FEAT


ATURE: RECRUITMENT


Recouping recruitment costs to spend in the classroom


Every year, over £500 million is spent on school recruitment fees in the public sector alone. That’s a


Whether it’s agency fees for temporary staff or staggering £30,000 per school!


permanent staff, online job advertising or other indirect recruitment costs, this much-needed money is being diverted away from school resources, staff and the children and young people in their care.


Before I go any further, I need to make it


absolutely clear that this is not the fault of schools themselves. As a chair of governors myself, I know the challenges schools are constantly experiencing in this area. The education system is failing schools who are not only facing an


I n our fe feature on recruitment thismonth,


Vamsi Vadde, CEO of Teacher Booker – an online network of high-quality teaching and support staff - explainswhy they are speaking to leading thinkers in education, school leaders, teachers, parents and pupils across the country


ry as part of their #WasteNotWantMore campaign. If you had £30,000 to spend in your school next


How about a full-time teacher? Or one and a year, what would you spend it on?


half full time TAs and 25 computers?


overarching teacher recruitment crisis but an ever- challenging funding shortfall and lack of resource to prevent this. This has led to an issue with the supply of teachers, which combined with some recruitment and supply agencies’ contractual ‘ownership’ of teachers, means that too often schools are faced with excessive finders fees and/or long extended periods of hire when a


The lack of fluidity in the education labour great teacher is found.


ineffectual recruitment processes, all of which market is compounded by unwieldy and


ramp up costs across the board for schools. However, I’m also not implying that all


32 www.education-today.co.uk


recruitment agencies are bad! Over the past 20- 25 years, with the gradual decline of local authorities’ influence in recruitment and


retention, a gap has been created in the market that needed to be filled. Recruitment agencies without doubt play a crucial role in the


recruitment landscape BUT this needs to evolve in line with the changing needs and expectations of schools and teachers.


Legislation should also be adjusted specifically to make employment simpler, fairer and more fit for purpose for the specific dynamics and recruitment cycles of the sector. For example, it should be mandated that agency margins and employment tax contributions are made


completely transparent for schools and teachers before a placement is confirmed, especially when teachers are made to work through umbrella companies.


As part of our new #WasteNotWantMore campaign, we are calling for schools across the country to be empowered to take control of their recruitment provision. This involves ensuring that schools are aware in advance of the costs involved when recruiting and have the confidence to actively seek out competitive offers and


alternative options to ensure the best quality and


With greater tran value is received.


2020 sparency and more control,


March


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