Page 94 - SEN114 September/October 2021

Teacher retention
Securing long-term
teacher retention
Chetan Sood takes a closer look at staff recruitment and retention, and the strategies schools can use to help free themselves from ‘sticking plaster-style’ approaches.
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Here’s a sector-wide situation that will, sadly, feel familiar to many: staff struggling with workload and stress pressures, exacerbated by the fallout of COVID-19; HR teams and in-house recruiters
disempowered by the turnover of colleagues; the knowledge that current recruitment strategies are by no means ideal, but that time and support to rectify things feels desperately lacking.
In the wake of recent global events, the education sector has reached a crucial turning point in retention and recruitment, with the real threat of a mass exodus of staff on the horizon. Such an exodus would not only further impact teacher morale, but would have potentially grave consequences for the future of our schools and the very children we strive to support.
If this sounds like the situation that’s developing in your school, it’s not too late to start implementing changes. And, as you contemplate how to go forward, it’s important to bear in mind that support is out there. Accessing that support can start right here.
Adapting and reacting
to current conditions
When cracks appear around issues of school staffing, do you
“A critical turning point in retention and recruitment”
stop to pay attention or shy away? You would be forgiven for doing the latter – but doing so only postpones the problem; and possibly makes it far worse in the long-term.
Several models of third-party staff provision have developed over the last 20 years in response to headline concerns, such as the need for candidates who are both flexible and high- calibre, the tightening of school budgets, and the daunting administrative overheads of managing quality assurance. It’s no wonder that on-demand third party agency and job site recruitment services have emerged to meet the challenge.
But the issues that cause staff turnover can be complex.
By identifying the root causes of staff issues rather than applying fixes at the time of need, school leaders can pre-empt issues
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