Our recent exposé on agency fees charged to schools generated much heated debate from schools, agencies and teachers. Now it's the teachers' turn. Here we’ll shine a light on the other side of the coin -- agency supply teacher pay, and the often indecipherable fees, deductions and accruals that appear each week on the payslips of agency [...]
The Challenge Many schools use agency staff on a long-term basis. In fact, some agency staff can work in schools for years and still be 'on the agency's books'. This incurs a massive accumulation of cost that's crippling school budgets and hurting teachers – but it's been the price of having off-payroll staff for [...]
"At a time when our schools have to ask parents to give extra money for books and classroom essentials, it’s crazy we’re spending half a billion pounds a year just on agency fees. That money should be spent on teachers and the badly needed resources our children need to get a world class education" [...]
Introduction Outrage at public sector cuts is now so routine, that it’s hard to feel any authentic anger towards the government. But ire, in this instance, is appropriate. With school funding set to remain flat for the next two years despite inflation, schools are fated to have to make their own cuts – most worryingly, [...]
Over the weekend I was delighted to spy this brave blog post on Teacher Toolkit, the UK’s most followed education blog. Titled ‘Why Supply Agencies are the new ‘Del Boys’’, it is as forthright as it is faithful to the facts in summarising the current state of play in how agencies and schools interact. Numerous issues in this dynamic [...]
Technology is a divisive subject among teachers. Some are ardent acolytes, fully persuaded of its ability to change the educational landscape, introducing students to new experiences and dissolving the orthodox approach to schooling that remains dominant in Anglo-American schools. Others are deeply sceptical, sensing a fad in full flow – tech will never [...]
The education recruitment crisis has been on everyone’s mind for some time. Blame for it is loudly thrown around in all directions with the unions and the government blaming agencies, schools blaming the government and agencies, and agencies and the government blaming schools. All this noise is unhelpful if we’re really looking for solutions. Pressure on school funding is applied from the top down. The [...]
What keeps a professional relationship healthy? Much the same as a personal one, as it turns out. But in a crisis, desperation can cause us to forget our values in favour of ‘sticking plaster’ solutions. For maximum benefit for pupils, relationships between schools and teachers ought to embody certain core characteristics. They should be: 1. [...]
Bzzz bzzz bzzz. I’m sorely, sorely tempted to bash that snooze button again. But this time it’s the phone, and one of my teaching agency consultants. She’s reeling off a jumbled list of instructions and information that it’s far too early for and which is consequently only sort of half going into my brain all [...]
