#slteachmeet - teacher recruitment - @myedhunt by @teachertoolkit

A common problem?

Teacher Recruitment

+ factors• TES adverts• Guardian Jobs• LEA adverts• Other platforms• Social mobility• Shortage subjects• Recruitment/Retention• Word of mouth• Headhunted• Varied process• Safeguarding• Various roles

- factors• Defragmented application

process - e.g. clumsy forms; x2 sides of A4; poor application pack

• Protocol – e.g. post-deadline• Unfilled vacancies• 2 day interviews• In-tray exercise!!!• Poor feedback• Stressful• Individual basis; apparently

impartial• Relies on training of interviewer

My wife said ‘relax and

just be myself!’

The process…

ASK THE AUDIENCE

…decides on the

interview process?

…part of the day

should be the most

challenging?

…is it not a good time to hold an

interview?

…do you inform the candidates before and after the event?

…do you conduct

the interview(s

)?

Recruitment issues

(Physical ups/down)

Recruitment issues (Physical ups/down)

1. Please stand up…and keep standing if…(and sit down if you haven’t)

2. Keep standing if, you have a job…3. You’ve ever had an interview!4. You’ve had to complete an application form.5. Keep standing if you have used the TES to find a job?6. Keep standing if, you have ever been the interviewer?7. Have ever accepted an application late (after the deadline)?8. Keep standing if you have ever used another method (other than

TES) to recruit?

9. Keep standing if you have ever said ‘no’ to an applicant, and then changed your mind?!

10. That your classroom (teaching) practice WAS NOT taken into account.

No one solution to recruitmen

t

Scenario

• a job-seeking teacher working in London would have a larger selection of potential secondary schools available to them for consideration; 450 in total.

• Now weigh this up againsta teacher moving out of the capital city and relocating to, for example, to Northumbria, which has  approximately 48 secondary schools.

• Remarkably the odds for this teacher are already reduced

10fold

Filling vacancies, according to the individual needs of the school is relative, as it is for the potential application field.

Some numbers!

The DfE School Census 2010 says;

“in November 2011 there were 350 teacher vacancies reported for full-time permanent teachers in publicly funded schools, a rate of just 0.1 per cent.”

According to the DfE

…the latest (April 2012) national statistics on School Workforce produced by the DfE.

• “in November 2011 there were a total of just under 0.9 million full-time equivalent school workforce employees working in publicly funded schools in England”.

• “Between spring 2000 and November 2011 the numbers of full-time equivalent teachers in service has increased by 32,200 from 405,800 to 438,000.”

• This represents an increase of potential recruits by 7.9%

and put simply, more competition!

THE EQUALITY ACT 2010

• Given the fact that the Equality Act 2010 was refined to take into account gender and age discrimination, the following facts should make little relevance to any job application in the sector… but it serves as interesting reading.

• In England 2010, 73.2% of full and part-time regular teachers were female with just 26.8% male. 

• 65.2% of all head teachers were female. 

• 23.0% of the workforce were aged under 30, with 22.8% aged 50+.

• Other noteworthy statistics include:

• 53.4% of full-time equivalent head teachers who were aged 50 or over and the vast majority (94.8%) of teachers held degree level qualifications or higher.  

IMMEDIATE THOUGHTS…

• Government policy• Teacher status/profile• Job-security.• Mobility. • Redundancies. • Reduced professional development

budgets.• Undergraduates – lack of places.• NQTs – lack of jobs. Regional?• Ever-increasing competition. Regional?• Employer restrictions. 

Across the world…

Experience:• I have worked with teachers from Ireland, South

Africa, New Zealand, Australia and Canada, as well as teachers from native speaking countries such as France, Spain and Germany.

• Discussions with various teachers, there was an abundance of variety experiences communicated of those working with teachers from other parts of the world. For example: Romania; Switzerland; China and Russia. 

• Michael Gove is keen to see more foreign teachers in schools. From 1 April 2012, teachers who qualified in Australia, New Zealand, Canada and the US are to be recognised as qualified teachers and awarded qualified teacher status in England. 

SOME QUOTES…

Two head teachers I spoke to were very unwavering about recruitment. They exclaimed that;

"there was no need to look overseas” …and believed that

"there are plenty of good teachers in the UK!”

So, to what extent are school leaders having problems sourcing the right teachers for their schools? 

Problems:• Irrefutably, sourcing calibre can be an issue.

• Conducting a very rigorous interview process will enable real quality to shine through.

• A rigorous interview processes can hinder those who find the process daunting. 

• A primary school head teacher said; "NQT (Newly Qualified Teachers) applications - not all - are patchy, which is often a mismatch between the application form and their ability in the classroom.” …Unfortunately, this forms part of the interview process and those who are unfamiliar with this, will fall short.

• Some believed having only 1 or 2 days to form a judgement on an applicant made it difficult to make an informed decision. 

