More than half of teachers in Yorkshire and the North East are more likely to apply to schools that offer flexible working, according to research commissioned by the Department for Education's Teaching Vacancies.

The study found that 55 per cent of teachers in the region who responded to the survey favour schools that advertise ‘flexible friendly’ jobs.

The findings come in the wake of the coming into force, on April 6, 2024, of the Employment Relations (Flexible Working) Act 2023, which enables employees to request flexible working arrangements from the first day of their employment.

In Yorkshire and the North East, 92 per cent of respondents believed that flexible working has identifiable benefits, with the three most selected benefits (from a pre-set list) deemed to be improvement of work-life balance, promotion of well-being, and support of retention.

Jill Newbolt, assistant headteacher at Abbey School in South Yorkshire, which is a Flexible Working Ambassador School, said: "Flexible working has allowed me the time and freedom to explore my passions, whilst also progressing in my teaching career.

"Having the flexibility within my working week to be able to play football means I am able to compete in International Walking Football, at a rather mature age.

"I would encourage any teacher looking for their next role to seek out flexible opportunities on Teaching Vacancies."

Teaching Vacancies, the official teacher recruitment service from the Department for Education, claims to be the biggest source of primary jobs directly listed by primary schools in England, and the second largest source for secondary roles.