Question
1 - What are your
views on whether there is a prevalence in the use of supply
teachers on a planned and unplanned basis?
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The essential
answer to the question is; yes, there is prevalence in the use of
additional teaching and teaching support staff. However, such
use as an additional resource by schools has evolved to such a
degree, that the question almost ceases to have relevance in this
context. The tag “supply teacher” evokes in the
minds of most an outdated image of a substitute teacher being
utilised to cover the absence of a teacher, usually on an unplanned
basis due to sickness - for a day, a few days or sometimes for
longer periods of time. The other common understanding for
the use of “supply teachers” would be for planned
absence, the reasons for which can vary significantly but which can
be categorised broadly as “non-contact time”.
Whilst both remain significant elements in Teaching
Personnel’s support of schools, they represent only part of
the support provided. Schools make use of a whole range of
staffing resources to provide a flexible response to a very wide
spectrum of needs. This flexibility for schools is absolutely
vital. The ability to draw on specialist skills and knowledge
for a specific period of time to support learning outcomes for
pupils without the burden of additional contracted staff on the
school’s payroll is crucial to the success of many schools.
It is in this context that the use of such staff must be
seen.
Teaching Personnel
provides suitably qualified, experienced and fully vetted staff for
such a wide range of situations that the “supply
teacher” identifier no longer really applies. By way of
short example, consider the following services we also
provide:
·
Permanent
recruitment for staff through our “temp to perm
route”.
·
Teaching
Assistants, Learning Support Assistants and other specialised
roles.
·
Attainment &
achievement work through the provision of specific programmes of
one-to-one or small group work for pupils in specific subjects or
with specific learning needs.
·
Specialist SEND
support with staff qualified and experienced in Hearing &
Visual Impaired, PMLD, SEBD, MLD, SpLD, ASC., to name but a
few.
·
Continuity
provision through assessment feedback – the same teachers and
teaching support staff returning to the school to improve learning
outcomes and reduce disruption.
·
Staff
pool sharing between clusters of schools to assist attainment &
achievement.
Without a full
understanding of the whole context of what is contained in any one
school’s “supply spend”, the value for money and
value added benefits and so therefore the cost savings, then such
an enquiry is very likely to fail to answer its own questions
accurately or to any benefit.
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If you believe that this results in problems
(for example, for schools, pupils or teachers), how do you think
they could be resolved?
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Teaching Personnel’s view is that much of
any perceived disruption to the normal school day can be mitigated
through the development of a sound working partnership with the
schools that choose to work with us. We endeavour to
establish contact and create relationships with key members of the
school team, and not just whoever happens to deal with day to day
cover needs. In order to facilitate this partnership we aim
to:
·
Visit the school regularly, meeting
individuals or groups of staff who can provide us with information
that allows us to determine the best sort of teacher or teaching
support staff for the role required.
·
When appropriate, spend time in
classes learning for ourselves, what happens so that we can pass
such information onto our candidates.
·
Feedback from key members in the
school of the performance of our candidates both daily, and
regularly. This will include attempting to gain specific
assessment from Head of Year/ Department/Key Stage, etc., and from
Head Teachers.
·
Report back and in turn gain
feedback from our candidates of their experience in
school.
The area of most potential disruption stems from
the unplanned absence. Our experience shows that the
organisation within the school itself is critical to mitigating
such disruption. How well the school supports the fulfilment
of the absence determines how successful such cover will
be:
·
Is suitable planning in place so
that learning is not interrupted?
·
Is the candidate provided with
suitable information about the lesson, the class, and any
individual pupils who may require specific approaches to
learning?
·
Is suitable support in place for the
candidate carrying out the cover should they require it?
·
Are there suitable reporting
procedures in place to allow the candidate to feed back on the
lesson/class/day?
In any examination of the impact of
“supply” in schools, serious consideration should be
given to the structures in place within a school to support such
need, with any specific oversight and guidelines on the use of
external staff for schools being directed on ensuring that thought
and attention is focused on the support of non-contracted staff in
the school to allow them to deliver positive learning outcomes and
that assessment of the value of any service evaluates quality of
provision to be able to determine true value for money.
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How significant is this issue? (Please select
one option)
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1 – This is a key, urgent
problem.
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§
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2 – This is a problem that
needs to be addressed.
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§
X
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§
3 – This is a minor
problem
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§
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4 – Not a problem.
