Overarching concluding discussions
Final Report
The first and possibly biggest transition point for new teachers is entering the profession. Each of the routes in to teaching has its own strengths and weaknesses and whilst senior leaders may have preferences for one or more of these, the route taken is only one amongst many issues taken into consideration in choosing candidates for posts. In any case, the differences between routes have largely disappeared by the third year as schools work to iron out differences between them. Senior leaders found it easier to recruit NQTs in 2010 compared with 2008, although problems remained with recruitment to some subjects notably physics, mathematics and general science. The study found that there was a mismatch between where senior leaders advertised - mainly teaching press and LA bulletins - and where NWTs looked- mainly electronic sources.
Once they have made it to the NQT Year, the focus for most NQTs is firmly on the classroom. In most respects this is a phase that is well supported, quite structured and aimed at honing the core work of the teacher. Senior leaders are looking in this year to develop qualities such as classroom management, planning and assessment and teaching repertoire, and beginning to address areas of development for many NQTs, notably working with parents and dealing with the administrative aspects of the job. For most NQTs, induction provides clear support and where it is not available this can be associated for some teachers with an intention to leave the profession. The majority of teachers even at this point, however, see teaching as a long term career choice, although a significant minority are only clear about staying as a teacher for the next few years. In any case, in relation to career, most are focussed not on promotion at this point but 'becoming a good teacher'.
The move from NQT to the second year of teaching is itself another significant transition. For most teachers, this is a time for developing confidence, and broadening their focus beyond the classroom, looking outwards. At this point, teachers are generally expected to be able to engage effectively with parents and other agencies, lead subject or other areas in primary schools and start to prepare for leadership roles in secondary schools. One reason this is a major transition is that second year teachers are usually far less supported. They are now integrated into the school’s performance management processes and systems, and access the professional development available to all staff as opposed to that specific to second year teachers (although in a small minority specific second year teacher support is available). Support for these teachers comes primarily from the heads of department and departmental colleagues in secondary schools, and from leaders and colleagues across the school in primaries. Rarely is there a post-NQT year mentor, although some second year teachers have access to in school coaching and mentoring . Yet this is a crucial point in the career of most teachers, and so care is needed. Some teachers do still require quite structured support to progress – and those in primary schools with responsibility certainly need support for these new roles - and lack of support is associated with likelihood of leaving the profession.
From Part 5 of the Study
In the discussion, we draw out some of the most important findings from the report, and attempt to link these where possible providing an analysis of the reasons behind some of these findings. To begin with, we discuss the generally positive findings regarding recruitment and retention overall. We move on to discuss routes into teaching, and the picture overall in relation to leaders’ and NQTs' views on these. We then turn to induction, considering the findings in relation to standards and support for induction, before looking at the relationship between issues of concern regarding both ITE preparation and induction.
There has been a significant change in the recruitment and retention picture between 2008 and 2010. Whilst the overall recruitment and retention picture in 2008 was good, with some pockets of difficulty, the situation in 2010 is appreciably better in all respects. The proportion of senior leaders reporting problems with the recruitment and retention of NQTs has reduced across the board. In relation to recruitment, there were particularly marked improvements in reducing the difficulty in appointing to the key secondary subjects of Physics, Chemistry and General/Combined Science.
This is not to say that the picture is uniformly good. Whilst the recruitment picture for Physics has improved, it is still seen to be a problem for nearly half of our secondary school sample, and there are still marked difficulties in recruitment to the sciences – except for Biology – and Mathematics. The very large proportion of schools recruiting to Mathematics and General/Combined Science indicates there is a particular issue here, and supports the current policy focus on increasing the supply of teachers of these subjects. It is also still the case in 2010, as it was in 2008, that both recruitment and retention are significantly more difficult for the schools serving the poorest communities. Given the importance of getting the best teachers into such schools, this is worrying and points to the specific need to support such schools in recruiting and retaining excellent teachers.
There were some interesting findings in relation to routes into teaching, in the current context of political debate about this issue. In 2010 the message that the PGCE is the preferred route for almost two-thirds of secondary leaders is particularly strong. This is not to say that employment-based routes are not valued: in fact for secondary schools such routes were associated with significantly higher performance than the other two main routes in a number of areas including NQTs' ability to deal with parents, commitment to parents, team working skills with non school colleagues, and ability to contribute to the whole school.
