Leadership

School Workforce in England: November 2017

The number of teachers working in state-funded schools in England has fallen to its lowest level since 2013, , according to figures published by the Department for Education. That is the equivalent of more than 7,000 full-time teachers leaving the profession last year.

Last year, 451,900 full time equivalent teachers were working in English state schools, compared with 457,000 in 2016.

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      string(419) "... that the first of the babyboomer generation are beginning to realisetheir early retirement plans.Retention problemsFinally, the question of the dip in the 30–45 age group can partially be explainedby the retention problems discussedabove, which relate to workload, workingconditions and lack of obvious careerprogression. For this age group, retrainingfor ..."
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      string(6012) "duringwhich school systems were developed, atrained teaching force established andfoundations laid for local and nationalpublic services of education linked to theexpansion of state welfare. Particularconcepts of professionalism, public serviceand progress ran up against a moremodernist approach, defining teachers’professional identities and controlling theirwork. But by the end of the century, theteacher’s professional responsibility was“nearer to that of competent employeetrying to meet production or efficiencytargets, decided nationally and rewardedlocally” (Lawn, 1996).From this perspective, it is notsurprising that teachers should feeldislocated from their ideology, values andbeliefs and that their sense of enjoymentin their work has diminished. But aDepartment for Work and Pensionsreport (Working After State Pension Age –Qualitative Research) suggests that theteaching profession be classified alongside‘professionals and creatives’: a group ofpeople who have a feeling of autonomyabout their work, strongly identifyingwith it, and who want to go on doing itindefinitely. If we are to hold on to theteachers who fit this creative mould thenwe will need contracts that actively valuethe skills, expertise and experience inreturn for some freedom frombureaucracy and paperwork.While some research exists in theNational Health Service for nursesoptions and flexible working arrangementscould be made available more widely andfocused especially on this group. Eventhough the financial packages and deals arenot available, both the premature and age-related retirements set out in figure 2indicate an upward trend over the last threeyears, suggesting that the first of the babyboomer generation are beginning to realisetheir early retirement plans.Retention problemsFinally, the question of the dip in the 30–45 age group can partially be explainedby the retention problems discussedabove, which relate to workload, workingconditions and lack of obvious careerprogression. For this age group, retrainingfor a different career is still relatively easyand taking time to travel and experiencealternative working environments is thenorm. It is also a time when people arebeginning to take time out to havefamilies. It is this final point that givessome indication of the third area forconsideration: the gender structure of theteaching workforce.Since 1989 there has been a steadyand continuous decline in men such thatin primary education less than 12 percent of teachers are men. A teachingworkforce so dominated by women willhave an in-built tendency for a drop inparticipation during child-bearing years.Workforce remodelling: DemographicsDemographicsDemographicsDemographicsDemographics 53January/February 2005Workforce remodelling: DemographicsDemographicsDemographicsDemographicsDemographicsand in the DTI among a genericgroup of workers, there is little soundevidence of teachers’ motivations forworking and views on continuing towork after retirement age. But in Mayand June 2004, course participants onworkforce reform training events wereasked to complete a questionnaireentitled Teachers and Support StaffWorking Past Retirement. The 280completed forms were used as thebasis for the research.This research attempted to clarify ourunderstanding about the future thinkingand planning of teachers in their fifties,and in particular to test the followinghypotheses:■ that teachers want to retire before theyreach retirement age;■ that teachers want more flexibility intheir work;■ that teachers have an inadequateknowledge and understanding ofpensions and of income in retirement;■ that there are significant differenceswithin the teaching body betweengender groups, age groups, phase(primary and secondary) groups andbetween regions.The research discovered that overall,money and job satisfaction were of equalimportance as motivation for teachers.Men and secondary teachers were moremotivated by money, while over-55s andprimary teachers were most likely to bemotivated by job satisfaction. Knowledgeof pensions was poor: 79 per cent ofrespondents described their knowledge asaverage or poor, with primary teachers,women and teachers in the south havingthe poorest knowledge.40 per cent of teachers would beprepared to pay for flexible workingcontracts, and those most interested inflexible working were teachers in theSouth and primary teachers. Nearly halfof all teachers responding want to workafter retirement, with a huge variationbetween the North and the South.To begin to put in place the necessaryconditions for workforce reform, then, anumber of conclusions were drawn fromthe research as follows.■ Proposals, procedures and strategies toenable impartial financial planning forteachers: these should be from bothofficial sources such as the DfES andLEAs and from independent financialconsultants whom the school mightmake available to teachers.■ Begin the process of challengingembedded age discrimination andprepare for the EC directive andthe removal of a mandatoryretirement age.■ Extend the range of flexible workingopportunities to all teachers, butdevelop them in a ‘real’ or ‘true’ costenvironment in which the hiddencosts are accounted for and areattributed against the relative benefitsfor both the individual and for theschool.■ Broaden the career developmentopportunities in schools for bothteachers and support staff. This shouldbe done in conjunction with reformsin age discrimination and pensions sothat teachers and other staff are free todevelop or continue their careersalong a wide and diverse range"
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Leadership

Why reform the workforce?

