Teaching Talent: Steps To Attracting and Retaining Talent In 2024

While the government needs to address these challenges to ensure a stable and effective education system, schools are looking at ways to improve recruitment and retention. What steps can your school take to help combat teacher shortages, attract new teaching talent, and retain your best teaching staff?

Market your school

Although recruiting quality teaching staff in 2024 is challenging, it’s not impossible. There are steps your school can take to sharpen up its processes and attract excellent teaching staff. It starts with keeping your website up-to-date. Websites are ‘shop windows,’ and it is easy to cater the content only to prospective parents. Ensure there is information for potential teaching candidates too. School social media channels are also a good way to share school success stories.

Consider teacher retention strategies

Identify best practices for retaining teachers. Retention rates vary between schools. Some schools excel in keeping their teachers engaged, especially in skills - short areas such as STEM. Investigate these success stories. Develop initiatives to retain existing staff through mentorship and staff recognition programmes.

Invest in Continuous Professional Development (CPD)

Teacher onboarding shouldn’t be skipped. Onboarding is essential to ease new teachers into their role and make them feel welcome and supported in your school. New teacher induction programmes lead to higher teacher retention rates, faster professional development, and better student learning outcomes.Empower existing staff with training programs and workshops to enhance teaching skills. Personal development activities that contribute to job satisfaction, include:

• Performance management

• Access to CPD

• Coaching

• Mentoring

Professional development activities should:

• Have a high content focus

• Involve active learning

• Have a sustained duration

• Include collective participation

• Offer ownership

Non-specialist teachers can also become experts over time with appropriate training. Access to ongoing CPD often needs improvement. Successful schools prioritise professional development opportunities for all teachers, regardless of their expertise.

Flexible teaching opportunities

Implementing flexible teaching models, such as part-time or remote teaching opportunities, enables teachers to balance their professional and personal commitments. This approach not only attracts a diverse pool of talent but also accommodates the evolving needs of teachers in a dynamic work environment.

Improve engagement

Teacher wellbeing and motivation are linked to their working environment. A collaborative school culture characterized by mutual support goes some way to increasing quality teacher numbers. Including teachers in the decision-making that impacts their professional life can make them more satisfied in their jobs, impacting how they engage in the classroom.

Teacher wellbeing

Healthy work environments have less absenteeism. By enhancing staff mental health and wellbeing, schools will invest in their future by increasing staff retention rates ensuring a consistent teaching experience for their pupils. Schools that implement strategies to promote mental health, wellbeing, and physical health will benefit from improved teacher retention and better candidate attraction.

Utilise supply teachers

It is no surprise that in 2024, the use of supply teachers forms a part of school recruitment strategies. Supply teachers are fundamental to schools. They help cover teacher absences, and vacant roles, providing cover for teacher shortages. Supply teachers can cover instances ranging from maternity leave and long-term sickness to recruitment and vacant positions

Consider specialist teaching and support staff

In an age of teacher shortages, support staff can help schools. Teachers face teaching mixed-ability pupils with different needs and behaviours. Specialist SEN teachers, qualified teaching assistants, and tutors can help relieve the pressure on teachers. They give support to the pupils and their teaching colleagues.

Streamline recruitment processes

Write a clear and concise job description and be transparent about job requirements. For the ‘required skills’ section, include skills essential to the role. Avoid listing too many ‘requirements’ that may deter candidates. Aim to give candidates an understanding of what a day in the life of a teacher at your school would be like. Make use of creative recruitment campaigns and platforms to attract qualified teachers. When needed, use supply teachers, agency teachers, and teaching assistants to help with staff shortages.Teacher shortages have far-reaching consequences, including overburdened teachers, large class sizes, and inequalities, to name a few. Solving teacher shortages needs a multifaceted approach, including school-led interventions. Holden Knight Education partners with schools to provide services that address this challenge. We work with early years, primary, secondary, SEND and alternative provision schools to provide short-term supply, long-term cover or permanent staff.Contact us today: https://holdenknight.com/education/contact