Let's Talk about Flex: Flipping the flexible working narrative for education

The narrative around flexible working needs flipping. After being able to work flexibly for 14 of her 23 years in education across teaching, school leadership and MAT leadership roles, Emma Turner realised that sadly, she's actually in the minority and has just been kinda lucky. Across the education system, although there is a recent groundswell of support for developing more life friendly, innovative and flexi ways of working, there are still a great deal of misconceptions, biases and prejudices about flexible working and flexible workers. Through her 'playlist' of educational floor fillers, Emma explores some of the successful ways in which flexible working can be viewed by both employers and employees for staff at all levels, including senior and school leadership. Designed to open up the flexible working conversation, this book outlines what can work, what has worked and what could work. This new way of viewing the flexi narrative from an experienced flex-pert encourages all to revisit our views on flexible working.

Emma Turner has served in primary education for 25 years. She has been a class teacher, assistant headteacher, deputy headteacher and one half of one of the UK's first and youngest all female co-headships. She has been a consultant for the national strategies, trust research and CPD lead across 15 Leicestershire primary schools, and currently works part time as deputy director of education for a West Midlands trust across 18 primary schools.

She has previously written four books on education: Simplicitus: The Interconnected Primary Curriculum and Effective Subject Leadership, Be More Toddler, Let's Talk About Flex, and The Extended Mind In Action. She co-hosts the podcast Mind the Gap with Tom Sherrington and regularly speaks at national and international events about leadership and curriculum design.

Emma has trained thousands of colleagues in effective subject leadership and curriculum design and provides school improvement support both locally, nationally and internationally. She regularly guest lectures within ITE and ECF and has a special interest in the development of early career teachers.
Emma is also a Fellow of the Chartered College of Teaching and Advisory board member for the Global Equality Collective. You can find her on Twitter as @Emma_Turner75.