FEATURE FOCUS: RECRUITMENT
progression. With better workforce planning across clusters of schools in the same region, it would be possible to map out and offer career pathways to teachers, thereby increasing the likelihood of retaining talent in the local area. “Another big improvement schools could make would be to develop what’s known as ‘employer branding’, so that they are recognised by candidates as employers of choice. Schools need to be able to articulate a narrative about why candidates should join them. Some of that is about highlighting the lifestyle benefits on offer in their local area, such as affordable housing, travel links, entertainment and sports facilities.” For Jo Rockall, headteacher at Herschel Grammar School and chair of SASH, it was important to get a triangulated view of the problems her Association’s members were facing. “Schools across the UK are working hard to make sure there are enough teachers in their classrooms, but the challenges vary at a regional level. We asked the REC to look at the specific trends and challenges in Slough so that we can develop strategies in collaboration with each other and our local council to attract more talent to the area.
for continuous professional development (CPD). “For teaching to gain this level of prestige, there are key areas in which the government need to act in order to make this change. Firstly, to put a halt to the cuts and the continued underfunding of schools, and to create a better wage for teachers. The current financial situation in most schools means that school leaders are increasingly unable to hire new staff and have to overstretch their current teachers without giving them fair pay equal to the amount of work they are doing. In fact, teachers do more unpaid overtime than in any other profession in the UK and this leaves them little time for CPD and personal development.
“Secondly, there needs to be less focus on OFSTED and reports, and more focus on teacher wellbeing and diversifying learning goals for students. The amount of paperwork and bureaucracy in teaching has an effect on the amount of time teachers spend and with their pupils, and the work could be far more fulfilling for teachers if they were allowed to put all their focus and efforts into the actual lessons and contact time with students.”
Paul Howells agrees that the profession deserves more respect. “To ‘raise the status’ of teaching will take a concerted effort by all those involved in the hiring, training and professional development of our teaching workforce. An ongoing pay scale to compete with other graduate career paths would improve retention. Teachers are an essential service like doctors, social workers and nurses, making a critical difference to our future society every day. Let’s start paying them appropriately and giving them the benefits and the respect they deserve.”
“A perfect storm”
The crisis (and it seems to be appropriate to use the word in the context of what’s happening across the UK) can be seen in microcosm in a new
March 2017
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report, released at the beginning of March by the Recruitment & Employment Confederation (REC) on behalf of the Slough Association of Secondary Headteachers (SASH). According to REC chief executive Kevin Green, “Schools already struggling to fill vacancies are now facing a perfect storm. An alarming number of qualified teachers are leaving the profession at a time when fewer recruits are being trained. “Clearly the government needs to get to grips with the problem but there are steps that schools can take to help themselves. Over the last year, the REC has been working with a network of headteachers in Slough to help identify the specific recruitment challenges they face, and to develop innovative solutions which can be adopted by schools across the UK. “There’s clearly an opportunity for schools to collaborate more when it comes to recruitment and retention. We know that the single biggest reason a teacher will leave a job is to gain career
“In Slough we’re already working in concert and we know that this approach can deliver results. Our research with the REC has given us a better foundation of knowledge to develop those partnerships. All our students will benefit if we can attract and retain more high quality teachers in the local area.
“Improving on recruitment and retention takes time and energy, and costs significantly more than it has in the past, but what’s clear from the data is that the teacher shortage is likely to get worse before it gets better. An innovative approach is needed so that schools and their communities can meet the challenge.” Taking all the evidence into account, one thing is very clear – the recruitment and retention challenge is one that that will be exercising schools for a good while to come. Quite how schools, authorities and the government meet the challenge is open to debate, but it does seem that some steps are, finally, being taken to address a problem which, if left unchecked, will undoubtedly affect pupils at every stage of their school lives. It is only to be hoped that these measures will be enough to improve the current situation and ensure a bright future for the children in our classrooms.
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