Page 95 - SEN114 September/October 2021

Teacher retention
About the author Chetan Sood is Head of Operations
at Teacher Booker.
teacherbooker.com @teacherbooker @teacherbooker
“Empower staff to share their ideas”
that may arise and react in a responsive, responsible way when they do. For example, if a full time employee feels that switching to a part-time role might suit them better due to a lifestyle change or life event, it can be difficult for them to raise this with their employer. This can be mitigated in an unobtrusive way by ensuring regular, informal check-ins with employees to monitor their job satisfaction and career aspirations. If the perception amongst employees is that ‘the door is always open’, and employers will give genuine consideration to things like working pattern preferences from their staff, then it is likely that retention will be better than if the perception is that expressions of employees’ working preferences are not heard, or there is no room for flexibility in the staffing model.
Prioritising retention – and empowering your staff
Staff retention is particularly important for SEN educators who provide vital consistency and support for the children and young people who need it most.
Simply put, if a school solves its retention issues, it will not have a problem with recruitment. To maintain positive, long-lasting relationships between staff, three key ingredients are required:
• High levels of trust, built through direct and timely communication – beginning when staff are recruited, and continuing while they are supportively trained.
• Transparency and even-handedness when it comes to pay and working conditions.
• Scope for flexibility to candidates’ work preferences, such as options for remote working, and opportunities for development and progression.
Shifts in staff mindsets towards ‘empowerment’ are especially helpful in making teachers feel important and valued; united by a shared sense of purpose.
In certain situations, instilling that sense of empowerment might be as straight-forward as finding a tool that helps your staff do their job more seamlessly. Technological support such as collaborative working tools encourages additional communication between staff, leading to a stronger sense of support. Micro-interactions between staff like being able to
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■ Staff empowerment. senmagazine.co.uk
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