FEATURE FOCUS: RECRUITMENT
Recruitment and retention – a serious and ongoing challenge T
eacher recruitment is very much in the spotlight in the education sector at the moment, and it’s an issue which shows no signs of going away. For the fifth year in a row the government has missed its recruitment targets, and with record numbers of practitioners now leaving the profession, something clearly has to be done. But what?
The Education Select Committee, headed by Neil Carmichael, has called for the government to formulate a long-term plan to tackle the teacher shortage in the UK. Within 24,100 schools surveyed by the government in 2016, one third of new teachers who started in 2010 had left the profession in the intervening five years. According to Paul Howells, former teacher and CEO of Eteach, “The Government has some responsibility but schools themselves have not
focused on teacher recruitment or retention, and they are now suffering. When good teachers are in short supply, schools are still using outdated and antiquated methods of recruiting their staff via a single source in most cases. This would not happen in any other industry or profession, and this inefficiency is just making the shortages worse because changing schools is so difficult for teachers.
“Schools need to invest time not money in their recruitment systems and cast their nets more widely using all the free tools available for creating an effective recruitment strategy. Many schools, for example, can halve their recruitment costs and achieve better results using the internet more widely to advertise teacher and leadership roles.”
Support staff are not supply teachers Meanwhile, and as a knock-on effect of teacher shortages in the classroom, according to a survey conducted by the Association of Teachers and Lecturers (ATL), up to 78% of school staff said that they’re having to stand in for qualified teachers - on top of covering their existing demands - due to budget cuts. This represents a 14% increase year-on-year.
The survey, which polled 1,000 members working as support staff, found the majority are being asked to take on responsibilities normally held by teachers, as the country faces a shortage of teaching staff.
Commenting on the data, Baljinder Kuller, who has over 15 years’ experience in education recruitment, and is now Managing Director of online supply teacher portal, The Supply Register,
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www.education-today.co.uk
said: “At a time when budget cuts and talent shortages are close to crippling the education sector, it is no surprise that schools are calling on teaching assistants and librarians to ensure that classes are covered.
“The fact that this practice has increased year- on-year can no doubt be attributed to the rising costs typically associated with bringing on board supply teachers. The crux of the matter is that, for many UK schools, it is simply too expensive to replace staff who leave by hiring short-term supply teachers. Schools in England often spend over £800 million on supply staff annually. “Education leaders who fear they may be jeopardising pupil attainment by using support staff to plug teacher shortages may benefit from reviewing their current recruitment processes to bring on board suitably qualified staff without blowing the budget. For example, by creating a local bank of supply staff, perhaps in conjunction with other local schools, reviewing their careers page to attract candidates directly or negotiating with their current agency on price.”
Respect the profession of teaching There are other factors at play to consider as well, according to Hannah Scott of
teachersregister.co: “The other major issue is the professional view of teaching in comparison to more esteemed occupations such as law or medicine. In countries like Finland, teaching is held in such high regard that thousands apply for teaching degrees every year with only a small portion attaining a place. In the UK, teaching is seen as less of an intellectually rewarding career, and rather a profession for overworked, underpaid people who get little time
March 2017
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