Almost
50 per cent of headteachers don’t know how much they are spending on recruiting
teachers, despite the fact they recognise it as a vital part of their role,
research reveals.
A
survey by Select Education Permanent also revealed that more than 40 per cent
had placed three or more advertisements for the last teaching job they tried to
fill – with one-fifth spending more than £500 per advertisement. However, 45
per cent said they “didn’t know” how much the whole process costs to recruit a
single teacher.
“Recruiting
new staff can be an intensive, time-consuming and expensive procedure,
involving the head, deputy, governors, secretaries and other staff. Over half
of those surveyed now expect it to take weeks or months to find one new member
of staff,” said Catherine Delaney of Select Education Permanent.
“Although
72 per cent of heads describe it as ‘very important’ to their job, and many
acknowledge advertising volumes placed, few can accurately estimate the true
time and costs involved.”
The
survey, which involved more than 120 headteachers and deputy heads, shows that
newspaper advertising remains the most popular recruitment strategy, lthough more than one-third of schools have
found new members of staff through word-of-mouth, personal recommendations and
agencies.
“Despite
this commitment to traditional methods of recruitment, one-fifth of schools had
no response from the last job ad placed, and a further quarter had up to three
applicants. Sixty-one per cent of schools placed two or more advertisements,”
added Catherine Delaney.
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The
survey also reveals that poor preparation and presentation are the two most
common failings during interview.
