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ITEM EX8

EXECUTIVE - 20 APRIL 2004

RECRUITMENT AND RETENTION OF TEACHERS AND SUPPORT STAFF - SCRUTINY REVIEW

Report by Director for Learning & Culture

1. On 14 October 2003 the Executive considered the report of the Learning & Culture Scrutiny Committee on the Review of Recruitment & Retention of Teachers and Support Staff, focusing on the Retention of Teachers and Teachers’ Workloads, and requested a report on the implications of its recommendations. The Review’s recommendations are reproduced as Annex 1 and the headings in bold type in the body of this report refer to those recommendations. Issues are addressed in the order in which they appear in the Review report.
2. Since the Review was completed, implementation of the National Agreement on Raising Standards and Tackling Workload has begun. The Agreement is designed to create time for teachers and headteachers and raise standards. Changes to teachers’ contracts are being phased over three years beginning in September 2003:

• No teacher required routinely to undertake clerical and administrative tasks.
• Provision made for teachers and headteachers to enjoy a reasonable work/life balance.
• Teachers with management and leadership responsibility entitled to a reasonable allocation of time within school sessions to support the discharge of their responsibilities.

• Introduce an initial limit of 38 hours per year on cover for absent teachers.

• Introduce guaranteed professional time for planning, preparation and assessment within normal timetabled teaching time.
• Introduce new invigilation arrangements for external examinations.
• Introduce dedicated headship time.

3. Changes to teachers’ contracts have implications for the work of support staff in schools and will lead to the development of different roles and career structures as remodelling takes place.
4. A National Remodelling Team has been established to support LEAs and schools in remodelling the school workforce through a structured change management process. This process was tested in 32 schools across the country through the Transforming the School Workforce Pathfinder project and Icknield Community College was one of these 32 schools. Ten further schools have now begun this process in Oxfordshire.

Standards and Achievement Issues (Priority 5 in the report)

Implementing a pilot of the key principles of the Icknield Pathfinder Project

5. The key principle for Icknield Community College as a pathfinder pilot school, and the other 31 pilot schools nationally, was that they determine their own solutions to workload issues. Each school approached this in a different way. As a pilot school Icknield also had a substantial budget to experiment with (£197,000) The key lessons have been shared with representatives of schools and associations on the Remodelling Steering Group, with OSSHTA and with secondary school deputies, as well as other groups. The ten early schools in the national remodelling project now begun in Oxfordshire have learned from Icknield's experience. Some liked Icknield's approaches; others were already doing similar things; all are exploring new ways of reducing teachers’ workload and remodelling the school workforce. There is a small sum of money to support this work – but less for this whole project this year than Icknield had as one school. Oxfordshire has been allocated £131,000 for 2003/04 through a Standards Fund grant and £285,131 for 2004/05.

Workload Issues (Priority 4)

Trialling retention incentives in pilot schools

6. As described above, ten schools are exploring workload issues through the national remodelling project.
7. The first phase of the implementation of the National Agreement on Raising Standards and Tackling Workload includes the requirement that teachers must not be "routinely required" to undertake a number of specified clerical and administrative tasks. Monitoring indicates that most Oxfordshire schools have either removed these tasks from teachers’ workloads or have plans in place to do so.
8. From September 2005 schools will need to provide guaranteed planning, preparation and assessment time (PPA) for all teachers. The minimum requirement will be 10% of a teacher’s normal timetabled teaching time. Teachers in secondary schools traditionally have had an allocation of non-contact time which will help to meet this requirement. In primary schools where the majority of teachers have no non-contact time there are particular concerns about the costs of providing this PPA time. The National Agreement makes provision for schools to "use a variety of means to release this time, adjusting timetables and deploying staff flexibly," The resources which will be needed to implement this part of the Agreement have yet to be identified.
9. The review urges the relevant agencies, e.g. the Teacher Support Network and the Government to:

• Promote national campaigns to promote teaching
• Move away from the centralised target setting culture
• Make inspection a less stressful and time-consuming experience, by encouraging greater use of a self assessment process

10. Support for schools’ succession planning is available through the School Development Service – work is in progress on a document setting out a framework for Teacher Development Opportunities in Oxfordshire. A similar framework is also being developed for support staff.

Development of a Career Support Plan

11. There is a detailed handbook available for support staff signposting them to all aspects of career development and support. This has been available for several years and has recently been updated in the light of the workforce remodelling developments.
12. Nearly half of all schools are now recognised or committed to becoming "Investors In People" and are looking to implement this for staff in their schools.

Enhancing links between the LEA and higher education establishments in Oxfordshire

13. There are close and productive links between the LEA and Oxford Brookes University. Most teachers participating in higher education do so through Brookes for several reasons: a Masters degree is cheaper than at Oxford University; Brookes caters for primary and special school teachers, as well as secondary subjects; there is a great deal of flexibility of opportunity through Brookes.
14. The Adviser for Continuing Professional Development (CPD) maintains a list of all activities undertaken with the two universities and attends the termly partnership committee at Oxford University, which was chaired by Professor Richard Pring at the time of the scrutiny report. Under his successor Oxford University has cancelled its programme of CPD opportunities for teachers in order to focus on initial teacher training and research.