Senior leaders also had different perspectives on the routes they found most effective, reflecting the importance of the school context; among primary leaders the undergraduate route was found most effective and the employment based route least effective; among secondary leaders the PGCE was rated most effective and the undergraduate route the least effective. When it came to the route which offered the most effective level of classroom experience, however, senior leaders from both sectors agreed on employment based routes, though this was more strongly felt among secondary senior leaders.
Taken together these findings make it clear – as we found in 2008 – that secondary school leaders prefer both employment-based and PGCE routes to be maintained to provide the best mix of teachers in their schools. As our case study interviews demonstrated, senior leaders rarely endorse one route over another when asked to, rather they discuss the pros and cons of each route in relation to the specific needs of the school and the relative stage of early career teachers' development, and don't expect the influence of ITE route to have
any impact beyond the second year. As in 2008, the picture is clearer for primary schools: undergraduate and then PGCE routes are by far the most popular choices for primary senior leaders in relation recruitment, and whilst there are some benefits in some cases to using employment based routes they are not preferred by the vast majority of primaries, and therefore this study gives no support for significantly expanding this route in primary education.
Turning now to induction, our research found that there has been a significant increase in the number of secondary schools having a common induction programme in place since 2008, to the point of almost universal coverage in 2010. However, the nature of induction programmes appears to be changing: comparison of senior leader responses in the 2008 and 2010 surveys revealed a statistically significant decline over time in the use of the TDA standards, the career entry development programme (CEDP), written individual programmes and the provision of support from a mentor or coach who was not the NQT's designated induction tutor. The decline in the use of an additional mentor or coach and of individualised written programmes was particularly marked in primary schools. The decline in the use of the standards certainly warrants further investigation, since it may be that the standards are not being seen as fit for purpose. Senior leaders were generally positive about LA-run induction support, particularly primary senior leaders, which indicates policy-makers need to think carefully about supporting primary induction centrally another way if LAs reduce support for induction as more schools become academies.
Finally on induction, the open comments in our survey indicated that there were some specific issues highlighted by NQTs in relation to gaps in their support, particularly working with support staff, and behaviour management. These were also picked up as areas of weakness in ITE and in LA induction programmes, indicating that both schools and policy-makers need to consider what action to take to develop NQTs in these regards. Senior leaders were also keen for NQTs to have greater opportunities to network with teachers in other schools, building the base for collaborative learning in subsequent years.
This brings us to consider quality and performance, and here - as with recruitment and retention - there is generally a positive picture. One key finding is that around half of senior leaders felt that the quality of NQTs had improved or remained the same over the past three years, i.e. since our last survey. Given that most leaders at that point also indicated they felt that NQT quality had improved over the previous five years, this indicates that current routes into teaching are working effectively to give leaders confidence in the performance of new teachers. In addition almost three-quarters of senior leaders responding to our 2010 survey were satisfied or very satisfied with the choice of NQTs over the last three years, with secondary respondents even more positive about an increase in quality than primary respondents.
The positive picture overall in relation to recruitment, retention, choice of teachers and teacher quality are likely to be connected - greater choice indicates that schools can appoint the best candidates. And, of course, this improvement is also highly likely to be related to the current economic climate. There is a danger here, therefore, that once the labour market expands again it may have negative consequences for retention, which could potentially influence teacher quality. However, given that there has been a steadily growing perception throughout this period that quality and performance are improving, as we note above, there is no indication from this study to date that this will have a significant impact on teacher quality overall. It is possible however that there may be problems in relation to particular subjects – Mathematics, Physics, Chemistry – which have seen improvements in recruitment in 2010, if staff in these subjects leave the profession as opportunities outside of teaching arise. Therefore we would suggest that this study supports the view that attention should continue to be paid to recruitment and retention in these subjects. As indicated in the report and executive summary, there are some specific aspects of teacher performance which are
seen to be poorer, and these have generally remained the same since 2008. We address these in the next subsection on the implications of the findings of this report for policy makers and schools.
