OPENING DOORS TACKLING TEACHER SHORTAGES

Transcription

1 OPENING DOORS TACKLING TEACHER SHORTAGES ENCOURAGING RETURNERS INTO TEACHING AS A CAREER NATIONAL UNION OF TEACHERS

2 INTRODUCTION The National Union of Teachers believes that it is vital for schools to retain experienced teachers and attract returners to ensure good quality education continues in our schools. In some areas of the country teacher shortages are becoming critical. The expected drop in the number of young people available to enter teacher training makes it still more important to retain experienced, committed and skilled staff and to encourage teachers who are out-of-service to re-enter the profession. Many factors help to retain teachers; in particular, proper standards of pay and good opportunities for career development. The Union has argued elsewhere the importance of these factors. In this document, the Union sets out particular strategies to retain teachers with family responsibilities and increase the number of teachers returning after a career break. There are thousands of qualified teachers in the so-called Pool of Inactive Teachers, the PIT. According to Government estimates over the figure is currently 300,000, almost half of whom are women aged between 30 and 44. This figure includes teachers now engaged in other forms of employment as well as those who are not in paid work. A sizeable proportion are women who have left teaching for domestic reasons and are not currently in paid employment. A third of female secondary teachers, and nearly 40 per cent of female primary teachers, were in their thirties when they left. Many out-of-service teachers feel isolated and out of touch with changes in education. Given the speed and extent of change in the last few years, it is hardly surprising that even teachers taking a short break of two to three years feel the need for more advice and support. Many women are also discouraged from returning to teaching while their children are young because childcare provision is so inadequate. Teachers who return have to make complicated childcare arrangements using a variety of types of childcare to cover the whole of their working day. Others would return if parttime teaching was available, which was properly paid and offered opportunities for career development. Unfortunately, part-time teachers are often poorly paid and suffer insecurity of tenure. Unless those who employ teachers take steps to provide encouragement, advice, recognition and support to teachers taking a career break then OPENING DOORS.SM/SA/CS/CA/CS 2 06 March 2001

3 such teachers may enter other forms of employment and their skills will be lost to the teaching profession. Teachers who are out-of-service need access to: counselling and advice about ways of keeping in touch with developments in education; refresher and INSET courses; career breaks with right to return, opportunities for job-sharing and parttime teaching; and school-based crèches, nursery education and out-of-school care for school-aged children. THE NUT S CAMPAIGN The Union has campaigned for more flexible career structures and support for women teachers taking career breaks. This followed a major survey by the Union of the career patterns of over 3,000 women teachers. The findings of that survey clearly revealed the negative impact of the career break and the need for refresher and retraining courses for those wishing to return. The survey highlighted the benefits of such courses, with three quarters of those who had managed to attend such courses finding them useful and worthwhile. In 1989, the Opening Doors campaign was begun, encouraging returners into teaching as a career, and the first version of this guidance was printed. In 1997, the Union launched a new course for part-time teachers and returners as part of the national training programme aimed at part-time teachers and returners. The Union supports properly managed career break schemes which give women who take maternity leave the opportunity to return to a job with the same status and pay. The Union has helped to negotiate career break schemes, offering up to seven years leave for domestic reasons, open to men as well as women teachers. Within the campaign for OPENING DOORS.SM/SA/CS/CA/CS 3 06 March 2001

4 increased career counselling and in-service education for all teachers, the specific needs of those taking a career break have been addressed. The Union has long advocated the need for increased status and security of tenure for part-time teachers. To further promote the interests of part-time teachers, the Union has updated its guidance on job-sharing and is urging LEAs, governing bodies and heads to recognise the benefits of properly organised job-share schemes. This guidance is available on request from NUT Headquarters. As a result of the current teacher supply crisis, it is essential that LEAs, school governors and decision-makers in the education service should take steps to encourage returners back into teaching. Many employers in the private sector have already recognised the need to retain skilled and experienced staff at a time when demographic changes will result in fewer young people being available in the employment market. Banks and other companies are beginning to realise the need to provide workplace nurseries, career break and job-sharing schemes so that trained staff will not be lost. Teachers too need access to these facilities and opportunities. LONG TERM STRATEGIES It is vital that steps to attract women returners into teaching are not just temporary measures to meet current teacher shortages. The Union firmly believes that strategies to retain experienced teachers are important, irrespective of demographic trends, because such strategies: promote quality education for pupils enabling teachers who are fully qualified and experienced to return to teaching; reduce teacher shortages in particular subjects or age groups; promote greater equality of opportunity for women teachers in terms of career development and salary levels; increase opportunities for women and men to take on a greater caring role in the family by also taking career breaks or working on a job-share basis. OPENING DOORS.SM/SA/CS/CA/CS 4 06 March 2001

