I hope you had an excellent break and the first week back has been a good one. The Summer term is always busy, and next week we have our schools music festival at the Albert Hall to look forward to. We are also pleased to have Jemima Wade from Argyle School stepping up to lead our Every Child Reading by 7 initiative continuing the strong work started by Kathy Bannon, and to be able to welcome Andy George who has now started as our Director of Learning.

At this time of the year teacher recruitment is in full flow. The NFER published their annual report on the teacher labour market at the end of last month. The findings will be familiar to school leaders who have been struggling with the recruitment of quality candidates, more concerning is the drop in applications for teacher training. The report outlines some of the factors thought to be impacting on recruitment and retention, with teacher pay being top of the list. Teacher workload continues to be perceived to be higher than that of other graduate professions despite the practical changes that have been made to address this in schools over the last few years. Whilst the pandemic slowed the loss of teachers from the profession, the attractiveness of roles that allow for an element of flexible and home working is a new challenge.

The Camden Education Strategy sets out an ambition for knowledgeable and skilled teachers and leaders who love working and learning in Camden. This is underpinned by research that shows the positive impact of professional development and opportunities to co-design improvement initiatives on job satisfaction. Do make sure you read Christine’s item below which sets out the next steps for working together to develop a Camden school report as part of a new accountability system for schools. This follows on from her presentation at our Brighton conference. Making sure that Camden is a place where teachers want to work can be supported through career progression, and high quality development and training. In the coming year we will continue to work with you to provide an enhanced early career framework that seeks to retain new teachers, alongside developing communities of practice through our subject networks and school led hubs. Monthly breakfast briefings start at the end of May as a chance for school leaders to learn from each other through visits to different settings. Details and a link to sign up are below.

The question of salaries can only be resolved through central government decision making. The NEU has announced new strike days on 27th April and 2nd May and the DfE has updated its strike guidance to provide further information on prioritising pupils, the law on industrial action and picketing, providing free school meals to eligible pupils and calculating pay deductions for part time workers. As before we are asking that you let us know your school status on these days by using this short online form.

Thank you for all that you are doing. Enjoy the weekend.

Stephen Hall

Chief Executive Officer, Camden Learning