Over the past decade, the overall number of teachers in state-funded schools has not kept pace with increasing pupil numbers.
This means the pupil to teacher ratio increased from 17.1 in November 2010 to 18.0 in November 2022. In addition, the teacher vacancy rate has risen over this period – showing just how critical it is to make sure your recruitment strategy hits the mark.
Working with an experienced, specialist recruiter is a great way to make sure that you’re accessing the biggest talent pool possible. An education recruitment specialist should also be a great source of information and insight that can really help your school increase its offer to students.
Reed’s national network of education recruiters work with over 10% of UK schools, and understand the complex requirements of the classroom – with many of our experts coming from a teaching background themselves.
So why use a specialist education recruiter?
1. Unrivalled knowledge of the teacher recruitment landscape
When it comes to outsourcing recruitment, some sectors and industries need that specialist touch – none more so than education. As we know, staff recruitment and retention are some of the biggest challenges facing the education sector, so knowing where to look and how to position your school or trust as an ‘employer of choice’ is crucial when talent is difficult to obtain.
Specialist recruiters bring experience working with a large number of schools, and can utilise their rounded viewpoints to help source and pinpoint professionals they believe will work well with your institution, working to enhance your offer to students, parents and other key stakeholders.
Reed offers best-in-class teaching staff across early years, foundation, primary, secondary and SEND settings, a national office network spanning across the UK, and access to more than one million teaching professionals through Reed.co.uk – including high-demand subject specialists in STEM and English. With ongoing challenges facing schools, working with a specialist recruiter like Reed will help you secure the staff your institution requires.
2. Workforce planning handled
Over the past year, we have seen some of the most significant changes to the education workplace. The impact of staff shortages continues and with so much uncertainty surrounding the sector, workforce planning can be challenging.
But schools still need to prepare for the future, to position themselves for any eventuality or outcome. Placing your recruitment strategy on hold for too long could have a negative effect on student attainment and the future success of your talent acquisition strategy.
Working alongside a specialist recruiter can help keep attraction and retention at the forefront of your ethos, they can offer regional and national market insights, give you an in-depth understanding of salary trends for benchmarking, alongside advice on combatting your school’s skills shortages and enhancing your employer branding.
It's important to remember that, above all, school leaders have a duty to ensure their efforts contribute to achieving optimal pupil outcomes – specialists are on hand to help you achieve just that and make sure those professionals you hire match the ambition of your school.
3. Assured compliance procedures
There will always be an ongoing commitment on behalf of school leaders to make sure that those you recruit into your institution are suitable and appropriate. It’s essential that when looking for talented professionals, people are thoroughly vetted to a high standard to protect your school and its students.
Working alongside an education recruiter can help to alleviate some of the pressure that comes with finding suitable candidates and ensures you can hire confidently knowing that every aspect of safe recruitment is covered. Having had a specialist recruitment division for nearly 30 years, quality and compliance are at the core of Reed’s culture.
The entire compliance process used by Reed’s education team, who are an accredited member of APSCo Compliance+, adheres to ‘Safer Recruitment in Education’ and ‘Keeping Children Safe in Education’ regulations, helping you to maintain the high standards of your school.
A specialist recruiter will be dedicated to providing you with the highest level of governance for the safe delivery of learning, giving you the reassurance you need.
4. Ability to manage whole school recruitment
Working with an education recruitment specialist goes way beyond the sourcing and hiring of teaching staff – they can also help you source staff for all non-classroom-based roles. From teachers to teaching assistants, intervention specialists, receptionists and caretakers – a specialist recruiter, like Reed, can cater its service to meet your bespoke requirements.
Reed has a long history in working in partnership with clients, including as a preferred supplier, or as part of an approved list of suppliers for the school, multi- academy trust (MAT) or local authority. For those looking for a complete recruitment solution, Reed has expertise in the provision of managed service programmes (MSP).
This isn’t a new process, as Reed already has MSP infrastructures in place and fully operational, alongside being on four main education contract frameworks:
Crown Commercial Service (CCS)
Yorkshire Purchasing Organisation (YPO)
Eastern Shires Purchasing Organisation (ESPO)
Crescent Purchasing Consortium (CPC)
These frameworks allow your school to benefit from a tailored, industry-specific solution for years to come.
Final thoughts
When it comes to talent attraction and retention in education, school leaders need to do everything possible to ensure they continue to provide high-quality education standards and achieve positive outcomes for their students – without the right staff this wouldn’t be possible. Working in partnership with a specialist makes talent acquisition more manageable.
Using a dedicated education recruitment expert will give you direct access to a wider talent pool, up to date labour market trends and guidance, and help alleviate the overall stress of recruiting in what is an increasingly candidate-short market.
Looking for the right staff to join your school? We can help you get September ready. Speak to one of our specialist consultants today.