From Part 4 of the study
In the Part 3 report, we noted that the second year of teaching marked a key transition point from becoming a newly qualified teacher to a fully fledged member of staff, and certainly in primary schools, where most second year teachers took on some level of responsibility this is clearly the case. There is an argument to be made that the third year of teaching marks a further – and final – point of transition in most early career teachers’ careers: there was a clear sense in our case studies that this year marked the end of the early career phase and the beginning of the career stage of experienced teacher, with the same level of support, career opportunities and – importantly – expectations as any other teacher in the school. Reflecting back now, it is possible to see the first three years of teaching as, in fact, a series of transition points and milestones towards fully fledged teacher status – for many teachers at least.
The first key transition is marked on entry into the NQT year, following ITT. The second is marked by successful completion of the NQT year. The third is at the end of the second year and entry into the third year where for most teachers their role and expectation of it are indistinguishable from others. There are clearly exceptions to this broad process, and we will be exploring this issue in more depth when we reflect back on the journeys of case study teachers in the final report. Nevertheless, our analysis indicates this is a useful starting point for understanding the third year of teaching as experienced by teachers and understood by senior leaders.
For this report, we aimed to develop the earlier work from the Part 3 report to consider to what extent an overarching framework relating staff performance, development, career and key processes (in this case, performance management) can be used. Our thinking this year has moved on significantly and we present here a new model with increased coherence and explanatory and heuristic power. It is important here to note that we are not attempting to present an overarching model covering all elements of how the work of a school and teachers within it interact to develop both the organisation and the individual. Rather, we are attempting to make sense of the key elements we have specifically examined in this study. There will clearly be other processes at work that are underplayed in this model.
There were strong links between professional development/support and performance, particularly in relation to the development of knowledge and understanding in relation to the both classroom practice and the wider role of the teacher and career progression. Again line manager and colleague support were identified as key to improving performance.
In addition, performance was - of course - also strongly related to individual factors, especially confidence developed over the previous two to three years, skills, aspirations and personal circumstances, including, in some cases, previous temporary contracts restricting development (but also providing a range of experience at the same time).
Key dimensions of career progression - the bottom right hand corner of the box - are the level and extent of responsibility (paid and unpaid) and - for a minority of staff - being made permanent. Level of performance is related to paid responsibility in some cases, and professional development provided opportunities to demonstrate ability to take on paid or unpaid responsibility too.
Looking at the links between career development and school contexts, by the third year most primary school teachers had some unpaid responsibility, but fewer primary teachers compared with secondary teachers had paid responsibility, reflecting the greater numbers of paid responsibility posts in secondary schools. Staff turnover (school and subject) - itself influenced by other contextual issues such as the demographic make-up of the school - was the key school contextual issue here, alongside school and departmental cultures, some of which were more likely to provide opportunities.
Key personal factors included career orientation, which related in particular to longer term plans, and gender, with a striking difference in career orientation, and level of paid responsibility between men and women.
Thus far, we have simply laid out the key issues emerging from the previous sections, and the links between them. The power of this framework, however, is on the right hand side of the diagram, indicating how the key issues we addressed in this part of the study – identified in the shaded box – can actually lead to influences on the key contextual factors themselves. We identify here that as third year teachers develop there are longer term or deeper outcomes, what we are calling increased capacity. We distinguish two aspects here.
The first is organisational capacity. As teachers develop their performance and take on wider responsibilities in the school, the school in turn has more capacity to change and develop. This in turn impacts on the school context itself.
We found that senior leaders saw third year teachers who were on the whole seen to be performing as well as other more experienced teachers at this point - as adding in general terms to the capacity of the school to develop as an organisation, whether simply through improved classroom performance, or through responsibility (unpaid or paid) or sharing practice. We found strong links in particular between professional development and increased capacity to implement new initiatives by leading and supporting other staff.
The second dimension is individual capacity to develop and change. The changes to performance and responsibilities identified above lead to changes in individual capacity to develop and change which in turn leads to changes in personal characteristics,
In addition, third year teachers were found to be able to manage their work life balance better than before, and had developed a foundation of key skills and knowledge to build on. Professional development and support was linked here too to development of these capacities.
This is a dynamic and continuing process, with these changes themselves leading to changes in the next ‘cycle’ of development, performance management and hence teacher performance and career development.