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§
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Question 2
- What are your
views on the circumstances in which supply teachers are used for
example, the types of classes they cover; the types of learning
activities which take place under the supervision of supply
teachers; whether they are qualified to teach relevant
subjects?
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As noted as part
of the response to Question 1, teaching and teaching support staff
are utilised by schools in significantly varied ways.
In our experience,
schools make use of our staff in 4 key ways:
·
Additional
teaching/learning in support of attainment & achievement (e.g.
Tuition, mentoring, nurturing etc.) This is additional
learning rather than replacement learning.
·
Longer
term role/cover. Many schools now choose to use an extended
period of use through our services to ensure the teacher or
teaching assistant is the right fit before committing to a contract
(in effect a “try before you buy” service), rather than
rely on more traditional forms of recruitment that can be
time-consuming, costly and variable in outcome. Other longer
term roles are typically a fixed period of half a term or longer to
cover absences or need where a contracted teaching role is not a
suitable or desired option. This can be for additional
“bursts” of teaching and learning as above, whilst
assessments are made to establish a pupils learning needs or for
maternity/paternity leave, unexpected resignations, ill-health, and
when other recruitment options fail to find a suitable
candidate.
·
Shorter term roles
not covered above: Release time for CPD or other training and
mentoring, management release time, sabbaticals, jury Service,
shorter periods of absence for minor operations and
illness.
·
Day to
day needs. Non-contact time for various reasons, rarely cover
needs, field trips or excursions, sickness cover.
Given such
variety, there is no ‘one-size fits all’ answer to how
they are utilised. Teaching Staff supplied by us carry out
the full range of teaching and learning that can be encompassed
within a school or education centre.
The qualification
and experience of any staff member carrying out a
“cover” role will vary tremendously depending the
circumstances of need, notice period and subject or specialism
availability.
Within the
Secondary school, a single day of cover may encompass a large
number of curriculum subjects and so specialist knowledge across
all would be impossible. At Primary School level, cover is
likely to be for a single colleague for the day or part day and so
providing a Key Stage or Year Group specialist is usually the
single-most important requirement.
Different schools
have different expectations on what is “acceptable”
cover for day to day needs, or even shorter term needs, both when
using staff internally, as well as use of external staff. The
use of Cover Supervisors at Secondary level especially is
widespread and growing with no particular educational requirement
as set criteria. Primary Schools also make use of HLTA’s and
TA’s to cover classes internally but in our experience seek
qualified teachers when externally sourcing cover.
When cover
requires the use of teaching agencies, then competing concerns are
often a flashpoint for potential issues of quality and suitability.
In Wales in particular, budgetary concerns and pressures,
combined with the migration of the responsibility of overseeing
school cover needs from members of SLT to administration staff (due
to work/time requirements), has seen cost issues outweigh quality
issues. For some managers in schools, the only question for
consideration is the charge rate. This has led to
“charge” competition and other unprofessional practices
that impact candidate pay (teachers in Wales employed through
agencies typically earn far less than colleagues in England),
reduces concerns about quality, true value for money and in many
cases, all three. Teachers in particular being paid at lower
rates will feel undervalued and perhaps less inclined to do their
best in all cases.
Competition of
itself is a positive thing, but if there is no measure of value for
money – i.e the quality of service, the safety and stringency
of recruitment and vetting procedures, the skills and experience of
the teacher or teaching support staff used, the learning outcomes
for pupils, then the whole drive to raise attainment and
achievement is undermined.
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If you believe there are problems in this area,
how do you think they could be resolved?
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Any review of the impact of “supply”
in schools should focus not simply on cost, but must have in place
some mechanism for measuring value for money. This has to
reflect the quality and experience of teachers and teaching support
staff used, the quality of the whole service provided by a teaching
agency, including how stringent its vetting, checking and quality
assurance systems are and the impact (positive or otherwise) on the
learning outcomes of pupils.
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How significant is this issue? (Please select
one option)
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1 – This is a key, urgent
problem.
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§
x
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2 – This is a problem that
needs to be addressed.
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§
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§
3 – This is a minor
problem
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§
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4 – Not a problem.
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§
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Question 3
- What are your
views on the impact of the use of supply teachers on the outcomes
for pupils (including any impact on pupil behaviour)?
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For many pupils,
school can be one of the few stable factors in their lives, and the
importance of their teachers will go well beyond just subject
learning. There will be few occasions when pupils will react
in a wholly positive manner to the idea of their own teacher being
replaced by a “stranger” for the day. How
disruptive this actually is will depend on a number of factors, but
broadly will encompass:
·
The
experience, ability or subject knowledge of the teacher being
utilised.