Recruitment and Retention National and Local Strategies (Priority 1)

Endorse and Implement National and Local Strategies

15. Funding provided by the Teacher Training Agency is accessed to provide taster courses for people interested in teaching as a career as well as courses for those returning to teaching after a break.
16. Taster courses were provided for 24 people at a cost of £3465 this year. Schools support these courses by providing a day’s experience as part of the programme.

Progress and Monitor features identified in the EDP

17. The Education Development Plan (EDP) is subject to continuous monitoring by those implementing its provisions and termly monitoring by the appropriate Head of Service. In addition, there is an annual review of the EDP to enable any changes or modifications to be made for the next year of the Plan.
18. A more targeted CPD programme for teachers has been developed and is offered in connection with the framework for teacher development opportunities referred to earlier. Schools are advised of target teachers: however, because most CPD is funded by schools, the programme can be offered but the schools choose whether or not to fund teachers’ attendance. There is no centrally held budget for CPD other than for training connected with Government initiatives.
19. One example of targeted CPD which is working well is the framework agreed with Oxford Brookes and Oxford University to accredit NQT Induction year training and second year early professional development courses, leading into a third year masters level qualification. Most of this is funded by schools or teachers themselves.
20. Teachers are encouraged to build portfolios and to apply for accreditation and advancement if they so wish through schemes with Oxford Brookes University, the Advanced Skills Teacher scheme, etc.
21. Schemes to promote improved work/life balance have begun with pilot groups of schools. Six schools have subscribed to the Employee Assistance Programme (EAP) at a cost of £17.50 per member of staff. Eight schools are enrolled in the Well-Being Programme, with a further group, including centrally employed staff, planned to start.
22. A number of schools which had earlier indicated a wish to be involved withdrew due to budget constraints.
23. Briefings for governors on remodelling the school workforce have been offered and taken up by a small number of governors.
24. For the past few years, heads of small schools have been offered some training and conferences with funding for supply cover. The Standards Fund grant used for this finished at the end of the last school year.

Cost of Living Issues (Priority 6)

25. Through the government funded Starter Homes Initiative 87 round 1 and 20 round 2 funding units have been allocated, assisting 101 teachers to purchase housing (in the case of round 2 funding units could be combined up to a maximum of £20,000). The Teacher Recruitment and Retention Officer is fully involved in networking with other "key worker" organisations to increase key worker housing.
26. The County Council travel loan scheme, open to all employees, has been taken up by seven teachers, the majority of whom have used the scheme to purchase bicycles.

Age Profile (Priority 7)

Leavers’ Surveys

27. Improvements are being made to the collection of information about teachers leaving schools through exit surveys and data available through SAP payroll. This will enable more detailed analysis to be undertaken, leading to better targeting of retention strategies. This will involve additional administrative time.

Establishment of officer/teacher/councillor working group

28. A Recruitment and Retention Steering Group, which includes officers, headteachers, and representatives from Higher Education Institutes has been set up. It is not normal practice for elected members to be involved in operational groups such as those set up to implement EDP priorities.

Returners’ courses

29. Returners’ courses for primary and secondary teachers are provided in partnership with Cooper School, Bicester. Returners’ courses are funded by the Teacher Training Agency (TTA).
30. The Early Years Team runs a returners’ course for early years and foundation stage teachers. Early Years teachers are not a TTA priority group and so this does not attract external funding. The cost of providing this course for 25-30 teachers in 2003/04 was £7,200.
31. There are improving links with the private sector and businesses through the Education Business Partnerships and the State Independent Schools Partnerships projects.

Retention (Priority 2)

Development of a cohesive "package"

32. Web-based information about teaching in Oxfordshire emphasises the attractiveness and uniqueness of the County and attracts large numbers of Newly Qualified Teachers to apply to schools through the NQT Brokerage scheme. In 2003 291 NQTs applied through the scheme. To date over 100 have already registered their interest in working in Oxfordshire schools this year.
33. Secondments, teacher exchanges, and sabbaticals - these activities require funding that is not currently available. One DfES grant last year for a sabbatical was taken up.

Development and Implementation of Strategies

34. As already described information about teaching in Oxfordshire emphasises the attractiveness and uniqueness of working in the County.
35. A pilot group of schools are engaged in either the Well-Being Programme or the Employee Assistance Programme (EAP).
36. The response to the recent employee survey from teachers (39%) was higher than the overall response rate for the County Council (35%).

RECOMMENDATIONS

37. The Executive is RECOMMENDED to endorse the actions taken as described in the report and note the progress made to date.

KEITH BARTLEY
Director for Learning & Culture

Background papers: Nil.

Contact Officer: Jane Watret, Education Officer (Recruitment & Retention) tel: 01865 816215

April 2004

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