Optimising Teacher Recruitment for Outstanding Results

Recruiting the right teaching staff is crucial for the success and reputation of any school. Teacher recruitment is a candidate-led market, and there is a lot of competition for the best teachers.

We have written this blog post based on the feedback from teachers we have gathered over 20 years in education recruitment to support you in improving your teacher recruitment process, ensuring your school attracts and selects the best possible talent.

Understanding the Role Requirements

Before initiating any recruitment process, it’s essential to have a clear understanding of what your school needs. This starts with a detailed job description that outlines not just the qualifications and experience required, but also the softer skills that contribute to a teacher’s effectiveness. These might include adaptability, creativity, and the ability to communicate complex information in an accessible way. It’s also important that they fit within the framework of your school’s overarching goals.

Advertising the Role

In a teacher shortage market, a strong job advert not only lists the qualifications, skills and experience the candidate needs to have to apply, but it also describes the school and the department, how teachers share planning, how valued the department is or what their results are like. Adding details about the benefits the school or multi academy trust offers, such as a mentor or INSET days dedicated solely to planning, can make your job advert stand out.

Informal Visits

Offering the possibility to visit the school informally before a closing date is a benefit to you and the potential applicant as this allows you to showcase your school and meet the teacher in a more relaxed setting than a formal interview. The applicant can ask questions which might remove potential barriers to applying and confirm their desire to work at your school.

Application Feedback

To maintain a positive image of your school, it is important to send an email to those applicants who are not shortlisted for an interview, thanking them for their application and giving them some feedback where appropriate. They have taken the time to fill in the application form, therefore, receiving an email shows your appreciation of their time and interest.

Preparing for the Interview

The competition for the best teachers is tough and it’s important to remember that an interview is a two-way street and an opportunity for the applicants to interview you as the representatives of your school. Therefore, not enough emphasis is always given to making the applicants feel welcome, sharing information about your school’s strengths and areas of development honestly but in a positive light, and highlighting any benefits the school or multi academy trust offers such as professional learning opportunities and support for workload and wellbeing.

The preparation and setting of an interview can significantly influence its success. Choose a quiet, welcoming space that is conducive to open, honest dialogue. Interviewers should have access to a comprehensive checklist that includes the candidate’s application, CV, lesson plan and PowerPoint, and specific points to address based on their application.

Additionally, preparing a score sheet in advance to evaluate key competencies during the interview can help maintain consistency and fairness in candidate assessments.

Structuring the Interview

Recommended Stages of the Interview

A well-structured interview typically progresses through several stages:

• Introduction: Set a positive, professional tone and briefly explain the structure of the interview. This is also an opportunity to talk about the benefits of joining your school.

• Teaching Philosophy: Discuss the candidate's educational philosophies and strategies to understand their fit with your school’s ethos.
  

• Situational Questions: Pose scenarios that are likely to occur in your school environment and ask the candidate how they would handle them. This helps gauge their problem-solving skills and adaptability.
  

Types of Questions to Ask

To get a comprehensive understanding of the candidate, mix different types of questions:

• Competency-Based: Focus on past experiences where candidates need to demonstrate their capabilities and results.

• Situational: These questions help you understand how a candidate might deal with specific challenges relevant to your school.
  

• Motivational: Understanding why a candidate wants the position and why they chose to teach helps assess their passion and long-term interest in your school.
  

Assessing Teaching Competencies and Soft Skills

In addition to an interview lesson to evaluate teaching style, classroom management strategies, and ability to engage students effectively, soft skills are equally important in the teaching profession. Are they articulate and clear in their responses? Do they demonstrate empathy and patience? These qualities are indicative of how they’ll interact with students and colleagues, which is crucial for fostering a positive learning environment.

Involving Key Stakeholders

Involving the Head of Department, teachers, support staff, and students in the interview process can provide a well-rounded perspective on a candidate’s suitability. Department members can assess professional competencies and fit within the existing team, while a student panel can provide feedback on the candidate's approachability and communication style.

Making the Decision

How to Fairly Assess Candidates Post-Interview

After all interviews are completed, it’s vital to consolidate the information and impressions gathered throughout the process. Use the predefined scoring sheets and gather input from all involved stakeholders to evaluate each candidate objectively. This structured approach helps minimise biases and ensures that decisions are based on comprehensive data.

Making a Job Offer

Once a decision has been made, communicate promptly with the successful candidate to offer them the position and discuss the next steps. Be prepared for a salary negotiation, requests for further information such as their teaching timetable and to reiterate the benefits for joining your school and the department before formal acceptance of the job offer.

Provision of Candidate Feedback Following Interview

Timely and constructive feedback to unsuccessful candidates provides an excellent candidate experience and maintains a positive image of your school. Attending an interview takes a lot of time and preparation and each interview is a learning opportunity for the applicant. Providing constructive feedback can help applicants in their future applications and it greatly improves the overall candidate experience.

Conducting an effective recruitment process and interviews for teaching positions is not just about selecting the right candidate for the job, but also about highlighting the benefits for joining your school and reinforcing your school’s commitment to quality education and respect for both staff and students.

By preparing thoroughly, structuring the recruitment and interview process carefully, and engaging the wider school community, your school can make informed decisions that enhance its educational environment and uphold its values. Remember, each interview is an opportunity to not only evaluate a candidate but to showcase your school as an excellent place to work.