Dixons Academies Trust features on ITV Calendar

Dixons Academies Trust was featured on ITV Calendar news last week, discussing our innovative approach to flexible working which aims to give all teachers at Dixons a nine-day fortnight, starting in the new academic year.

For the segment, which aired on Tuesday 16 April, ITV spoke to teachers at Dixons Allerton Academy in Bradford to find out more about what this change will mean for them.

Sabeeah Nawaz, Primary Teacher, Dixons Allerton Academy said she’s looking forward to the change: “It will enable me to go and spend time with people I don’t normally get to see and take time for myself.”

Aaron Metcalfe, Head of Primary, Dixons Allerton Academy said: “Lots of teachers leave in the first two to five years, we need to do something to retain our best talent. They’re leaving to go to different sectors where there is more flexibility.”

40,000 teachers resigned from state schools in 2023, which is almost 9% of the teaching workforce – we know that there is a recruitment and retention crisis in this sector and a radical shift is needed. In line with our deep commitment to self-determination, we want to give our teachers more agency over their roles by offering a flexible working plan that will give them time back and provide some of the flexibility that is abundant in other sectors.

Since we first shared the news that we are working towards a nine-day fortnight for our teachers at Dixons, the support and engagement we’ve received has been incredible, and lots of people from the education sector have reached out to find out more. You can find out more about our flexible working plans on our careers site.

You can watch the full news segment here.