WHAT THE EXPERTS SAY....
AVOIDING THE HIDDEN COST OF IN-HOUSE CARETAKER RECRUITMENT
Comment by NICK ORDE-POWLETT, Managing Director at TIB Services E
very day without a caretaker is a day your school feels the strain. Classrooms take longer to open, maintenance jobs pile up, and your staff stretch themselves thin to fill the gaps. Site management is one of those areas where absence is immediately visible. From the moment the gates open, the difference is felt by pupils, staff, and the wider school community..
Yet despite how critical the role is, many schools underestimate the time cost of recruiting a caretaker in-house.
When a caretaker leaves, the instinct is often to handle recruitment internally. After all, who knows your school’s needs better than you? But in practice, this approach can consume more senior leadership time than expected.
Consider the full picture. Writing and approving job adverts. Managing listings and responding to queries. Sifting through CVs, scheduling interviews, and coordinating with HR. Then come compliance checks, including online background checks, references and waiting for DBS clearances to come through to meet KCSIE safeguarding requirements. Once the offer is made, notice periods can stretch for weeks, and induction or site- specific training may add more time before the new recruit is fully effective. Taken together, schools can spend up to 30 hours of senior leadership time on a single recruitment cycle. That’s time that could otherwise be spent on curriculum planning, staff development, or pupil outcomes—areas where
leadership impact is most valuable. The vacancy itself also has knock-on effects. Without a caretaker, tasks are redistributed across leadership and support staff, diverting attention from core duties. Site standards can slip and maintenance backlogs grow.
From start to finish, the in-house process can stretch beyond two months, a significant period of operational disruption in a busy school calendar. This isn’t to say schools should never recruit directly. For some, it’s the right choice,particularly if there’s internal talent ready to step up. But it’s important to make these decisions with full awareness of the hidden costs, both in leadership time and the wider impact on school operations. Whether schools choose to manage recruitment internally or explore external support, planning ahead is key. That means maintaining a clear, up-to-date job description, understanding the full compliance requirements, and having a plan of action prepared for unexpected absences. Ultimately, the question isn’t just how to find the right caretaker, it’s how to do so without diverting precious leadership capacity from the core mission of education. Every hour saved on administration is an hour that can be invested in pupils, staff, and the school’s strategic goals. In today’s challenging landscape, that’s not just an operational choice, it’s a leadership one.
BRINGING LEARNING TO LIFE ONLINE: ENGAGING STUDENTS
BEYOND THE CLASSROOM Comment by CLAIRE SEMPLE, Deputy Headteacher Academy21
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n today’s digital classrooms, engagement is everything. For online learners, sparking curiosity across the curriculum is not just possible, it’s essential. By weaving real-world examples and themes into our lessons, we create immersive experiences that connect learning to students’ own lives. Online education also offers a unique opportunity to blend subjects creatively, making learning both meaningful and memorable, especially for our younger students in key stages two and three.
Science lessons come alive when paired with natural wildlife topics. Online platforms allow students to dive into habitats, life cycles, and environmental issues through an array of interactive resources. A lesson on adaptation and natural selection might include a short animation of a food web, a simulation of the impact of environmental changes on populations within an ecosystem, followed by a virtual field trip to observe a live stream of animals in their natural habitat. Students can take a live quiz to gain instant feedback, then complete a creative writing task imagining life as their chosen animal. These experiences build scientific interest and understanding while nurturing empathy and environmental awareness. Cross-curricular learning further strengthens core skills and deepens engagement. In English, students might write persuasive texts advocating for wildlife conservation, while in Maths they may handle statistical data on rainfall, calculate changes in ecosystem populations, or interpret graphs illustrating the impact of climate change. History lessons can explore the cultural significance of animals across different societies or examine how geography influences biodiversity. These connections not only reinforce subject knowledge but also encourage critical thinking
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www.education-today.co.uk and holistic understanding.
Engaging learners online requires thoughtful design and collaboration. Short, interactive sessions help maintain attention, whilst visual storytelling and real-world connections make content relatable. In Science, we encourage students to explore concepts within and beyond their lessons, such as using toys with magnets and springs to explore forces, or sampling plants from outdoors to bring with them to lessons investigating structure and transport. Students’ descriptions of their pets’ characteristics and behaviours are a firm favourite, bringing tangible understanding to lessons on inheritance and variation.
Technology also enables more personalised learning experiences. Students can choose topics that interest them, access resources at their own pace, and revisit materials as needed. This autonomy fosters ownership and motivation. Teachers can use digital tools to track progress, provide timely feedback, and adapt instruction to meet individual needs. Collaborative platforms allow students to share ideas, ask questions, and learn from one another, building a sense of community even in virtual spaces.
Ultimately, online learning is most effective when it’s rich, connected, and student-centred. By integrating our core offering with real-life examples and virtual experiences, we create a curriculum that not only educates but excites. It’s about more than just learning facts; it’s about helping children become curious thinkers who notice, wonder, and care about the world they live in. When learning is brought to life online, it becomes a journey of discovery that empowers students to explore, question, and grow.
October 2025
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