DO you see yourself as Kylie Minogue or are you more in tune with Radiohead? Is your preferred hospital soap Peak Practice or ER? And where do you stand on films: Sound of Music or Pulp Fiction? Never thought about it? Well, maybe you should.
Headteacher Steve Monks has come up with his own psychometric test as he attempts to fill three posts at his Derby school.
If you answered Kylie, Peak Practice and Sound of Music to the above questions, you may be out of luck - the right responses for his 760-pupil Sinfin community school are the other options - Radiohead, ER, and Pulp Fiction.
“I’m not decrying the Sound of Music as a film or Kylie as a singer, but we need something with a cutting edge for young people today,” said Mr Monks.
“It’s a measure of challenge rather than an easy life. We need staff willing to take on challenges, and those that do, enjoy it.”
Mr Monks joins a growing group of heads who have resorted to all kinds of unorthodox ploys to make their adverts stand out from the crowd on The TES job pages. Others have tried poetry and brutal honesty (“Special measures. No headteacher. Ugly building.”).
Mr Monks said: “It (the ad) started out as a joke, but the more I thought about it the more I thought it would be eye catching.”
“I did market research with some of our new teachers, and they said it would have made them more likely to apply. With the recruitment crisis, you have to find an edge, and it’s something that attracts people in.”
He’s looking for teachers of maths, science, and information technology, and is offering two annual recruitment and retention points as a one-off payment after two years. The posts would probably suit newly qualified teachers - but more experienced rock fans are welcome to apply.
Get Staffed, the TES guide to recruitment and retention, is now on www.tes.co.uk
