School halls full of smiling faces, excited chatter and chests bursting with pride will soon be a common sight across the nation – and that\u2019s just the adults! Watching their little angels, shepherds, and kings around the manger whilst balancing on a tiny chair is a rite of passage for many parents. Scooby Doo made an appearance at one nativity play I watched (don\u2019t ask because I don\u2019t know why, but getting value for money from the purchase, refusing to wear a tea towel or just wanting to wear a favourite costume might explain it perhaps?) As a parent these traditional and idiosyncratic memories are treasured.<\/p>\n
But not all parents will be the at the school nativity play as work commitments will not allow them to be. Not for them is the sight of their child nudging their friends and pointing to their parents in the audience. Amongst those missing out, many will be teachers, who instead, might be watching other peoples\u2019 children perform. My research<\/a> has revealed the dilemmas faced by teachers when expected to prioritise their pupils over their own children and families. The guilt, stress and often impossible decisions teacher-parents can face were clear in my findings. All this in the teaching profession where values of care and empathy are at the root of what we do. But how good are we as a profession at extending this care and empathy to our colleagues?<\/p>\n Enabling colleagues to prioritise their own children at important milestone events is not without its challenges to schools, particularly when many schools are struggling to find teachers given the perilous state of teacher recruitment and retention<\/a>. Consequently, retaining the ones we have is increasingly essential. Retaining six teachers means that ten fewer need to be recruited into Initial teacher Education<\/a>. \u00a0With this in mind, looking after and keeping the teachers who give their best day in and day out is vital. Reducing teacher workload, increasing pay and flexible working have been recommended as a way forward in addressing this crisis<\/a>. Whilst flexible working is important, other often little things matter too.\u00a0 Supporting teachers in supporting their own families will provide benefits not only in the short term but importantly in rebooting teaching as a career supportive of work-life balance. Teaching needs to be an attractive profession to newcomers but also one in which people want to remain.<\/p>\n