The challenge
We’ve provided the council with a recruitment service for seven years, and at peak, had 40 tutors employed by Reed on a temporary basis, who teach up to 150 students with various special educational needs. The tutors are the sole educators of these children, working closely with each child to both teach and help them transition back into their original educational setting.
In December 2019 we were approached by Caerphilly County Borough Council (CCBC), who were operating under new management, as they wanted to reduce costs across the service. The council needed to scale back tuition and transition students working with Reed tutors to tutors employed directly by the borough.
On working on this brief, our Reed Account Manager Natasha Webber said: “Even though their initial brief was to reduce our teaching supply to them, I ensured the team of tutors and I worked our hardest to carry out the brief in the most professional manner. I wanted our tutors to act as impartial mediators and become the strong link between parent and internal tutor.
“It has been important when a new referral or cover has been requested by the client, that is filled promptly. I make myself available as and when the client needs information or needs answers to queries they may have. I try to be as approachable as I can and have built up relationships with each manager within Caerphilly Council.”
They are a very friendly team and I very much enjoy working with them.
Senior Administrative Officer, EOTAS, CCBC
The solution
We were asked to complete the transition within a five-week timeframe. Our education recruitment experts’ flexible approach meant we were able to act fast and meet the clients’ needs well within the deadline.
We reduced the hours our tutors worked with the children significantly to allow them to act as mediators, helping the children, their parents, and the new internal tutors to adapt to the changing situation.
Despite the prospect of losing their assignments, our Reed tutors – some of whom had been with the programme since its inception – always remained professional. Their impartiality enabled them to provide a strong link between all parties involved. The tutors worked closely with each new internal tutor on a one-to-one basis to ensure they were au fait with each case. They shadowed visits, shared notes, and worked to integrate the new tutors with each child.
Mrs Christine Edwards, a Home Tutor with Reed highlighted her appreciation of the team throughout the transition, she said: “I cannot thank the education team at Reed enough for their continued support and guidance. They are always professional and efficient. The management team has been a wonderful source of laughter and strength at times when I have needed them to be, both professionally and personally.
“I would always use Reed’s education specialists because they have proved themselves to be an excellent agency to work through. I know I can rely on them.”
The results
While our tutors remained impartial to the changes, parents, and the children themselves were unhappy and raised their concerns. In these cases, Reed tutors directed communication or views any parents/guardians had toward the internal tutor for useful discussions to take place. As a result of the high amount of parent complaints and concerns, weekly panels were held within CCBC. In these meetings, discussions took place to determine whether each child would fare better under home tuition with a Reed tutor for 10 hours, or under digital learning.
On the last day of the transition, the council made the final decision to continue with our service.
Amy Baker, Senior Administrative Officer, EOTAS, at CCBC said: “We asked Reed to work with us to transition our children from working with Reed tutors to our own internal tutors. Reed successfully completed the task, however, after feedback from parents and the children themselves, we decided to uphold our service with Reed to continue to support those involved the scheme.”
To further assist the client and help them with their cost reduction requirement, our tutors changed their working patterns to provide 70 days per academic year teaching each child one-to-one and 14 days of the year using digital learning, creating a bespoke and flexible resource.
This dynamic approach to our client’s needs not only meant we were able to offer solutions fast, but we were also able to assist at every stage of the project.
