Staff for a changing education landscape

Supply teachers

Education in the UK is changing. As the government looks to headteachers and parents to run services, local communities are being given more control over schools. The reform agenda is gathering pace, with many new academies created and free schools yet to come.

 

These reforms can either be seen as an opportunity or a risk; with some welcoming the newfound freedom to innovate, whereas others fear the cost and pace of reform.Either way, when dealing with this cha

nging landscape, the education sector must recognise that with new freedom comes a renewed responsibility to ensure classroom standards remain the top priority.

MORE WITH LESS
The next few years will witness profound changes within the education system and it is importan

t that we recognise the value that temporary workers, such as supply teachers, bring. Whilst the frontline schools budget has been protected and policies such as the pupil premium allocate more funding to low income pupils, cuts to central services provided by local government will require schools to do more with less. With the climate of uncertainty that inevitably surrounds such processes of reform, it is important now more than ever, that we ensure that there are highly qualified teachers in the classroom. 

What we must avoid are situations where schools have chosen to deal with absence cover by overstaffing with unqualified teaching assistants, often referred to as cover supervisors. One doesn’t have to be an experienced HR professional to realise that this is extremely inefficient. Such a strategy may conceal absence cover costs within the payroll but it not an effective use of public money, and there are a number of compelling reasons to invest in professional supply teachers instead.

A GOOD INVESTMENT
Firstly, supply teachers, including those provided by REC Education Agencies, are only a cost to the public purse when used, unlike cover supervisors who are a fixed cost on the school accounts all year round. What is more, covers supervisors themselves can be absent through sickness, which could add to the overall cover costs that they were taken on to reduce. 

Secondly, agencies will provide supply teachers who are fully qualified and, whenever possible, subject specialists, unlike the unqualified and generalist cover supervisors who offer a more basic teaching experience.  This is doubly unfair to students when you consider that it is poorer performing schools that experience the highest turnover rates in teachers and staff. These pupils need more support from qualified teaching professionals; when up to a year of a child’s school life can be spent with cover providers, it is essential that this is from a fully qualified supply professional. This is an argument that draws wide support from educational bodies and providers, as REC Education regularly meets with teaching unions, government departments and local authorities, creating consensus that teacher absence should not lead to a poorer standard of teaching. 

AGENCY BENEFITS
Whilst classroom standards must be the primary concern, it is important that schools recognise the financial benefits of using a recruitment agency compared to the higher levels of risk in internal recruitment processes.  The biggest problem is not finding the right member of staff: spending large sums on advertising, staff time on short listing and interviewing, only to discover that no suitable candidates were available. In fact, studies from Hansard Canada estimate that, on average, employers spend 134.5 hours on recruiting per (permanent) position. When the cost of staff hours, vetting, checking and training candidates is taken into account, the average cost is £8,160 per appointment. In an age of austerity our schools cannot afford to take this risk.

Education providers should learn from the private sector, where companies are turning to recruitment agencies to deliver this process successfully. CIPD surveys indicate that 78 per cent of staff are sourced through employment agencies. Why is this the case? What do recruitment agencies bring that in-house solutions do not? Firstly, agencies take over the financial risks of the recruitment process, as they are only paid when a successful placement is made. That means that they are responsible for advertising, interviewing and finding candidates, ensuring that education professionals can focus on the job they are paid to do. This is particularly pertinent in relation to the recruitment of management level staff, as surveys have found that 93 per cent of public sector workers believe a lack of effective leaders is the biggest challenge that they face.

In the current climate it is important that education providers carefully analyse the costs and benefits of their workforce spending. Temporary staff such as supply teachers provide essential support to ensure that staff absence does not lead to a drop in classroom standards. Schools must not be drawn into the false economy of employing permanent classroom assistants to replicate the role of fully trained supply teachers. Not only do they lack the required skills and training to offer the full classroom experience, but they often prove more expensive than using a supply teacher who is only paid as and when their services require.

To manage the process of reform in the education sector, a focus on flexible working is a must. Recruitment agencies must play a leading role in this process, applying their expertise so that the right staff are placed in the right position for the right price, guaranteeing the best outcome for students.