• The conversations and testimonies I have go on & on…

• Another teacher from Yorkshire, believed it was;

"…difficult to recruit quality, be that experienced or not. Shortage-subjects makes this more challenging…” and

"…working with a wide range of primary academies, I can confirm that successful recruitment is a major issue!” 

Some more quotes…• A teacher in Manchester said; "...attracting

quality staff two pupil referral-units were virtually impossible!

• Staff are poorly paid and teacher reputation is dire.” 

• An additional primary head teacher in Suffolk, who works in a good school with outstanding features said; “We advertised for a year 1 reception teacher twice. We received zero applicants!”, but yet a deputy head teacher in Suffolk said; “we are very lucky and have no problems."

RECRUITMENT:

REQUIRES IMPROVEMENT?

Is this just occurring in a few schools or

is it a national issue?

(Hands up!) 

Overseas…

Farther afield, I spoke with a head teacher in Stockholm…

Overseas…• This Headteacher recruits immigrants from

countries in the Middle-East with foreign degrees.

• She stated that ”overseas teachers were not certified by Swedish standards, but because they spoke Swedish, this was beneficial."

• She added; “We do have a shortage of teachers, not only due to retirement, but also because becoming a teacher is not so popular. The Swedish School Act of 2010 requires more from the schools. By 2015, all teachers must be certified and the hiring of unqualified teaching staff will be banned.” 

Temporary staffing• Two supply agencies I spoke with accentuated some regions

will have more demands than others. • For supply teachers, an evolving national issue is that

recruitment agencies are now recruiting from abroad to avoid national insurance contributions.

• Those teachers who shared their experience, talked about varied techniques they have used or seen others employ successfully.

• Examples include Skype interviews - equivalent for those British teachers who move overseas. Or attending mass recruitment fairs to attract candidates with the wind-in-their-sails and ship them off on a 2-year contract with very attractive benefits.

• Other riskier techniques include applying for temporary contracts which may lead to permanence. 

THE LAST DECADE…

MY ESSENTIALS

• During the last decade, I have interviewed hundreds of teachers myself. I’d like to think I know exactly what employers are thinking and looking for; but totally understand that when we all apply for a promotion or a new position, we are all taking a step into the unknown and the process is anyone’s game.

• In short, we may be unaware of something that may still be out of our reach.

• The interview process must be taken seriously. • That all decisions must be deliberated and fully

consulted to ensure accurate safeguarding procedures.

• That the process is robust and fair.

The problem. • Consistency!• For many schools, they are not compliant. • They fail to address the latest Equality Act 2010 reforms. • Curriculum vitae are accepted in independent schools

and in some schools I have worked in, I have witnessed applications being accepted after the published deadline.

• Internal candidates are also considered - and often appointed.

• Nevertheless, I know every single reason why schools may do this and fully expect to do it myself!

• Schools simply need the ‘right teacher’ in front of their students and at the risk of not recruiting or spending extortionate sums of money to re-advertise, this may not an option for some.  

A CALL TO ARMS…

ACCORDING TO @MRLOCKYER

• There are just 4-5% of teachers using Twitter for professional development and networking.• Approximately 50,000.

SOLUTIONS

• ‘Grow-your-own’ philosophy • Teach First, Future Leaders, Teaching

Leaders and the evolving School Direct programmes will continue to cultivate the next generation of teachers on home soil.

• But, what we really need to do is provide a simpler forum for current teachers to move easily and regularly to keep the profession alive.

A PLEA TO YOU…

Consideration?• A College of Teachers.• A national forum for professionalism.• A set-standard for interview protocol.• A professional development portfolio. Perhaps a

self-sustained, online forum for managing your own work-history, CPD and job applications.

• A private profile for schools and teachers searching for work containing your history; detailing performance; references; data; CPD; attendance; evidence and so on.

• The possibilities are endless and can only benefit the recruitment process.

THE FUTURE

From London to Scotland – 5000 readers

#Find_TTkit_A_Job

@MyEdHunt: is a (Beta) job-hunting revolution, offering a forum for schools & teachers to

head-hunt their own employment!

@MYEDHUNT: COULD BE AN EDUCATIONAL VERSION OF GUMTREE?

FREE JOB ADVERTS!

@MYEDHUNT: COULD BE AN EDUCATIONAL VERSION OF (MATCH.COM) DATING WEBSITES?

SCHOOLS AND TEACHERS ARE MATCHED!

@MYEDHUNT: COULD BE AN EDUCATIONAL PLATFORM TO

TWEET JOB-ADVERTS?

For FREE!

@MYEDHUNT: COULD SPREAD THE WORD FAR AND WIDE?

PROFESSIONAL NETWORKS

Recruitment Portfolio

“ We will always have a need for schooling. We will always have students and a prerequisite for those that teach. Recruiting teachers and helping those move from school to school is much more complex and it needn’t be. It is up to us to succour our employment on our very own doorstep, as well as for the profession.”

@TeacherToolkit

“ From a small seed a mighty trunk may grow.”Aeschylus

Ross Morrison McGill@TeacherToolkit