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Four-day week at a south London school

Independent school Liberty Woodland is one of a small number in England experimenting with the timetable

Lessons are held in yurt-style tents, or “dens”, dotted around the three-acre site, everyone is on first-name terms, mental health is a cornerstone of the curriculum and, perhaps most controversially, pupils are only required to come to school four days a week. “It’s an opportunity for children to explore their passions,” says the head of school and founder, Leanna Barrett, who previously ran a chain of forest nurseries for early years. Faced with a teacher recruitment and retention crisis, schools across England are increasingly offering a range of incentives to make the job more appealing.

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