Teach Secondary 14.4

only for them to leave after a year? To retain our staff, we’ve focused on ensuring that staff workload is manageable by reducing unnecessary marking policies, streamlining data collection and introducing wellbeing initiatives to protect staff from burnout. Teachers also need to see a future for themselves in your school. Providing pathways for professional growth – such as leadership opportunities and funded training courses – has been key for us in being able to maintain an appropriately motivated workforce. Finally, staff are more likely to stay in environments where they feel valued and supported. Simple gestures – such as acknowledging achievements, fostering a strong sense of community and listening to staff feedback – can make a huge difference. Beyond traditional roles Sometimes, when filling vacancies we need to think outside the box. Faced with a persistent shortage of computing teachers, we opted to hire an industry professional with a background in coding, and provided themwith in-school teacher training. This hybrid model ensured that our students received high-quality subject knowledge, while also developing a teacher fromwithin our own school community. Another approach we’ve used is team teaching. Instead of relying on a single teacher for a subject, we’ve created collaborative teaching models where multiple teachers share responsibility for lesson planning and delivery. This has been particularly effective inMFL, where finding full-time teachers can be especially challenging. The role of leadership As school leaders, we must see recruitment as an ongoing process, rather than a reactive exercise. Proactive recruitment means constantly networking and engaging with potential candidates before we even have a vacancy, and ensuring our schools are places where people want to work. A key part of this is telling our school’s story. Why should a teacher choose our school over another?What makes us different?We’ve found that sharing success stories, promoting our culture and highlighting our commitment to professional development through social media and networking events has significantly improved our recruitment outcomes. Recruiting and retaining teachers in shortage subjects will always be a challenge, but through adopting a strategic approach, it’s possible to fill vacancies without compromising on quality. By investing in our existing staff, exploring alternative routes into teaching and fostering a culture where teachers want to stay, we can build resilient teams that provide students with the stability and expertise they deserve. The challenges of recruitment have certainly increased, but then so too have the opportunities for innovating. As leaders, our task isn’t to just fill positions, but to create schools in which great teachers are able to thrive. And when we get it right, the rewards are immeasurable. EXECUTIVE SUMMARY Recruiting and retaining teachers in shortage subjects remains a growing challenge for secondary schools, but by approaching the task strategically, it is possible to maintain curriculum integrity without relying too heavily on supply staff. Successful recruitment starts with understanding your school- wide needs, leveraging your internal talent as much as possible and building a flexible workforce. Developing existing staff, supporting alternative routes into teaching (such as apprenticeships and industry professionals), and making flexible working arrangements available to staff are all strategies that can help fill vacancies effectively, and in a timely fashion. Retaining staff is, however, equally important, and will entail careful consideration of workload management, career development opportunities and the role everyone can play in building a positive school culture. Schools can and should additionally embrace more innovative solutions to the issue of staff shortages. These might include putting in place team teaching arrangements, and/or dedicating time and resources to recruiting internationally, while at the same time proactively networking and promoting their unique strengths in order to better attract candidates. By fostering workplaces in which teachers feel genuinely valued and supported, school leaders can build resilient teams capable of delivering high-quality education for students. Recruitment is no longer just about simply filling gaps, and hasn’t been for some time – it’s about sustaining excellence in the long term. “Wemust see recruitment as anongoing process, rather thana reactive exercise” Anthony David is an executive headteacher 47 teachwire.net/secondary L E A D E R S H I P