Project

Part 5 report

Executive summary
Routes into the profession
NQT recruitment
NQT induction
Quality and performance
Retention
 
 

 

Executive summary

Sheffield Hallam University was commissioned by the Training and Development Agency for Schools (TDA) in 2007 to explore whether school leadership teams (SLTs) are able to recruit and retain enough quality Newly Qualified Teachers (NQTs). The project was commissioned with the aim of identifying the factors that impact on the recruitment and retention of newly qualified teachers (NQTs), senior leader needs in relation to high quality NQTs and early career teachers (ECTs), their preparation for their role and performance over time and how schools measure the performance and progression of ECTs over time.

This report relates to Part 5 of the study, which revisited the NQT year, and focuses on changes from Parts 1 and 2.  The analysis below presents findings relating to five key themes: routes into the profession; NQT recruitment; NQT induction; quality and performance; and NQT retention.  A quantitative approach to data collection was used in Part 5 utilising a postal and online national survey of senior leaders and teachers who had just completed their NQT year.  The sampling and response rates were as follows:
  1. The sample for the part 5 survey was drawn from a combination of respondents who had responded to the previous surveys and from those who were in the original part 1 sample. Questionnaires were dispatched to one senior leader in each school in the sample, giving a total sample of 2,090 schools. A total of 734 (155 online and 579 hard copy) senior leader responses were returned giving an overall response rate of 35%. The achieved sample was tested for representativeness by region and by percentage of pupils eligible for free school meals (used as a proxy measure for deprivation).
  2. The same methodology applied in previous surveys was used for the NQT sample. Senior leaders were asked to pass surveys on to NQTs in their schools via a hard copy or email link to the online survey. In total 386 (206 online and 180 hard copy) NQT responses were received for analysis.

 

Routes into the profession

Senior leaders' appointment of NQTs from various ITE routes

  • In primary schools there is a clear preference for NQTs from the undergraduate route; almost two-thirds expressed this preference. However, only just over a third of vacancies were filled by candidates from this route.
  • Among secondary-based respondents, while a third expressed a preference for employment-based routes this was not reflected in appointments made (approximately one sixth came from this route). A similar but smaller disconnect occurred in the primary sector.

Routes taken by NQTs in our survey

  • Three-quarters of secondary NQT respondents and half of primary NQT respondents came from the PGCE route, a very similar picture to our 2008 survey.
  • Forty percent of primary NQT respondents came from undergraduate routes, compared with less than five percent of secondary NQT respondents.
  • Fourteen percent of secondary respondents compared with seven percent of primary respondents came from employment-based routes.

Senior leaders' perceptions of effectiveness of ITE routes

  • Senior leaders responding to our 2010 survey viewed the undergraduate route as the most effective route in preparing NQTs to work in their school in comparison with the PGCE and employment based routes.
  • Analysis by route and school type reveals clear preferences among primary respondents for the undergraduate route, followed by PGCE and employment based routes when thinking about their relative effectiveness.
  • Secondary respondents found the PGCE to be the most effective route; employment-based routes were also highly valued with the undergraduate route seen as the least effective.

Senior leaders' perspectives on level of classroom experience among NQTs from various ITE routes

  • Among respondents to our 2010 survey there was a clear recognition that employment-based routes offered the most appropriate level of classroom experience for trainees, and this was especially the case for our secondary respondents.
  • Among secondary respondents the PGCE was rated the second most appropriate route in terms of classroom experience, but among primary respondents the undergraduate route was rated second.

 

 

NQT recruitment

Advertising for NQTs

  • Just over three-quarters of all schools regularly placed adverts suitable for NQTs on the local authority website or in local authority bulletins and just over two-fifths used the TES Online or TES hard copy. Primary schools made greater use of local authority websites and bulletins, secondary schools made greater use of TES Online and hard copy.
  • There was some mismatch between where senior leaders placed adverts for posts suitable for NQTs and sources used by NQTs themselves. NQTs rely heavily on internet sources to locate adverts, making the greatest use of TES Online (regularly used by 75% of NQTs) and local authority websites (63%).  Primary NQTs make greatest use of local authority websites while secondary NQTs make greatest use of TES online.
  • Local authorities do not operate recruitment pools in all areas, but where they do senior leaders are largely positive about their usefulness for recruiting good quality NQTs.
  • Most schools (74%) do not target NQTs in adverts but advertise for main scale teachers, although primaries target NQTs more frequently than secondary schools.