From Part 3 of the study
This report has looked in detail at the transitional step-up from the NQT year into the second year of teachers' professional lives. It focuses on four complex and interrelated areas: perceptions of teacher quality and performance; professional development and support; career development; and the retention of second year teachers.
Overall, it is clear that the story of the transition from NQT to second year teacher involves a complex interaction of factors for most teachers, mentors and SLs contributing to our case studies. There are clear positives: for example, second year secondary teachers develop confidence as they settle into the role and develop an understanding of the wider context of the school, and are seen to be more able to manage both classroom behaviour and their own time and are better at liaising with both parents and their school colleagues than during their NQT year. Generally the influence of ITT route diminishes and individual characteristics are seen as more important in the longer term. For second year teachers there is less formal support, less or no protected time and (usually) more responsibilities; however this aspect of the transition seems to be positive - very few primary teachers (more likely to have to take on responsibilities than secondary teachers) fail to rise to the challenge, and very few secondary teachers seem to resent the fact that they are not expected to take on such responsibilities.
As the summary of findings at the end of each chapter has set out, the second year of teaching is noticeably different from the NQT year in the areas we examined. In this discussion we reflect further on the often complex relationships between teacher quality/performance, professional development and support, career progression and retention for second year teachers. Figure 6.1 illustrates the main linkages we found between these factors, together with the key contextual factors. Solid arrows represent links where our data indicates a strong relationship in the direction indicted by the arrow. Dotted arrows represent links were our data indicated there maybe a relationship, but there is less substantive evidence to make the claim.
The three contextual factors that we found in our study that were particularly important were individual characteristics and attitudes, school context and experience of teaching. Senior leaders, NQT mentors and second year teachers in our study all emphasised that individual characteristics determined the speed at which individuals were able to take on additional responsibilities or demonstrate readiness for promotion. Looking more widely at other studies, Hodkinson et al. (2004) draw attention to the ways in which individual dispositions, which emanate from all aspects of personal biography, influence the ways in which teachers engage in both formal and informal professional development opportunities in schools. Ashby et al. (2008) draw attention to the ways in which the age of early career teachers impacts on decision to stay or leave.
The school context, spanning school culture and organisation, together with the attitudes and capability of staff, and the nature of the student body, impact in complex ways on the quality and performance of second year teachers, and the professional development, additional responsibility and promotion opportunities available to them within the school. For example, some of the second year teachers in our study described very supportive cultures where they could go to any member of staff for support to improve their teaching, whereas in a few cases other demands on senior staff had limited the time available to
support early career teachers, in one case leaving a weakness in their teaching practice unaddressed. A number of studies draw attention to the complex relationship between school factors and retention (for example Guarino et al 2006; Smithers and Robinson 2003; 2005), and the negative effects on poor pupil behaviour on second year teacher morale, particularly when combined with a lack of senior leader support (Day et al., 2006).
We have identified a third contextual factor, the experience of teaching, which is strongly determined by the school context and the individual teacher’s characteristics and attitudes. The experience available to the teacher, and the teacher’s perceptions of the experience of teaching, are fundamental to their sense of identity as a teacher and ultimately to whether they wish to continue being a teacher.
In our study we started by examining perceptions of quality and performance, finding that confidence in different aspects of teacher performance was seen to have increased by the second year, with some variations between primary and secondary sectors. This increased confidence was associated with taking on additional school-wide responsibilities, again a feature more for primary teachers. We have illustrated this link in Figure 6.1 using a dotted arrow. These additional responsibilities were sometimes associated with internal promotion.
Career plans were central in the thinking of second year teachers, and many were considering promotion in the short or medium term, although senior leaders were more circumspect about early promotion. Although some tensions emerged in relation to preparation for promotion, with schools noting that leaving for external promotion too soon could be a problem, offering additional responsibilities and promotion was seen by both teachers and senior leaders as key to retention of the best teachers. The strength of the link between additional responsibilities and retention is illustrated in Figure 6.1 by a solid arrow, and the weaker link between increasing additional responsibilities and external promotion by a dotted arrow. This positive link between developing early career teachers for progression and retaining those teachers was also found in Smithers and Robinson’s (2005) report on teacher retention.
