should hire great people who will complement our culture and move us forward in line with our values and worry about the exact nature of the role afterwards.
Schools benefit hugely from staff at all levels working part-time and with other flexible models. We must always believe that all roles in our organisation can be carried out within a flexible working model, we must ensure that working in schools is always seen as part of a rich fulfilling life and not a barrier to it.
We should do all we can to be the employers of choice in our area that offers a supportive, creative career to colleagues at all stages of life with all kinds of other family or personal responsibilities and life choices.
We hope that you will find the resources on this website valuable and that you will feel able to get in touch if we can support you adopt a wider range of flexible working patterns or explain the benefits to teams within your school community.
Tim Gilson, CEO The Athelstan Trust & Executive Headteacher Malmesbury School