1 Nov 2006

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      string(5984) "8Vol 7.4School Leadership Todaywww.teachingtimes.comTrendsTeacherretentionStopping teachersquitting theClassroomNearly 50,000 teachers left the profession in 2015. And this yearseems set to be no different, with record numbers of teachers seriouslyconsidering ending their careers. How can they be persuaded to stay?Stewart McCoy takes a look at two key areas of teacher retention:experienced teachers nearing retirement age, and younger workersjust joining the profession.9Vol 7.4School Leadership Todaywww.teachingtimes.comTrendsTeacherretentionThe UK population is predicted to grow by another 10 million by 20391, whichwill put further stress on an education system already buckling under the strainof high pupil numbers and inadequate funding. An extra 40,000 teachers willneed to be recruited over the next decade to cope with this increase2. But, at atime when the government is repeatedly missing recruitment targets for new teachers3,and when record numbers of teachers are seriously considering leaving the profession4– and increasingly going through with it – a major shortage of experienced, qualityteaching staff is a very real and serious threat.It is unfortunate, then, that amid these circumstances, teachers have reportedfeeling under pressure to quit before state retirement age. Almost a third (32 percent) say they plan to quit before reaching retirement age, due to a perceived societalpressure that older workers are no longer welcome in the workforce or because of afear of age discrimination in schools.5Talented senior teachersneed to be encouragedand celebrated, notcast aside once theirperceived usefulness isgone.“”There is huge value in the experience and knowledgeolder teachers bring with them, so encouraging them toremain in the profession past state retirement age is vital.They also need to be inspired to pass that knowledge onto younger teachers, not only to help improve their skillsand abilities but to inspire them to remain in teaching.At the other end of the scale, the recruitment ofyounger teachers needs to be overhauled. Graduatesneed to be supported and offered career developmentat every stage. Salaries need to be increased or incentivesgiven to persuade them to stay rather than be recruitedby other more lucrative professions.How can older teachers be retained?By 2022, the number of people in the UK workforce aged50 to state pension age will have risen by 3.7 million to13.8 million overall. However, the number aged 16 to 49will have dropped by 700,000.6 This will create a seriousskills shortage as the baby boomer generation startsto retire without corresponding numbers of youngerworkers to take over.The education sector is already suffering from thiseffect, especially with archaic attitudes to age and abilitystill lingering. Recruiters need to actively work to dispelsocietal beliefs about age. Talented senior teachers needto be encouraged and celebrated, not cast aside oncetheir perceived usefulness is gone. They bring with thema wealth of knowledge and experience which cannot beunderestimated and can be employed to help mentoryounger teachers. Indeed, 45 per cent of teachers saytaking on a mentoring role would encourage them tostay working for longer.7This would also have a beneficial effect on retentionof younger teachers, with experienced teachers helpingthem in areas such as lesson planning, engagement,pupil interaction or curriculum coverage. It would alsohelp free up senior teachers or heads of department toconcentrate on their roles.Encouraging older teachers to remain in theprofession also hinges on changing pay and workingconditions. Many complain of 50 to 60 hour weeks just tokeep on top of all the lesson prep and marking. That’s a bigask for anyone, especially if the remuneration is lacking,and you can see why jaded teachers might run for the hillsor, at least, a job that is better paid with fewer hours.10Vol 7.4School Leadership Todaywww.teachingtimes.comTrendsTeacherretentionThere is also an immense pressure on teachers to deliver A-C grades; rather thaninstilling in their pupils a love of learning, they find themselves focusing on what willget them through the exams. Finally, there is irritation at the overregulation of teaching,with Ofsted micromanaging every aspect of the profession.8These factors all need to be addressed with competitive pay rates at senior levels,a reduction in hours and red tape, and in particular, flexible working arrangements.Almost half of working teachers (43 per cent) would consider delaying retirement ifthey were able to fit teaching around other responsibilities later in life such as caring fora loved one.9Phased retirement to allow a smooth transition from full-time work to part-timewould also be beneficial, as would retraining schemes to take account of regularchanges to the curriculum and the increasing prominence of IT in the classroom.Encouraging senior teachers who are determined to leave to take up supplyteaching would also act as a halfway house – they get to reduce their workload to moremanageable and flexible levels, but the schools they work in still have access to theirknowledge and expertise.Stopping the mass exodus of newly qualified teachersRetention of older teachers, though, must run hand in hand with grassroots recruitmentof newly qualified professionals.According to the government’s most recent teacher training census, there was anincrease in Initial Teacher Training entrants from 25,753 in 2014-15 to 28,148 in 2015-16.However, nearly one in five secondary places for September 2015 remained unfilled,and the"
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Leadership

