Positive working conditions highlighted in nine out of ten teacher job adverts

A new practice review, conducted by the National Institute of Teaching (NIoT) and published by the Education Endowment Foundation (EEF) indicates schools are highlighting positive working conditions in 90% of their job adverts to draw new teachers to their settings.

Published today (Wednesday 21 February), the findings include detailed analysis of over 500 job adverts across schools in socio-economically disadvantaged areas. Schools most frequently highlighted the quality of their working conditions, including elements such as teacher wellbeing and flexibility. Other common factors referred to included career progression, financial incentives and work-life balance.

The practice review was supported by a questionnaire which dug deeper into the strategies used and their perceived effectiveness with a small sample of teachers. The outcomes of this survey again reflected that positive working conditions were highly valued for teachers when looking for new roles.

Chief Executive Officer of NIoT Melanie Renowden said:

“We know that staff recruitment and retention is one of the biggest issues in education today, particularly for schools serving socio-economically disadvantaged communities. This research helps us to better understand the recruitment strategies these schools are using as an important first step towards finding ways to improve them.

Findings indicate that schools perceive factors including staff welfare, work-life balance and workload amongst the most important features of a school's employment offer to highlight to prospective applicants, with effective leadership practices and supportive colleagues also considered very important for both recruitment and retention.

Trust and school leaders can use these findings to inform their own recruitment activity, and consider how they might prioritise the practices most effective in recruiting and retaining staff.”

Read the published review of practice in full here.