5 CAREER BREAKS In teaching, it is estimated that around 65 per cent of women teachers take a break in service. Since women form the majority of the teaching profession, it is clear that the education service should acknowledge this situation and seek to ensure that career breaks do not hinder re-entry or career development. Women teachers who have had a break fare worst in the promotion stakes at the crucial stage of years service. Male deputy heads with this length of service at secondary level are four times more likely to be promoted to heads as women who had a break in service. Overall, women with a break do less well than either women without a break or men in getting to deputy level. At primary headship level, the differences are marginal. Women returning to permanent jobs or regular part-time work have to be appointed at the same point of the salary scale as they left, they may not be appointed to posts of responsibility because the period out of teaching is still considered as lost years. In addition, because many women take career breaks they are often older than male colleagues seeking similar posts of responsibility and this is still counted against them. The term career break can be used whenever a person has a break from her/his immediate job. Periods of secondment and teacher exchange are also breaks in the sense that those involved face the process of reintegration. But this type of break does not normally lead to reduced career opportunities. It is the breaks for domestic reasons to look after young children, take account of regular illness of a member of the family or care for elderly relatives that bring restricted career prospects. It is mainly women who take these career breaks and as women often already face sex bias in applying for promotion, they are further disadvantaged by these breaks in service. It is wasteful of resources to allow trained and experienced teachers to be lost to the profession. Yet many good and well qualified teachers do not return to teaching. The forces which inhibit their return have increased: the pace of change and reform has accelerated and colleagues in school have less time to offer support and advice to returners. The pressures on all teachers have increased and stress levels have risen so that unless returners receive support even those who return may not stay in teaching. OPENING DOORS.SM/SA/CS/CA/CS 5 06 March 2001

6 PLANNING FOR THE CAREER BREAK As some teachers may take a break very early in their careers, it is important that the issue of career breaks and ways of updating skills and building confidence are addressed during initial teacher training. Union research at national and local level confirms the continued bias against women teachers in terms of promotion and career development. For this reason, the Union has recommended that LEAs organise special courses designed to promote women teachers career development. The Union itself runs women s development courses, some of which focus on developing positive attitudes to career breaks and career planning, and, in 1997, a new course for part-time teachers and returners was launched as part of the national training programme aimed at part-time teachers and returners. CAREER COUNSELLING AND KEEPING-IN-TOUCH SCHEMES Some LEAs have developed specific schemes to support teachers taking career breaks. Such schemes provide an opportunity to keep up-to-date on educational developments and job opportunities through regular meetings and newsletters. RETURNERS SCHEMES Lancashire LEA runs a comprehensive returners programme which is an integral part of their recruitment and equal opportunities programme. Seventy-eight per cent of those participating on one of the returner courses made a regular, informed contribution to Lancashire s schools either by engaging in supply work or finding a temporary or permanent teaching post. Returner provision aims to update qualified teachers on current developments in education as well as changes in the classroom, for example, developments in the pupils National Curriculum. Lancashire provides for two main groups those that are taking a career break, and who want to be kept in touch (KIT) and those that have left the teaching force and wish to return. When people leave the LEA s teaching force, they automatically get a pack outlining the support available to them should they wish to return. The names of those leaving are also entered into a database that can be used to chase up old employees. The LEA offers central support to those making a decision on whether to return. The OPENING DOORS.SM/SA/CS/CA/CS 6 06 March 2001

7 administrators of those schemes staff a hotline offering enquiries advice on which course is best suited to them, where their skill gaps might lie and how to fill out application forms. For those who wish to return to the secondary sector, the LEA works in partnership with Edgehill College, who provider returners courses. Bishop Rawstorne CE Language College is a training school in association with Edgehill. Support for job applications is provided, and all five participants on the latest course have returned to employment. If a teacher wishes to return to the primary sector, and has been out of work for seven years or longer, they are referred to one of two courses: i. St Martins, which runs a part-time course; and ii. Edgehill, which runs both part-time and full-time courses. Lancashire LEA also offers a returners package which comprises of: i. a career break scheme; and ii. a returners course, which usually runs once a year when there is sufficient demand. The returners course is for other primary returners who have been out of teaching for less than seven years. This is a 10 week updating course, and attendance is required twice a week. One of the two days is a taught session, which looks at literacy, numeracy, science and ICT, and also considers issues around applying for jobs. The other day is spent in a school. Support is also given on the returners for writing letters of application, mock interviews, planning and assessment, and SEN issues. The career break scheme is aimed at returning teachers, the majority of whom within Lancashire are in the primary sector. The scheme runs in partnership with a link school, which offers up to 10 days supply a year, paid for out of their own budget. Continuing professional development, usually post-graduate diplomas, primarily cited at OPENING DOORS.SM/SA/CS/CA/CS 7 06 March 2001