Stopping teachers quitting the classroom

19 May 2016

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      string(5897) "38Vol 7.5School Leadership Todaywww.teachingtimes.comLeadershipSkillsTeacherretentionMore teachers than ever before are leaving not only their currentpositions but the profession entirely. Why, and what can be done aboutit? Denise Inwood explores the key reasons our most experienced andtalented teachers are moving on, plus a few ways school leaders canconvince them to stay.With all indicators showing that teacher shortages are growing, there’sbeen an understandable focus on teacher recruitment recently—thewhole education system relies heavily on newly qualified teachers (NQTs).But while we will always need new teachers, I believe it is also importantto devote considerable time and effort to halting the march of good and experiencedteachers who are leaving the classroom mid career.The latest figures from the National Audit Office record 42,050 teachers leaving theprofession—that’s an 11 per cent increase over the past three years—with the numbersleaving for reasons other than retirement up from 64 per cent to 75 per cent.1 Thissuggests retention may be becoming an increasing problem.Why are so many teachers leaving?One reason so many teachers are leaving the profession must be the burdens uponthem, which are greater now than ever before. The former education secretary, NickyMorgan, launched her ‘Workload challenge’ in response to concerns raised by teachersabout the time they spent on increased administration duties and curriculum changes.2They felt that the long hours they spent on overly detailed, bureaucratic work weretaking them away from what matters most—improving teaching and learning.A recent survey by the Association of Teachers and Lecturers (ATL) identifiedworkload as the key driver of the teacher shortage crisis, putting people off becomingteachers and compelling enthusiastic teachers to leave.3When asked what they thought might stop people from wanting to becometeachers, 93 per cent cited workload and 91 per cent said poor work–life balance.Eighty-three per cent said they had considered leaving the profession and amongHow to keep yourbest teachers39Vol 7.5School Leadership Todaywww.teachingtimes.comLeadershipSkillsTeacherretentionEqually important andsometimes overlooked isthe need to understandwhat happens on a day-to-day basis from theteacher’s point of view.“”those, almost nine in ten (87 per cent) said this was due to workload. Tellingly, whenasked to sum up what they thought was responsible for teacher shortages, nearly 300people simply wrote ‘workload’.In this atmosphere, it must be easy for teachers to forget what attracted them tothe profession in the first place. BlueSky was recently appointment by Teach First tosupport the progress tracking of its teachers at 900 primary and secondary schoolsacross England and Wales. This led me to reflect on my own career as a young teacherand the fact that no other career is so rewarding. Teachers make a difference—changing lives, opening up opportunities—and every day is rich and different. Theywork with likeminded people who generally share the samevalues and motivations.But all this can be hard to remember if you feeloverworked, undervalued and generally brow-beaten.Hence, many simply vote with their feet and leavealtogether, or move to private or international schools. Theteacher shortage then leaves their former colleagues witheven more work and so the vicious circle continues.Building a retention strategyIn this environment, it is even more important that schoolshave processes in place to retain good staff where possible.Establishment of a high quality and stable workforce is a keyfactor in long-term school improvement and therefore hasto be a top priority for senior leaders.Achieving this obviously involves getting the rightpolicies and processes in place. But equallyimportant and sometimes overlooked is theneed to understand what happens on a day-to-day basis from the teacher’s point of view.As a starting point, leaders have to knowwho their best staff are and have processesin place to ensure that they will want tostay. This means having secure evidenceabout all staff performance and potential,and being clear about the value they addto the organisation—that is, in relation toclassroom performance or pedagogy, theircontribution to leadership, their behaviouras a role model for others, and also impactin their role. This is only possible in schoolsable to capture a full range of data, includingquality assurance, appraisal and professionallearning, and to evaluate individualperformance.In order to build a proactive retention strategy, it is also worth reflecting on whystaff might want to leave. Broadly speaking, common reasons can be categorised asstaff:■ Not appreciating (or buying into) the school culture or working environment■ Feeling under-valued—either professionally or personally■ Lacking the support or working conditions to do a good job or to improve■ Facing a lack of career or development opportunities■ Other personal circumstances e.g. finance, relocationBy conducting thorough and effective appraisals, senior leaders can gainunderstanding of staff perceptions of these factors and then move to rectify any issues.Feedback from staff provides a sound basis upon which to reflect upon the culturewithin your school and to consider whether the ethos is conducive to encouraging staffto stay and develop, or perhaps simply to gain professional enjoyment from working.In particular, it’s important to ensure that the school’s ethos is accurately translatedthrough policies and processes"
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Leadership