·
The
expectation of the school for the subject or class being covered
(including the work left or planned).
·
The
support provided to the teacher by the school to assist them in
providing positive learning outcomes.
Well matched
teaching staff (in the case of Teaching Personnel: knowledge gained
through regular visits to the school, meetings with SLT to
understand the school’s requirements, feedback on the
performance of staff we have provided to ensure correct matching,
and ongoing investment in systems, programmes and professional
development to support schools and candidates and the development
of continuity – the same staff going into the school through
our matching and assessment) can at the very least maintain
learning and keep to an absolute minimum any disruption for
pupils.
Poor learning
outcomes, disruption and issues of behaviour will usually be the
result of the failure of one or more of the three factors
above.
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If you believe there are problems in this area,
how do you think they could be resolved?
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·
Ensure schools and agencies focus on
the importance of continuity and candidate matching, and assessment
of performance rather than just “book a body for the
day” mentality.
·
Ensure schools and agencies work
together to improve the communication and expectations of the
learning experience. If staff going into school understand the
discipline policies and procedures, are briefed fully, the work set
or planned for is a continuation of what they have been learning
(as opposed to “basket work”) and they have a full
understanding of what is required of them, learning days
“lost” will be curtailed and behaviour will be far less
problematic.
·
Strike the balance in favour of
value for money when assessing the use of any one
agency.
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How significant is this issue? (Please select
one option)
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1 – This is a key, urgent
problem.
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§
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2 – This is a problem that
needs to be addressed.
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§
x
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§
3 – This is a minor
problem
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§
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4 – Not a problem.
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§
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Question 4
- What are your
views on the Continuous Professional Development of supply teachers
and the potential impact of the National Professional Learning
Model?
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Continuous
Professional Development of teachers and teaching support staff
working on a temporary basis is of vital consideration. With the
majority of such staff being provided through various agencies, the
availability and effectiveness of any CPD can be very
variable. It is also necessary to consider the personal
responsibility of the teacher or teaching support staff member
themselves, since they also need to take a pro-active role within
their own development needs. The NPLM is an excellent step
forward in attempting to develop a framework for professional
development but does not, or so far as I am aware has not yet
addressed engagement of professionals who work on
“temporary” contracts including
“supply”.
At Teaching
Personnel, we have developed our own “CPD Academy”
which seeks to provide our staff with meaningful and useful
additional skills and learning to directly improve their skills and
abilities and so impact positively, learning outcomes for pupils.
Access to such formal training as ReadWriteInc., TeamTeach,
training for work with children with Autism, Manual Handling etc.,
provides our candidates with real opportunities for professional
development. However, it must be borne in mind that most teachers
and teaching support staff who come to us do so for the expressed
purpose of seeking a full time post at a school at some point.
The number of “professional supply” staff –
those who choose such a career as a permanent option are relatively
small. The transitory nature of this work force needs to be
borne in mind. Access to such development is
voluntary.
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If you believe there are problems in this area,
how do you think they could be resolved?
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·
Coordination of required/available
CPD via Consortia/LA made available to all teachers and teaching
support staff irrespective of their contractual status.
·
The development of core CPD for all
that focus’ on “becoming an outstanding educator”
that can be accessed by all.
·
The ability for staff working on
supply to access school/LA/Consortia based CPD at reasonable
cost.
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How significant is this issue? (Please select
one option)
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1 – This is a key, urgent
problem.
|
§
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2 – This is a problem that
needs to be addressed.
|
§
X
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§
3 – This is a minor
problem
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§
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4 – Not a problem.
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Question 5
- What are your
views on performance management arrangements for supply
teachers?
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Currently, if an
allegation of a serious professional misconduct and/or child safety
issue is made against a member of staff on supply then there are
three areas of concern:
1.
There
is no mechanism in place to prevent a candidate working on supply
who is under investigation from continuing to work with children
and/or vulnerable adults if they are registered with multiple
organisations. If Teaching Personnel receives notice of such
an allegation from a school or LA, we immediately suspend the
candidate to prevent them working for us until an investigation is
concluded and an outcome arrived at. The result will either
be an obvious legal or punitive outcome or an outcome that allows
us to determine our own course of action regarding the offer of any
other work for that candidate, and the support that might be
required to address any issue of performance. However, if
they are determined to continue to work (or, in some cases, are
unaware of any investigation due to the request of relevant
investigative bodies) and are registered with other agencies or
even LA supply lists or used direct by schools, then they can do
so.
