We are the Children, Education and Home Affairs Scrutiny Panel. It's our role to scrutinise Jersey's government on matters of public importance, policy and legislation which falls within these remits.
Teacher Recruitment and Retention is one of the key issues that the Panel wanted to examine in relation to the Education System. In June 2019 the Panel was told that 154 teachers had handed in their notice as of 31st May 2019. This number represented 20% of the teaching workforce. The Minister for Education later confirmed that this number was inaccurate and only 69 vacancies had actually occured. By September 2019 only seven vacancies remained, but the Panel agreed that further investigation was required into this particular area
In order to examine this issue, the Panel agreed that it would do so by looking at the data available and also by speaking to teachers and lecturers directly to gather their views
EVIDENCE CONSIDERED
We wrote to all the Head Teachers in the Island to get their views on the successes and challenges in relation to Recruiment and Retention of Teachers. We also wrote to the Education Unions and conducted a public call for evidence
We requested data in relation to teacher recruitment and retention from the Minister for Education.
We commissioned a local research company called 4Insight to conduct focus groups with current and former teachers to gather their views. 37 people took part from across the various sectors of the teaching profession.
We questioned the Minister for Education at a public hearing about the findings of the focus groups and the submissions
What did the data about teacher recruitment and retention tell us?
The following section explains our findings and recommendations about the data that exists in relation to teacher recruitment and retention in Jersey
What does the data tell us?
We found that there is a lack of clarity in relation to the data surrounding teacher recruitment and retention. Specifically, there appears to be a lack of data in relation to the reasons why teachers and lecturers are leaving the profession. We also found that the exit interview process is not particularly effective, with only 20% of the staff leaving in 2019 undertaking one. The Panel has recommended that urgent attention is given to collecting stronger and accurate data as well developing a fit for purpose exit interview process.
Whilst the figures show that there has been a relatively stable teacher headcount over the past five years, there are concerns that schools are having to focus on declaring headcount and the number of full-time equivalent staff rather than meeting the needs of the school and community. There is also a lack of part-time and job share opportunities within teaching which may act as a disincentive to retain experienced staff. The Panel has recommended that the Minister should clarify the issue of FTE and headcount and give priority to expanding part-time and job share opportunities to enable further flexibility in schools.
The data also showed that there is often a small pool from which to recruit teachers. However, the Jersey Graduate Teacher Training Programme has been highlighted as a success with 88% of the staff trained since 2011 still teaching in Jersey.
Recruitment of Teachers in Jersey
The following section highlights the main themes from the focus groups and submissions about the successes and challenges of recruitment of teachers in Jersey
Cost of Living
We found that whilst there is a perception that the salary and annual leave entitlements for teachers in Jersey were higher than other jurisdictions, and that Jersey was seen as a safe place to live and work, the cost of living on the Island and impact this had (especially on recruitment from overseas) was one of the biggest issues facing recruitment of staff. Whilst the 'raw' salary bandings for teachers may be higher than elsewhere, dependent on individual circumstances (e.g. childcare, housing and medical requirements etc.) it could be argued that some teachers are worse of in real terms than comparative figures elsewhere.
This concern is shared by all parties who contributed to the review, including the Minister for Education. The focus groups found that cost of living acted as a disincentive for teachers to remain in the profession, especially with the lure of higher salaries in the finance industry. This is an issue which requires a long-term solution, not just in Education but across the Island as a whole.
We found that the starting salary for Newly Qualified Teachers (NQT's) was cut in 2017 and no information exists to detail the median graduate starting salary in Jersey. We recommend that the Minister for Education undertakes research to establish the median graduate starting salary in Jersey by individual sector and the Island as a whole. This should then be used as the starting point for any consideration in relation to the starting pay of NQT's.
Difficult recruitment process
We found that all parties (including prosepective employees and hiring managers) had a negative experience of utililsing the Government of Jersey recruitment software. It was identified as being time consuming and an inefficient process which we concluded is not fit for purpose.
In response to this finding we were told that £28 million has been set aside in the Government Plan over the next four years as part of a wider Integrated Technology Solution project (which will seek to replace the current software) to tackle a number of issues across the Government Systems.
We have recommended that consultation is undertaken with recruiting managers at all levels to gather views on what a suitable and successful recruitment package should look like.
Human Resources Process
We found that the Human Resources (HR) Process in general was identified as not being as effective as it could be in supporting recruitment. Again, further funding has been identified in the Government Plan in order to support improvements in this area.
We also found that there was a mixed opinion about the relocation package for teachers recruited from overseas. Some felt that the information given to them was comprehensive, whilst others felt that very little information was given to them.
We have therefore recommended that an HR Professional with specific knowledge of the challenges and issue faced by the education system oversees the development of recruitment strategies in education. These strategies should also give consideration to the wider family circumstances associated with a person being recruited from overseas.
