As we wind down to the end of the summer term, we begin to tick items off a list of lasts: last assembly, last department meeting and last appointment to post.
By now, the vast majority of hiring will have taken place, so it’s a good time to reflect on how 2018-19 looked through the lens of recruitment.
Has your school felt the repercussions of the recruitment crisis? Will you be fully staffed for the autumn term? Do you feel you have made the right appointments?
We spoke to two schools about how their recruitment shaped up this academic year.
Humanities in demand
Keziah Featherstone, the newly appointed head of school at Q3 Academy in Tipton, has been implementing new initiatives around recruitment this year.
“Previously, we belonged to a different multi-academy trust and were advertising posts via an internal system in an attempt to save money, rather than using traditional job advertising websites,” she explains.
“But that meant no one really applied, so this year has been about trying to address that.”
As a result, her school bucked the national trend when it was inundated with applications for a maths vacancy, but challenges have remained in other areas.
“The toughest subject area to fill has been humanities,” Featherstone continues. “The stakes have been ramped up by the Ebacc, where certain subjects have become compulsory and therefore it is harder to recruit.”
Less supply and a smarter timetable
Featherstone has found smart timetabling has gone a long way towards solving her recruitment problems. With buy-in from her staff, she’s been able to reduce the school’s reliance on expensive supply.
“My team has been really good about our rearrangements and our new timetable means that now we have quality-first teaching rather than juggling supply.
“This time last year we had 22 supply teachers,” Featherstone continues. “Of those positions, we replaced 11 with permanent staff and the other eleven we managed to re-timetable to absorb the gaps.
“Instead of just adding teachers once we got to a certain number in one class, we looked at how we can restructure the other classes. If we have students wanting to study a subject at A-level, we now make sure we have enough students signed up to that subject to make it worth running.”
Despite having multiple positions to fill, Featherstone has spent the past year being patient.
“I am happy to wait for the right person to come along because I’m not prepared to just have a ‘body in the room’. It’s far worse to appoint the wrong person and have to deal with all the problems that can come with that.”
Is automation the answer?
Hannah Boydell, head of human resources at Rendcomb College, an independent school in Gloucestershire, has had her busiest year yet for recruitment; not in terms of leavers but because of a higher number of applications for posts.
“We had 121 applicants for one job which, for us, at that point in the recruitment cycle, and at that point in the academic year, was bonkers,” she explains.
The workload attached to the recruitment of a new teacher was reduced this year, however, owing to a change in the method used to sort applications.
“Because we used a pre-filled in form, I just had to check the boxes and the system sent individual replies to everyone to let them know if they’d been called for an interview or if they’d been unsuccessful in their application,” she explains.
“I don’t think it’s right to not reply individually – someone has taken the time to apply for the position, so you need to acknowledge that application.”
Using a computerised recruitment system, rather than relying on an email programme, has made it easier for Boydell to keep track of the paperwork.
“Everything I need to look at is in one place and the system is colour coded, so I know at a glance who is going on to the next round and can let each candidate know.
“It’s been so much more straightforward – it means I can get on and do all the other parts of my job.”
Ups and downs for IB
David Barrs, co-headteacher at the Anglo European School in Ingatestone, has struggled with multiple pressures over the past year, from agency fees to immigration concerns.
"These days, we advertise and contact agencies simultaneously,” he says. “We tend to interview as soon as we identify a possible candidate rather than wait, for fear that they might be offered another job.
“Being within easy reach of London gives us an advantage but we still struggle to attract a field in most subjects. We recently had just one applicant for a science post. She was excellent, we considered ourselves fortunate.”
The school offers the International Baccalaureate curriculum and has struggled with a shortage of candidates to choose from. As a result, Barrs has had little choice but to turn to supply agencies to fill gaps.
“We would rather not use agencies but, unfortunately, we have no choice and this puts pressure on our already stretched budgets.”
However, offering the IB has meant that his options are more open than in traditional British curriculum schools.
"Because we offer the IB, we do recruit teachers from abroad,” he explains. “However, the hostile environment towards people entering the UK to work is having a negative impact, which doesn’t make it any easier to recruit teachers who are already in short supply.”
The negatives from the past year’s recruitment, however, have been offset by positives in terms of retention.
“Our retention rates here are good – we have an average length of service of seven years. In September, we’re almost fully staffed with only one vacancy still to fill, which is a strong position to be in.
“Our philosophy is that what teachers sign up to when they apply to work at our school is what they’re passionate about: the idea of a baccalaureate education.”
Looking to fill vacancies at your school? Tes have a range of products to help find the right teacher for your school. Find out more about our recruitment products