2.
The
investigative mechanism itself by LA is predicated on the
suspension of staff on full salaries pending outcome. The
vast bulk of staff working on supply have temporary hire contracts
which means if they do not work then they do not get paid.
The speed of the investigative process at times is incredibly
slow. If a candidate is found to have no case to answer and yet has
spent six weeks or longer without work then this can have a serious
impact on their lives.
3.
Because
of the lack of focus on quality and true value for money assessment
by some schools when it comes to “supply” and so
therefore no specific expectation for feedback and assessment of
such staff then performance management will be variable and
essentially down to the quality ethos of any agency employing such
staff. Our own experience has shown that where we have ceased
working with a teacher or teaching assistant over issues of
professionalism or ability that do not have a direct bearing on
child protection, they will often continue to work regularly with
other agencies.
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If you think there are problems in this area,
how do you think they could be resolved?
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1.
Maintain an updated register of
agencies in Wales to be able to alert each of serious
concerns/ongoing investigations regarding supply staff (for
instance via a safeguarding team at GTCW).
2.
Sharing of same from LA and
Consortia to each other.
3.
Education of staff involved in child
safety concerns of the differences in circumstances between
contracted staff and supply staff on suspension, so that wherever
possible and appropriate, investigations are concluded as rapidly
as possible.
4.
Education of school based staff to
aid the development of meaningful feedback and assessment of supply
staff being used.
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How significant is this issue? (Please select
one option)
|
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1 – This is a key, urgent
problem.
|
§
|
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2 – This is a problem that
needs to be addressed.
|
§
x
|
|
§
3 – This is a minor
problem
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§
|
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4 – Not a problem.
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§
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Question 6
- Do you consider
that local authorities and regional consortia have sufficient
oversight of the use of supply teachers?
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The NAO report on
the use of supply teachers made clear that different LA and so by
extension Regional Consortia have not collected or collated data on
the use of temporary staff by schools in the same way, or in some
cases, not at all.
The focus of
LA/Consortia with regards the use of temporary staff should be
aimed at ensuring schools are properly assessing the quality of the
service used, the ability of the staff so placed and the level of
support they receive when working in their school.
Also, other than a
largely ineffective ‘All Wales Agreement’ selection
process, LA’s and Consortia have not sought to scrutinise or
regulate the use or practices of agencies at all and have instead
passed all responsibility onto the Head Teachers of the schools
themselves.
As noted in
answers to prior questions, the range and use of staff by schools
is hugely varied. Our other main concern is not so much sufficient
oversight of the use of supply teachers so much as LA and Consortia
understanding the breadth and nature of the services available to
schools. As noted in question 1 above, the term and use of
“supply teacher” has for some, emotive or outdated
conations that require updating. Individual needs in schools
will be as different as each school.
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If you believe there are problems in this area,
how do you think they could be resolved?
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Such consultations as this will help open
dialogue and communication that should be developed further.
Temporary staff in schools are of vital importance to pupils
in schools, and so any plans to deliver higher quality learning
must include their deployment in schools.
LA/Consortia focus on quality of provision and
true value for money when seeking to address the use of temporary
staff in schools and not seeking a “one size fits all”
procurement route that simply looks at cost. A simple
‘benchmarking’ procedure, which involves scrutiny of
the practices and policies of all agencies seeking to operate under
an ‘approved status’ in each consortia and subsequent
communication of a list of approved companies to the schools within
that consortia would be a huge step in the right direction –
still placing purchasing decisions and responsibility for those
decisions in the hands of Head Teachers, but at least reducing the
potential for the assumptive use of those agencies that have
absolutely no hope of achieving the ‘quality benchmark’
for recruitment practice.
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How significant is this issue? (Please select
one option)
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1 – This is a key, urgent
problem.
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§
|
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2 – This is a problem that
needs to be addressed.
|
§
x
|
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§
3 – This is a minor
problem
|
§
|
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4 – Not a problem.
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§
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Question 7
- Are you aware of
any local and regional variation in the use of supply teachers and
if so, are there any reasons for this?
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As in most parts
of the UK, there are variations in the availability and
distribution of teachers and teaching support staff in Wales.
In general terms, more staff are living and working within
urban centres and so more rural locations will find it less easy to
find suitably qualified or experienced staff.
Teaching
Personnel’s service provides for schools in South Wales.