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From Part 2 of the study
- The first striking finding is the increasing predominance of the internet as a prime source of advertising posts for schools, and finding appropriate jobs for teachers. It is clear even from this limited study that using well-selected websites such as TES or eteach.com appeals to most potential recruits, and there are in our sample some discrepancies (e.g. far more NQTs prefer to use e-teach compared with the number of schools that use it).
Many schools tried to advertise as early as possible, weighing up the likelihood of students being on teaching practice against the benefits of having the pick of the crop (timing was also noted as a key issue in relation to recruitment in Part 1 of the Study). But a minority had to leave it until later if they were unsure about student numbers or staff leaving. It is possible to speculate that these issues are more likely to affect schools in challenging circumstances, but this would need to be followed up in later stages of the study.
Our findings are in line with the most recent TDA NQT Survey (TDA, 2008) which showed that permanent jobs were more commonly available in the secondary sector.
Discussing what they looked for in a written application, schools mentioned bringing out enthusiasm for the role and teaching, and qualifications. These were stressed particularly by primary school SLT members. Other comments from SLT members in all schools included writing to the specification (reflecting a finding of the Part 1 report) and showing evidence of researching the school prior to interview. Interestingly, whilst school placement references were seen as being important by a number of schools, ITT references were regarded with a degree of suspicion, either due to having too little knowledge of the teaching capability of the individuals, being too bland and generic or even being overly positive. If these views reflect a more general feeling amongst schools - and they are certainly in line with Part 1 of the Study - then it does imply that ITT providers need to reflect on the quality of their references. Overall, for the few schools that expressed a preference, the PGCE was the route preferred by SLT members, although primary schools tended to also favour the undergraduate route, and secondary schools also favoured the GTP route. The NQTs themselves were not asked about their views on the value of each route. The most recent TDA NQT Survey (TDA, 2008) indicates that NQTs themselves favour the GTP route, so it may be worth following this up in future stages of the NQT quality study, to see if there is a mismatch between SLT and NQT views, and if so why.
Our data gives a picture of a typical selection event. Almost always involving a tour of the school and teaching a lesson as well as an interview and sometimes presentation, these events are generally rigorous and intensive, usually lasting a full school day. The intensive nature of the typical selection event led most of our NQT sample to reflect that they found the events pressured and sometimes very unpleasant. Of course, this does not necessarily mean that these kinds of events are not the right way to go in terms of selection – they are tried and tested – but that it is important for schools to acknowledge that they are particularly stressful for NQTs and this needs to be taken into account.
The 4 special schools in the Case Study sample did not include teaching a lesson. It would be interesting to pick up whether this is more widespread amongst special schools. These schools all mentioned finding it difficult to attract candidates with the right skills to teach in their circumstances, noting the mainstream nature of ITT provision. A number of secondary schools also mentioned subject specific difficulties – particularly sciences and mathematics, followed by MFL and D and T (these four were also mentioned by independent schools, underlining the difficulties), as well as English ICT and the odd other subject. From the environment map and other studies, we note that this is of course a fairly widespread problem. At this stage we cannot say much more; it will be helpful in the final phases of the study to return to this point to see how the picture in 2008 compares with that in the future, particularly in the light of the changed economic environment.
However, the experience of our NQTs, in general, was that it was certainly not a seller’s market – they found themselves filling out numerous applications (reportedly up to 70), and many discussed the intense competition, particularly for schools in the local area. This underlines the points made by previous research (summarised by Ashby et al, 2008: 33) that whilst there may be either a close match or even an oversupply of teachers in some subjects in the country as a whole, NQTs congregate in pockets of the country typically around ITT institutions, and of course would like to work in what they perceived as the best or most conducive schools. Thus for SLT members in 'unpopular' schools there maybe a problem, whereas NQTs – jostling for places in fewer schools – will not sense this. This perceived competition meant that NQTs did feel pressured to take a job if offered; and this of course has subsequent ramifications for retention should this initial decision prove to be wrong for both the school and the individual. As we will go on to note, however, in our sample there was little evidence of a widespread problem with NQT retention. Once NQTs are appointed, SLT members identified a number of key issues regarding what we refer to here as the ‘quality’ of NQTs, by which we mean the personal and professional qualities, skills and knowledge that the NQTs arrive in the school with.
