Contacts:
School Workforce Development Team Tel: 01438 844871
Links on this page:
Succession planning Networking Recruitment fairs Supply/Returners Club Exit Interviews Using agencies Things to check
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Finding it Difficult to Recruit?

If your school is finding it difficult to recruit, for whatever reason, please do be aware that we have a School Workforce Development Team based at Hertfordshire Development Centre available to assist you.

The team is experienced either with an education or commercial recruitment background. We are happy to get involved as much or as little as you need/want. Please call or email in the first instance and if you would like us to visit your school to assess how we can help, we will be happy to do so whenever we can.

Teachinherts.com – your online database

YOUR FIRST STOP TO RECRUIT A TEACHER . Last year, many schools did not need to advertise their posts anywhere else and as this is Hertfordshire Schools own online recruitment website, there is no charge for advertising vacancies online.

If you are not already familiar with advertising your vacancies and accepting online applications, please look at:

• Teachinherts - recruitment web site for school workforce

for further information about using the website, or contact us on 01582 830351.

Teachers and support staff register their details on this database too and you can search for candidates for hard to fill posts, quickly and effectively.

Succession Planning - Grow your Own!

Speak to your existing staff about their future plans and ambitions. Get a feel for whether there are options within the school and if so, if they would apply. Don't hold back teachers who are looking for the next step on the ladder - they will find it somewhere else if you can't offer it. Help them to plan ahead.

Networking with Existing Staff including Support staff, Parents and Neighbouring Schools

Promote vacancies at the school through existing staff, new recruits and helpers to friends, ex-colleagues or fellow students and neighbours! Think about incentive schemes to encourage applications or expressions of interest.

Pass on good applicants to other schools in your local area if they are not successful at your school (with the candidate’s permission). Let other local schools know that you are looking for staff so that they can also share with you! Don't forget that if your school does not offer the candidate a post, they may go outside the county and be lost to Hertfordshire. In a couple of years' time, they may be ready for promotion and useful to your school again!

Use school newsletters or posters around the school community to advertise our Teaching Taster Courses, Returners Club and courses, GTP conferences, Recruitment and Open Day events etc and encourage response from parents,neighbours and staff who may be interested in working in schools either as a teacher or in a support role.

Encourage support staff to look at teaching as a profession. Those staff with a degree may be interested in the Graduate Teacher Programme and with their experience of working within a school and knowledge of your school's working practice and children may be ideal candidates for this employment based route into teaching. For those staff who are currently working towards a degree, the Registered Teacher Programme may be of interest (see the relevant page on the grid for further information).

Encourage all staff to be active in their own continuing professional development.

Recruitment Fairs - National and Local

The School Workforce Development Team represents Hertfordshire as a county and teaching in general at Recruitment Fairs. We attend c 20 University Recruitment Fairs at ITTs throughout the UK, and talk to student and trainee teachers about opportunities in Herts schools and the NQT induction programme (which has an excellent reputation throughout the country).

In addition to this, we also attend more general careers fairs to talk to the general public about careers in schools and help to organise our own Hertfordshire Schools recruitment fairs in locations around the county where there may be recruitment problems.

Local Recruitment Fairs

In the past, we have organised local fairs in Cheshunt, Borehamwood, Stevenage, South Oxhey and Watford, working with local schools and consortia to raise awareness of the opportunities for teaching and support staff in our schools.

Supply/Returners Club

Every Monday during term-time, we run a Returners' Club and Supply Club to update teachers who do not receive Continuing Professional Development through our schools. This is usually because they are not currently employed by a school and are thinking of returning or they are working on a supply basis for our schools.

For further details of the club and a programme of events for the Supply and Returners Club see:

• www.hertsdirect.org - Returners
• www.hertsdirect.org - Supply Teachers

Benefit to Schools

If you would like to come along to meet members of our Returners Club to talk to them about opportunities within your school, you would be most welcome. Although we pass around copies of the bulletin and talk to members about specific opportunities, having contact with a senior member of staff from the school does have much more impact and encourages application.

You may also be interested in making contact with one of our teachers. This could benefit your school by having access to a trained teacher who may be available either for supply or non-contact time and benefit the teacher by giving them some exposure to the classroom again and providing them with an opportunity to get back into teaching gradually.

We are often looking for schools to offer observation on an adhoc basis to returner teachers and if you are able to help with this, please contact Ian Gibson.

Exit Interviews

Have you thought about why staff are leaving? If you would like independent confidential exit interviews undertaken by the School Workforce Development Team, please contact us.

Using Agencies

There are agencies throughout Hertfordshire offering supply and permanent staff for schools. Hertfordshire has its own supply service (Teachinherts supply service which is run by Eteach) and we would recommend that you try this service first for supply staff (see supply section for further information).

For permanent posts, we do not, as an LA, recommend any agencies. If you have exhausted all other avenues, including the teachinherts database of permanent teachers looking for a job) you may decide to enlist the services of a commercial agency.

You will find agencies listed in your local yellow pages or advertised in the TES. Many will "cold call" you to offer their services to you.

Things to Check Before Proceeding

Salary or daily rate for teacher

Terms and conditions of business:

How much will the fee be and what service will be provided.

Read the small print

Don't get tied into relationships with agencies unless you are happy with the service and have tried and tested them.

Temp to permanent fees

If you take a teacher on a supply or temporary basis and then want to offer them a permanent job, you may be charged a percentage of their annual salary as a fee. If you use the teachinherts supply service, you will not be charged as long as you use the service for a minimum of 20 days throughout the school year.

Overseas trained teachers

What support will be given to relocating teachers?
Are they provided with access to gaining UK QTS

FOR MORE GUIDANCE AND ASSISTANCE WITH HARD TO FILL POSTS, CONTACT THE SCHOOL WORKFORCE DEVELOPMENT TEAM.