Schools in Pembrokeshire tell us they find it more difficult to
find suitable staff than in say Cardiff or Newport.
Demands for
subject or year group specific staff will also reflect wider
shortages of such staff – so English, Math’s and
Science-based staff at Secondary are harder to find in all
areas.
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If you believe there are problems in this area,
how do you think they could be resolved?
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Government should focus on the long term need
for teachers using known data in schools as to population trends to
ensure there is an adequate cohort of students in training to match
such demand.
In general, agencies are well placed to find the
candidates they need in innovative ways provided that sufficient
numbers are joining the education profession.
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How significant is this issue? (Please select
one option)
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1 – This is a key, urgent
problem.
|
§
|
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2 – This is a problem that
needs to be addressed.
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§
|
|
§
3 – This is a minor
problem
|
§
x
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4 – Not a problem.
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§
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Question 8
- Do you have any
views on supply agencies and their quality assurance
arrangements?
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Teaching
Personnel’s whole philosophy on its staffing services to
schools is based on a quality focused approach. As noted in
questions above we are aware of the variability of this across the
whole supply agency industry and it is particularly stark where
charge rate is the main or sole focus.
Teaching Personnel
attempts to gain feedback on every candidate we send into every
school every day. Such feedback is then used to
“rate” that candidates effectiveness in that school
ranging from “1” – excellent and school would
like to prioritise this candidate for continuity to “4”
– Do not send back for reasons of ability/professionalism
etc. In addition to this first step in feedback we endeavour
to gain specific and detailed feedback from relevant school leaders
(HOD, Head of Key Stage etc.) on candidates working regularly in
the school, carrying out a longer term role etc. In addition,
regular meetings with schools using specific data in reports for
each school help to assess quality of provision and the candidates
we are providing. Such discussion helps us assess how well we
are doing in supporting a school, any recruitment issues we need to
address and additional CPD we might need to provide or seek in
conjunction with the school.
All such feedback
is discussed with each candidate and helps form our decision making
on the suitability of each candidate to work in specific schools,
and in the case of negative feedback, whether the candidate needs
to seek CPD support in order to improve areas of practice (which we
can often provide) or can even lead us to consider whether the
candidate is suitable for temporary work at all.
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If you believe there are problems in this area,
how do you think they could be resolved?
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As previously noted, Government, Consortia and
LA involvement in the provision of temporary staff in schools
should focus on ensuring that schools assess the impact of
temporary staff in their schools on true value for money criteria,
and not just “how low is the charge rate”
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|
How significant is this issue? (Please select
one option)
|
|
1 – This is a key, urgent
problem.
|
§
|
|
2 – This is a problem that
needs to be addressed.
|
§
x
|
|
§
3 – This is a minor
problem
|
§
|
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4 – Not a problem.
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§
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Question 9
- Are you aware of
any specific issues relating to Welsh medium education? If so, what
are they?
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The main issue in
relation to Welsh medium education in the past has always been the
dearth of suitably trained teachers in the medium of Welsh.
In the last year this situation has improved but remains
problematic, and we are aware of the continuing struggle of some
schools, particularly in the eastern areas of South Wales to find
enough teaching staff.
There is a
tendency by some Welsh Medium schools to reject potential teaching
staff who did not themselves attend Welsh medium Primary and
Secondary schools, in addition to gaining QTS in the medium of
Welsh.
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If you believe there are problems in this area,
how do you think they could be resolved?
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Continued investment in the attraction of
well-educated people into the teaching profession.
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How significant is this issue? (Please select
one option)
|
|
1 – This
is a key, urgent problem.
|
§
|
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2 – This is a problem that
needs to be addressed.
|
§
x
|
|
§
3 – This is a minor
problem
|
§
|
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4 – Not a problem.
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§
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Question
10 - If you had to
make one recommendation to the Welsh Government from all the points
you have made, what would that recommendation be?
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To fully understand and appreciate the full
scope and range of temporary teaching staff used in schools; their
roles, impact and benefits to the learning of pupils. Such a
flexible workforce can have a significant beneficial impact on
pupils and schools. Without this full understanding of how schools
spend some of their budget on “supply”, and a move away
from the outdated notion of exactly what a “supply
teacher” is, then entirely the wrong conclusions can be drawn
which will do nothing to assist the Welsh Government’s drive
for improving learning outcomes for pupils.
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Question
11 - Do you have any
other comments or issues you wish to raise that have not been
covered by the specific questions?
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