How to keep your best teachers

4 Oct 2016

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      string(5636) "organisation in order to meet financialand business goalsHaving a health mix based on developing talent already within theorganisation and injecting new talent from outsideHaving a people-led process and personal developmentBeing an employer of choiceTalent management processThe company sees leadership succession as just one element of a process ofmanaging its human capital – an integrated talent-management system withinlinks to performance appraisal, capability (competency) frameworks anddevelopment, learning and training mechanisms. These links ensure a cross-organisational approach to choosing talent and supporting the business-planning process.The choice of terminology is deliberate. The company believe ‘capability’reflects a less mechanical, more behaviourally oriented approach tocompetency development. Likewise, ‘talent management’ encompasses all themany facets of a truly integrated system of people planning.Growing Tomorrow’s School Leaders © Hay Group 2006 page 73 of 78Personal development plans are owned and led by each individual. They areexpected to take responsibility for developing their own ‘brand’, askingthemselves why the organisation would want to develop them for a particularjob or role, and take full advantage of the support mechanisms within thecompany to achieve their aspirations.While the paradox is that these aspirations may ultimately take them outsidethe company, many do stay, and the company’s view is that the advantage ofthis is to enhance its image as an employer of choice.Talent-review and performance-management processes identify any mismatchbetween performance and aspirations through a minimum of four one-to-oneconversations being held each year.Staff satisfaction is one of the organisation’s key performance indicators and islinked to a reward system. Evaluating this is part of the wider process. There isa monthly ‘temperature check’ and an annual survey of employee attitudes.The monthly check involves around 500 employees; the annual survey is acensus of all employees.Current issuesFocus: In business terms, the organisation is trying to achieve a great deal. Itrequires having the self-discipline as an organisation to do the work requiredto maintain effective talent management. To achieve this, the company iscurrently building performance management into the objectives of allmanagers. This mechanism is being devolved throughout the organisation sothat each person has ‘conducting performance management in their team’ asan objective.Transparency versus secrecy: The goal is to be open through what thecompany calls ‘honest dialogue’: “Everyone needs to know where they stand”.Readiness to respond: The ideal is to be ready to respond to new initiativesand ensure they are solid, with connections between each initiative – ‘joined-up thinking’. All documentation is being designed to link each process andeach new initiative as it is taken up.Growing Tomorrow’s School Leaders © Hay Group 2006 page 74 of 78Case Study B: A unitary local authorityThe organisationA unitary local government body deliver services to 290,000 people in its area.It has a workforce of 13,500. Services range widely, from education, youthand sports provision, to roads, cleaning, bridges and property management.Some of its services are contracted out.Change historyThe council has faced continuous, significant change over the past 12 years ormore, from the introduction of compulsory competitive tendering, and BestValue (which called for a major review of all services), to the move towardsworking in partnership with other local services and private contractors.Currently, it is in the middle of setting up a new contact centre for front-lineservices, resulting in a major change in the way that services are delivered.The outcome of this volume of change has been the creation of a very differentorganisation.Leadership succession historyPast succession processes were based on task proficiency. People reached thetop of the pay scale in their field of expertise and were prompted on that basis,rather than on their ability to manage in the future. Because good techniciansdo not necessarily make good managers, that create a problem down the line.Drivers for changeIn an organisation with a high level of turnover due to a perceived lack ofcareer progression, the requirement was for a people-planning framework thataddressed its specific needs and the culture of local government.After a major review in 1996, during which it looked at the competencies ofthe Management Charter Initiative (MCI) and private sector practice, a newcore framework was put in place. While labelled a competency framework, itis an integrated system linked to recruitment and the overall business plan andhas corporate values at its hear.The framework is updated every three years – earlier if the context changes as,for instance, in recognition of the need for a more skilled workforce as a resultof the greater use of information technology.Growing Tomorrow’s School Leaders © Hay Group 2006 page 75 of 78The frameworkThe breadth of the competency framework – essentially an expression of corevalues – provides flexibility for the changing needs of the organisation.The system is both present- and future-focused, and assessment uses 360-degree feedback. There are three management levels, each backed up by acompetency model: chief officers, senior managers and team leaders. At thislevel, typical competencies/qualities include:value diversityvaluing peopleorganisational"
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Leadership

Growing Tomorrows School Leaders: The Challenge

6 Jul 2017