Key personal factors mentioned were being resilient/hard working, committed and enthusiastic. These last two – as we note above – are demonstrable in applications and interview; the first is apparent only via references (and we have seen that schools do not always feel these are reliable) or on the job. Among these personal factors, SLT members were positive about NQTs' commitment, enthusiasm and ability to handle the workload, although workload management was more of an issue for those from the PGCE route. (The related quality of resilience was seen to be neither a strength nor a particular weakness of NQTs, on the whole in the Part 1 Study).
Key professional factors seen as important for beginning teachers included subject knowledge; assessment; classroom management skills; ability to work with pupils at different ability levels; and dealing with parents. On subject knowledge, there was a balance among SLT members between those that believed NQTs were adequately prepared and those that thought that there was too much to be learned in one (PGCE) year. SLT and mentor interviewees were broadly satisfied with NQTs preparedness for assessment (unlike in Part 1 of the Study, where it was a problem), however NQTs themselves were more concerned about this aspect of their ITT. NQTs in secondary schools and some SLT members/mentors also thought classroom management and behaviour management were areas of concern (this also emerged from comments made in the Part 1 study).
Once NQTs started, then they of course required induction. Induction programmes tended to have common elements, with most including observations, NQT mentors and regular meetings. Secondary schools were more likely than primary schools to start NQT induction the June / July prior to the NQT starting the following September. The majority of NQTs who took part in the case study visits commented on their induction processes within school, with comments overall that were very positive with many NQTs stating that their NQT induction was helpful and supportive. This is broadly consistent with TDA NQT Survey (TDA, 2008). The role of the induction tutor in particular, of course, is especially important. Other research (Barrington, 2000; Heilbronn et al, 2002; Yusko and Feiman-Nemser, 2008; plus others discussed in Ashby et al, 2008: 43-45) discusses the tension inherent in a mentor role (being both a support and in a sense a monitor of quality of NQT work). It will be interesting to pick up in later stages of the study whether these tensions are discussed as NQTs look back on the first year.
In common with the Phase 1 report, we found a striking difference in experience of NQTs and the schools themselves on induction. In virtually all respects, the NQTs experienced a more limited induction than the SLT members told us they provided. This was particularly apparent with regard to the provision of a personal or even school-level induction plan. Given that these differences have been noted in two separate phases of our research now, we suggest the issue needs to be followed up by TDA and schools (see suggestions for action, below).
LA induction was part of NQT induction for the majority of telephone interviews schools and the most commonly used LA activity was specific courses for NQTs. Generally, the comments made by primary case study school SLT members were more positive than secondary regarding LA induction. Comments made by NQTs on LA induction were limited with mixed views on the induction support available. For example, primary NQTs found LA induction very supportive and another NQT stated that LA induction was a repetitive exercise.
The CEDP was used by over 80% of schools at transition stage one, although this gradually reduced to around two thirds by transition point three. These figures were in line with what NQTs reported. The majority of schools using it felt it was useful at all three points, although this was a slim majority by transition point three. Fewer NQTs - 43-47% - felt is was useful at all points. Overall, we found no clear patterns in differences between primary and secondary school in terms of uptake, unlike the latest TDA NQT Survey (TDA, 2008), although we did find that special schools were much less likely to use the CEDP at all points. We also could not discern clear patterns in perceived usefulness in regard to school type and SLT/NQT views.
Overall the comments made by NQTs interviewed as part of the case studies were similar to those from SLTs. Secondary NQTs use the file more so than primary NQTs and find the file helpful. Other research reviewed and discussed by Ashby et (2008: 45-48) presents a more mixed picture of CEDP, but much of it indicated that where used well it can be effective so long as development opportunities are treated broadly and not restricted to becoming ‘assessment-led’ via too narrow a focus on completion of documentation (Tickle, 2001; Williams, 2003, both cited by Ashby et al, 2008). There was limited data available on NQT induction monitoring and evaluation, although the comments made by SLT members suggested that secondary schools are more likely to use evaluation forms with their NQTs as part on their monitoring process. Generally, comments on difficulties experienced with NQT induction processes suggest that time and tailoring induction for individuals is an issue for SLT members taking part in the telephone interviews and case studies. Other difficulties included paperwork, and managing visits to other schools.