8 Edgehill, is also funded by the LEA. The East Sussex Keeping in Touch with Teaching (KITT) has been in operation for more than 10 years and is now the only teachers returners scheme of its type in the South East Region. It has gained national recognition from the Teacher Training Agency (TTA). Over the years, the scheme has attracted many returners and has demonstrated very successful outcomes, with over 70 per cent of returners either in work or actively doing supply teaching. There is also a very successful referral arrangement with Brighton University for those returners who need to update their qualifications in order to return to teaching. Back to Teaching: A Checklist If you are thinking of returning to teaching, here are some questions you would be advised to ask your potential employer. What sort of refresher training is being offered? Are childcare facilities available not only during the re-training period, but also after returning to the classroom? What sort of induction programme is provided? Is it possible to work part-time if I want, or to go on a supply list for an initial period? Will there be a named contact that I can go to if I have any problems? What sort of salary can I expect and what will my career prospects be? Teacher Training Agency Keeping in Touch Programme In 1999, the Teacher Training Agency (TTA) launched the first national information and guidance service for qualified teachers taking a break from teaching. OPENING DOORS.SM/SA/CS/CA/CS 8 06 March 2001

9 The Keeping in Touch (KIT) programme will ensure that qualified teachers are equipped with the knowledge, skills and confidence to return to the profession. A newsletter is issued each school term, providing members with information on current issues in education, professional development and training opportunities, both national and local, ensuring that skills are maintained and kept up-to-date. KIT will complement existing local schemes, building stronger links with schools, LEAs, training providers and the KIT members themselves. The TTA also sponsors a number of returner courses to bring those teachers who have not been teaching for some years up to speed with developments in the classroom and re-establish their confidence before they return to the classroom. A list of current returner courses can be downloaded from: The TTA can be contacted as follows: TTA Keeping in Touch Programme P O Box 3049 CHELMSFORD CM1 3YT Tel: helpline@kit-tta.co.uk SUPPORT ON RETURNING TO TEACHING To encourage an early return to teaching, it is important that greater status and security is provided for part-time teachers and that teachers have the opportunity to job-share. JOB SHARING Job-sharing is, for legal purposes, a form of part-time working. The difference is principally that it is a shared responsibility for a single full-time post involving the full range of teachers duties and responsibilities. OPENING DOORS.SM/SA/CS/CA/CS 9 06 March 2001

10 The NUT has recently published a guidance document for members. Job-Sharing: Guidance from the National Union of Teachers, which is available to NUT members on request. RETURNERS If you are interested in returning to teaching, contact your local education authority. They can provide you with name/s of LEA officers who you can contact concerning: local demand for teachers; refresher and retraining courses; vacancies on regular INSET courses; childcare arrangements for teachers; and registering for job-sharing, or supply and part-time teaching. As an out-of-service teacher, you are entitled to left profession membership at a special low rate. As a member, you can receive further advice from the regional office about DfEE retraining courses/grants, LEA policy and initiatives to recruit and retain teachers, for example, details about job-share schemes and childcare support. The Union also runs women s training courses at national and local levels. For details of any local meeting for returners and advice about returning to the profession, please contact your regional office. OPENING DOORS.SM/SA/CS/CA/CS March 2001