Retention of Teachers in Jersey
The following section highlights the main themes from the focus groups and submissions about the successes and challenges of retaining teachers in Jersey
Part-time & Job Share issues
We found that a large number of concerns were raised by the focus groups about the lack of part-time and job share opportunities available to teachers and lecturers in Jersey. This was felt to hamper the retention of staff. We also found that there is a lack of clarity over who ultimately makes decisions over any appeals for rejected claims for part-time requests.
We recommended that the Minister for Education should clarify how part-time and job share opportunities are enabled, with an emphasis on the application of flexible working.
Support should also be provided to Head Teachers and a 'can-do' attitude adopted to enable wider part-time and job share opportunities with less emphasis being placed on declaring headcount and FTE.
Teachers feeling undervalued
We found from the focus groups that teachers and lecturers often felt undervalued for the work that they do. One participant in the focus groups even stated that taking part in them was the first time they had felt listened to as a teacher. It was felt that this issue seriously impacts staff wanting to remain in the profession.
We found that there have been three Teachers surveys undertaken since 2015, however, we have recommended that further qualitative approaches to gathering the views of teachers are adopted (e.g. focus groups). The purpose of this should be to help develop and identify improvements and outcomes that promote a genuine value in the profession.
High levels of scrutiny
We found that there is a conflicting view between the findings of the focus groups and submissions and that of the Education Leadership in relation to the perception that teachers are being placed under high levels of scrutiny in the work that they do.
Another finding of the focus groups was that a number of teachers felt that the expectations being placed on them in respect of their roles were extreme and too much was being asked of them.
We recommend that an urgent revaluation of the aims of teacher performance scrutiny is undertaken in order to ensure the processes in place are being consistently applied. We also recommend that any scrutiny should promote a culture of collaborative support as opposed to one of top down judgement. Funding must be made available to enable further professional development where required as well.
Teacher Workload
We found that teacher workload was highlighted as one of the biggest barriers to the retention of staff and many felt that the current model and workload for teachers was unsustainable. The Minister for Education also acknowledged that an average working week for a teacher is in the region of 60 hours per week.
Many also felt that the lack of business and pastoral support in schools was preventing teachers from actually teacher due to the amount of additional administrative processes they were being asked to undertake. This also included a feeling that there as a lack of support to deal with students with complex and additional needs. The Minister has acknowledged that the inclusion model for schools must be addressed and we have recommended that this takes a multi-agency approach to better target support for students to the agencies best placed to assist them.
We have also recommended that the Minister identifies clear long-term actions to reduce the workload of teachers and improve well being. The Minister for Education should also identify funding to urgently increase the business support for a schools with the intention of freeing up teachers from undertaking tasks that are not directly related to their key role of teaching in the classroom.
Progression route and CPD
We found from the focus groups that many felt there was a narrow progression route for teachers and many staff were having to take on additional responsibilities without the corresponding progression or promotion. This was highlighted alongside limited opportunities for teachers to undertake continued professional development (CPD) due to the timings of the school day and already high workload.
We have recommended that the Minister for Education reviews the current CPD arrangements for teachers and lecturers and explores the implications of increasing access to it, both on and off Island. This should also ensure that time is allocated within existing timetables for staff to share best practice within and across the different establishments on the Island (and abroad).
Poor pupil & student behaviour
We found that there is evidence to suggest poor and abusive pupil behavior is becoming an increasing challenge for the retention of teachers. Whilst we found that policies are in place in order to tackle these issues, the lack of a full exclusion policy in the Island was of great concern to teachers. It was felt that this could allow for students, that had been physically violent to staff, to end up back in the very same school that the incident took place.
We have recommended that the Minister for Education gives consideration to providing the option of full expulsion from and school or college on the condition that a specific provision, separate to the schools, is brought forward to focus on addressing the underlying issues of the young person with their interest at its core.
Lack of funding
We found that many felt a lack of funding within the education system was affecting the retention of staff and also created the situations which led to increased workload and additional pressures on teachers to take on further tasks.
The Minister for Education has commissioned an independent school funding review and is in the process of developing an action plan to bring forward the recommendations arising from it.
We have recommended that all recommendations within this report are actioned as soon as practicable, with a view to having additional funding for schools in place in January 2021.
Ultimately, we found that poor recruitment and retention of teachers has a direct impact on students, their learning, behavior and feeling of security.
CONCLUSIONS
We recognise the immense hard work and dedication of teachers and lecturers in Jersey and would like to place on record our thanks to all those who work to educate the Island's children and young people.
There is fundamental belief from the evidence we received that children and young people deserve to be taught by teacher and lecturers who are valued and have a genuine access to opportunities to help develop them as professionals.
We have concluded that in order to achieve this there must be a greater recognition or the value of the profession and significant increases in funding within education to support it.
There should also be a re-examination of the culture within the education system which appears to have created a number of barriers that prevents teachers and lecturers from delivering their key objective of providing children and young people with an inspirational education.
We would like to thank everyone that contributed to our review, especially those who took part in the focus groups and all the Islands teachers. We would also like to thank 4insight for managing and delivering the focus groups and the Ministerial Team and Department for Children, Young People, Education and Skills and for assisting us in this process