It is difficult to make the case, based on the case study data analysed and presented above, that there is a serious, widespread problem in all schools of retention of good quality staff. This key finding is in line with Part 1 of the Study and other studies we have carried out, but seems potentially out of line, at least, with one of the most often quoted claims that "of those who become teachers [in England] about 40 per cent are no longer teaching five years later" (Kyriacou, 2005; cited in Ashby et al, 2008: 68). Most of those schools surveyed / involved in case studies felt that there was either no problem or limited issues, and most saw that providing good quality support and development opportunities in a friendly environment was the key to retaining staff for the first few years of their careers. The focus on support was key in Part 1 of the Study too, although the link to development opportunities was less clearly made. The focus on development and induction may well be one of the reasons why, for our group of schools and NQTs, there did not appear to be a major retention problem in general, since both of these are associated with positive NQT experiences and therefore retention by studies discussed by Ashby et al (2008).
Beyond this point, it is likely that most NQTs will look to move on (internally or externally) for promotion or other challenges. And many schools recognised that keeping staff in the longer term was not necessarily in the school’s or teacher’s interests.
Our group of NQTs supported these views, in the main. Most intended to stay in teaching (in line with the Part 1 Study), and looked forward to promotion internally or externally at some point, in some cases to very senior positions. A very small number were considering leaving the profession, with two fairly sure they would do so. Schools did not necessarily see this as a problem in itself: schools no more wanted to retain staff unsuited to the school or the job than the NQTs.
However, there are some caveats to add to this broadly positive picture. In a minority of schools, there was a more or less serious problem with retention of NQTs, and these schools were some of those facing the most challenging circumstances. One of the two NQTs clear they wanted to move on was also in a challenging environment. This supports other research in the UK and elsewhere which indicates that it is clear that it is more difficult to retain staff for such schools (Boyd et al, 2007; Smithers and Robinson, 2005; Johnson, 2004 - all cited by Ashby et al 2008:69-72), yet it is also true – as we see from our study – that these schools often work very hard to develop innovative and thoughtful strategies to retain their most valuable resource. In the next stages of the study, we intend to investigate in more depth such strategies. Where such schools are successful, they may constitute the most valuable transferable learning that will emerge from this study as it progresses.
It is worth noting at this point that we gathered additional survey data on post-induction year support and issue in progression of NQTs to becoming established teachers. These findings will be integrated with the qualitative findings from the next stage of the study when we can follow them up with NQT and SLT views on the second year of teaching.
From Part 1 of the study:
The literature review for Part 1 usefully identified a range of themes and points that informed the survey conducted for Part 1 and will inform Part 2 of the study. Many of the items reviewed were reporting on small scale studies and this current large scale study provides an opportunity to explore their findings. The Part 1 survey in some cases supported findings from the literature and in some cases did not, providing areas to explore in Part 2.
Generally, the findings of the Part 1 survey are more positive than the literature review suggested they might be and this is a key issue for exploration in Part 2. Of particular interest is whether or not the nature of those responding influenced the data: the team had difficulty in obtaining the response rate and the indications from telephone follow-ups are that schools are over burdened and that completion of surveys is relatively low on their agenda. An aspect the team will explore in Part 2 is whether those SLTs responding had a particular interest in the NQT issue and whether their provision is unusually good, or whether the findings are indeed representative of the whole. There are implications here for the methods to be used in Part 2 of the study. A further consideration for Part 2 is that the written comments offered by SLT and NQT respondents did not always reflect the ratings provided. An emerging issue seems to be a difference between perceptions of NQTs in independent and non-independent schools and it may be worth re-considering the inclusion of the former in the sample to explore this further. Part 2 will use a mix of qualitative and quantitative methods and Part 1 provides an invaluable base to consider the relationship between those methods.
The Part 1 survey provides valuable information for a range of stakeholders and the key aspects of this information are given in section 6 above, which summarises the main findings. This information particularly points to differences between the routes taken by NQTs before beginning their NQT year (ITT and supply) and between primary and secondary schools, and it gives indications of differences for schools that have pupil populations suffering from deprivation or that include mixed ethnicities. Differences in perceptions emerge between SLT and NQT respondents. There are also findings suggesting commonalties that will also be of interest to stakeholders, for example the aspects where NQTs are seen as best and least prepared for their roles.
