Whilst there are many challenges in the education sector, here are some key issues that most schools face, and what we do as an education recruitment agency to help tackle them together.

Shortage of staff

There is no doubt about it that schools are finding it tough to fully staff their schools. There have been many efforts to help overcome this, such as the government’s Teacher Recruitment and Retention Strategy, and we saw an influx of teacher training applications at the start of the pandemic. However, the jury is still out as to whether these will bring the numbers of teaching staff that the sector requires.

This leaves schools in the increasingly difficult position of trying to fill vacancies and organise supply staff. At ABC Teachers, we are doing all we can to help. We’re continually growing our staff pool, which currently has almost 7,000 registered teachers and support staff, to ensure we can offer schools the best qualified and experienced staff. They go through our stringent vetting and clearance checks, so they are ready to go when you need them the most.

Education recovery

Many children and young people have lost out on valuable education during the pandemic and unfortunately some of them are finding it much harder than others to catch up. And although the government’s ‘Opportunity for all: strong schools with great teachers for your child’ white paper will provide more support in core subjects areas like literacy and maths, there is still an enormous pressure on schools to deliver and get these pupils learning up to the level required. Since the pandemic, we’ve been supporting schools as best we can with education recovery, including providing a range of tuition packages. Our packages provide face-to-face or online tuition, small group or one-to-one support - whatever is required for the pupils who need to catch up the most.

Support in difficult times

With a cost-of-living crisis upon us, and in a sector already facing a multitude of challenges, schools and their staff need support more than ever. They need supporters who will listen, they need a friendly approach and most of all they need expert, honest advice to help navigate them through the turbulent times. That’s exactly what we do. We work closely with schools to listen and understand their unique needs as that enables us to match them with staff that will suit them the best. We are the supporters who have been here since 2008, by providing specialist advice to help make recruitment easier and to make a positive impact in education.

Quality of staff 

Schools require excellent staff who can manage the increasingly complex needs of the classroom. Especially when it comes to supply staff, schools need staff who can hit the ground running at a moment’s notice, take changes in their stride and adapt to the pupils’ skills, abilities and behaviour. Is that too much to ask? We don’t think so. We offer free CPD to develop our supply staff’s skills, knowledge and experience. The training helps keep them at the top of their game and fit in seamlessly with any school they may work in.

We are always looking for what more we can do, and we are always looking for more schools to help. If you want to find out more about working with us, we’d love to hear from you - call your local branch today.