REC Education – Top 7 Priority Areas for Supply Teacher Agencies

A number of key messages came out of the last REC Education meeting. Discussions focused on both immediate priorities for the sector (such as new vetting requirements) and on what the longer term changes to the education landscape might mean for supply teaching agencies.

In summary, some of the main areas covered at the last meeting are as follows:

1. We are making progress on Disclosure & Barring Service (DBS) – Out of just under 100 recruiters at the last meeting, around 50% said that they thought schools had limited awareness, with a further 50% saying that schools had virtually no knowledge at all. The need to raise awareness amongst employers and candidates is something we have been taking forward for a number of months. Recent confirmation from DBS that they will be implementing specific measures to raise awareness is good news but more needs to be done.

2. Recruiters can fill the ‘information void’ – Profession John Howson, Senior Research Fellow at the University of Oxford’s Department of Education and chair of the REC Education Advisory Panel, highlighted the fact that ‘fragmentation of the education landscape has created a huge void’ in terms of support structures and information sources for schools. With links to local authorities now mostly eroded, where can schools go to get advice and a clear steer on regulatory changes and market developments? One conclusion was that specialist recruiters and professional bodies can fill this void.

3. Changes to pay & conditions will have huge implications for schools and recruiters – Stewart McCoy, Chair of REC Education underlined the fact that “pay changes may have an immediate impact on how equal treatment requirements under AWR are met”. The implementation of performance related pay will also create a huge change within schools and will radically impact on the skills needed by schools governors and heads.

4. Broad changes to the education landscape will create opportunities for specialist recruiters – Technology will play in increasingly pivotal role in the classrooms of the future and there will be significant changes to what and how children are taught.  Ty Goddard, Director and Founder of the Education Foundation (the UK’s only specialist education think-tank), argued that “the classroom would change beyond recognition over the coming years but that “the pillars of any successful education system are great leaders and great teachers”.

5. An immediate priority is to pre-empt curriculum changes and future demand – There is already an acute shortage of teacher in specific disciplines. Staffing needs within schools will evolve as new the new curriculum puts the onus on key areas such as technology (including coding skills), science and languages. Pre-empting future high-demand areas will provide a competitive advantage to specialist agencies.

6. The REC Audited Education tool is building real momentum and external recognition – The feedback from members who have been through the audit has been extremely positive. Simone Payne, REC Education Vice-Chair underlined the need to “continue actively promoting the initiative to schools and use external events to promote safeguarding issues”. As part of the awareness-raising drive, the REC spoke at this month’s Westminster Education Forum event, which brought together 200 representatives from schools, academies, local authorities and teaching unions.

7. Onshore intermediaries consultation moves to the next stage – Our response to HMRC’s consultation on ‘onshore intermediaries and false self-employment’ was submitted earlier this month.  REC Senior Policy Advisor Ben Farber outlined our calls on government, “to delay implementation, rethink the legislation and ultimately introduce a form of end-user liability to ensure maximum compliance”. We will continue to monitor implications for REC Education and to ensure that members are up to date with all developments.

With the schools landscape continuing to evolve, the work of REC Education will continue to feed into topical discussion areas such as teacher shortages and safeguarding. The ongoing feedback from specialist recruiters will ensure that our industry’s voice is at the forefront of some of the key debates mentioned above.