11 REGIONAL OFFICES AND NUT WALES OFFICE (CYMRU) REGIONAL AREA 1 Auckland House High Chare CHESTER-LE-STREET Co Durham DH3 3PX Speed Dial: 7040 Tel: (0191) Fax: (0191) REGIONAL AREA 2 25 Chorley New Road BOLTON Lancashire BL1 4QR Speed Dial: 7140 Tel: (01204) Fax: (01204) REGIONAL AREA 3 7/9 Chequer Road DONCASTER DN1 2AA Speed Dial: 7240 Tel: (01302) Fax: (01302) REGIONAL AREA 4 Jarvis House 96 Stone Road STAFFORD ST16 2RS Speed Dial: 7340 Tel: (01785) Fax: (01785) REGIONAL AREA 5 Cecil Lodge Falmouth Avenue NEWMARKET Suffolk CB8 0NB Speed Dial: 7440 Tel: (01638) Fax: (01638) NORTHERN City of York, Cumbria, Darlington, Durham, Gateshead, Hartlepool, Middlesbrough, Newcastle, Northumberland, North Tyneside, North Yorkshire, Redcar and Cleveland, South Tyneside, Stockton, Sunderland NORTH WEST Blackburn, Blackpool, Bolton, Bury, Cheshire, Halton, Isle of Man, Knowsley, Lancashire, Liverpool, Manchester, Oldham, Rochdale, St Helens, Salford, Sefton, Stockport, Tameside, Trafford, Warrington, Wigan, Wirral YORKSHIRE/MIDLAND Barnsley, Bradford, Calderdale, Derby City, Derbyshire, Doncaster, East Riding of Yorkshire, Hull, Kirklees, Leeds, Lincolnshire, North East Lincolnshire, North Lincolnshire Nottingham City, Nottinghamshire, Rotherham, Sheffield, Wakefield MIDLANDS Birmingham, Coventry, Dudley, Herefordshire, Leicester City, Leicestershire, Rutland, Sandwell, Shropshire, Solihull, Staffordshire, Stoke-on-Trent, Telford and Wrekin, Walsall, Warwickshire, Wolverhampton, Worcester EASTERN Bedfordshire, Buckinghamshire, Cambridgeshire, Essex, Hertfordshire, Luton, Milton Keynes, Norfolk, Northamptonshire, Peterborough, SCS (Germany), Southend-on-Sea, Suffolk, Thurrock TERRY BUCKLER ELIZABETH SMITH REGIONAL SOLICITOR RICHARD PALFRAMAN CHRISTINE BALL ) DEBORAH MILLER) Job-Share REGIONAL SOLICITORS MALCOLM ANDERSON YVONNE HALL) KEVIN JONES ) Job-Share REGIONAL SOLICITORS BRIAN CARTER AVRIL BAILEY REGIONAL SOLICITOR JOHN DIXON ELIZABETH ARNDT REGIONAL SOLICITOR OPENING DOORS.SM/SA/CS/CA/CS March 2001

12 REGIONAL AREA Sussex Road HAYWARDS HEATH West Sussex RH16 4EA Speed Dial: 7540 Tel: (01444) Fax: (01444) REGIONAL AREA Lower Avenue HEAVITREE Exeter Devon EX1 2PR Speed Dial: 7640 Tel: (01392) Fax: (01392) REGIONAL AREA 8 Ravenscourt House 322A King Street LONDON W6 0RR Speed Dial: 7720 Tel: (020) Fax: (020) REGIONAL AREA Cranbrook Road ILFORD Essex IG1 4TD Speed Dial: 7840 Tel: (020) Fax: (020) WALES - CYMRU NUT Cymru Office 122 Bute Street CARDIFF CF1 6AE Speed Dial: 7940 Tel: Fax: SOUTH EAST Bracknell Forest, Brighton and Hove, East Sussex, Hampshire, Isle of Wight, Kent, Medway, Oxfordshire, Portsmouth, Reading, Slough, Southampton, Surrey, West Berkshire, West Sussex, Windsor and Maidenhead, Wokingham SOUTH WEST Bath and North Somerset, Bournemouth, Bristol, Cornwall, Devon, Dorset, Gloucestershire, Guernsey, Isles of Scilly, Jersey, North Somerset, Plymouth, Poole, Somerset, South Gloucestershire, Swindon, Torbay, Wiltshire LONDON (WEST) Barnet, Brent, Camden, Ealing, Enfield, Hammersmith and Fulham, Harrow, Hillingdon, Hounslow, Kensington and Chelsea, Kingston, Lambeth, Merton, Richmond, Sutton, Wandsworth, Westminster LONDON (EAST) Barking and Dagenham, Bexley, Bromley, City of London, Croydon, Greenwich, Hackney, Haringey, Havering, Islington, Lewisham, Newham, Redbridge, Southwark, Tower Hamlets, Waltham Forest Blaenau Gwent, Bridgend, Caerphilly, Cardiff, Carmarthenshire, Ceredigion, Conwy, Denbighshire, Flintshire, Gwynedd, Merthyr Tydfil, Monmouthshire, Neath and Port Talbot, Newport, Pembrokeshire, Powys, Rhondda Cynon Taff, Swansea, Torfaen, Vale of Glamorgan, Wrexham, Ynys Môn DICK BOLAND MARILYN BRUNT REGIONAL SOLICITOR PETER SARGEANT ACTING REGIONAL SECRETARY CAMILLA GEE ELIZABETH MICHAELSON REGIONAL SOLICITORS JOB SHARE STUART CANKETT ABIGAIL OPREY REGIONAL SOLICITOR TIM HARRISON JUDITH EMMETT REGIONAL SOLICITOR GETHIN LEWIS WALES SECRETARY DAVID EVANS WALES SOLICITOR OPENING DOORS.SM/SA/CS/CA/CS March 2001