Over the last week the press has taken a renewed interest over the challenges that secondary schools are facing when recruiting specialists. This particularly affects the sciences and maths but now also English, a subject that has been traditionally easier to recruit to. The situation is not much better at Primary where there is now less opportunity to pick the most suitable from a pool of applicants, but rather seeking to mentor and develop those you can get. With class transition looming, it is not a comfortable place for any Headteacher to still have vacant positions to fill with a quickly reducing time to do it in. This alongside knowingly recruiting staff to roles despite having reservations about their ability to be meet expectations creates unwelcome uncertainty.

Last week the Government has published submissions to the Education Committee’s inquiry on teacher recruitment, training and retention. 28 organisations ranging from the EEF and NFER to the Historical Association and the teaching unions have submitted evidence. Many make the point that recruitment and retention challenges are not uniform by phase and subject and recognise that more needs to be done to attract a more diverse and representative workforce that better represents the growing diversity of pupil cohorts. There is unsurprisingly a common agreement that teacher pay, media representation, perceived workload, and the greater availability of more flexible working patterns in other professions are all contributing factors.

However, keeping hold of strong teachers is about more than money or being able to work from home. After all, no other profession offers the same work pattern of regular extended breaks and few the immediate sense of purpose and impact. Camden offers a great place to work on many levels, including the opportunity to work in schools that are part of a wider local partnership in Camden Learning. It is suggested by some researchers that in-school job satisfaction is dependent upon the quality of in-school professional learning cultures that are shaped by school leadership. Teachers are seeking to be valued and a tangible sense of being an effective professional who is making a difference. The EEF point out that the evidence base for school cultures playing a part is weak, a handy summary of their submission here, but nonetheless this is an area where schools have some agency whilst we wait for a meaningful Government response.

One of the quick wins of course would be to resolve the long running pay dispute. Further NEU strikes that have been announced for the 5th and 7th of July unfortunately coincide with the Camden Year 6 transition day. We are currently gathering information from Secondaries over individual school arrangements that can be made which will be shared as soon as we can, inevitably there will be disruption to organised activities this year.

In the meantime, with only a (long!) month now to go until the end of term, make sure you enjoy a break this weekend.

Stephen Hall

Chief Executive Officer, Camden Learning