Application, interview and job offer patterns

  • Most NQTs (69%) apply for five or fewer posts. Primary NQTs apply for more posts than secondary NQTs. Just over half of NQTs were invited to attend one or two interviews and just over a third attended between three and five interviews.
  • he majority of NQTs (68%) attended one or two interviews and a further 27% attended between three and five interviews. The vast majority of NQTs (95%) were offered one or two posts. There was no significant variation in application, interview and job offer patterns by school type.

NQT appointments

  • Primary schools were more likely to have appointed NQTs recently to KS2 (80% of primaries) or KS1 (71%) compared with the Foundation Stage (54%). Secondary schools were most likely to have appointed NQTs in English, Mathematics and General/Combined Science (more than 75% of secondaries in each case) and least likely to have appointed NQTs to teach PSHE, Physics or Chemistry (less than 40% in each case).
  • Sixty percent of primary schools and 50% of secondary schools had recruited at least some NQTs to temporary posts. The least deprived schools appointed significantly fewer NQTs to temporary posts compared with other schools.

Difficulties in recruitment

  • Primary schools found it slightly harder to recruit to Foundation Stage posts compared with KS1 and KS2, although for each key stage over 75% of primary schools reported it was not very or not at all difficult to recruit to posts in each key stage.
  • The most deprived schools faced the greatest difficulties recruiting NQTs to the Foundation Stage.
  • The most difficult subjects to recruit NQTs to in secondary schools are Physics (45% of schools that recruited physics teachers reporting difficulties), Mathematics (43% reporting difficulties), Chemistry (38%) and General/Combined Science (31%). Given that over three quarters of secondary schools had recruited an NQT to teach Mathematics and the same to teach General/Combined Science this is clearly a particular problem of supply in these subjects.
  • Whilst there were few differences in difficulty of recruitment to different key stages in primary schools between 2008 and 2010, the picture overall was better in 2010 in secondaries. For almost all secondary subjects, a smaller proportion of senior leaders reported difficulties in recruiting in 2010 compared with 2008. The difference was particularly significant for Physics (76% of schools that recruited NQTs to teach Physics in 2008 reported difficulties, compared with 45% in 2010) and ICT (54% in 2008, 43% in 2010).
  • Nearly a fifth of schools (18%) of schools reported difficulties in recruitment because they had to appoint to temporary rather than permanent posts. This was perceived as a significantly more difficult problem in primary schools.

 

 

NQT induction

Common induction programme

  • In 2010 nearly all schools had a common induction programme in place. There had 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.

Induction support

  • In 2010 senior leaders in over 90% of all schools reported that those aspects of induction set out in the induction statutory guidance, i.e.10% release from NQTs' timetables, provision of an induction tutor, opportunities to observe other teachers, training courses and use of TDA standards, were always available to NQTs.
  • Primary schools provided more opportunities for NQTs to visit other schools and greater access to local authority training programmes than secondary schools. Secondary schools more often enabled NQTs to undertake masters work, offered in-house induction programmes, support from mentors and coaches, and used the career entry development profile more than primary schools.
  • Greater use of local authority induction programmes was made by schools in more deprived areas.
  • Broadly NQT respondents agreed with senior leaders about the relative availability of different types of support, however they perceived that less support was available than their senior leaders claimed was offered.
  • Comparison of senior leader responses in the 2008 and 2010 surveys revealed a statistically significant decline in the use of the TDA standards, the career entry development profile, written individual programmes and the provision of support from a mentor or coach who was not the NQT’s designated induction tutor over time. The decline in the use of an additional mentor or coach and of written programmes was particularly marked in primary schools.

Induction processes

  • Senior leaders reported that in most schools one member of the teaching staff oversees NQT induction and in nearly three quarters of schools other staff are also designated to support NQTs. Fewer NQTs in primary schools were provided with access to an additional mentor than in secondary schools.
  • Senior leaders in around three quarters of all schools reported that there were explicit processes for monitoring and evaluating NQT induction. Fewer NQTs were aware of these processes. More secondary schools had processes for formal monitoring and evaluation of induction than primary schools.
  • Just under half of all schools’ senior leaders, and around a third of all NQTs, reported that there were explicit processes for supporting NQTs to work with support staff. Support for working with support staff was more frequently available in primary than secondary schools.
  • Governors rarely had involvement in NQT induction.
  • There were no significant differences over time in relation to induction processes.

Local authority induction programmes

  • Sixty one percent of senior leaders thought that local authority induction programmes were useful and a further twenty nine percent had a neutral opinion. Primary senior leaders were more positive about the usefulness of local authority programmes than senior leaders in secondary schools.
  • Senior leaders thought that local authority induction programmes could be improved by:
    - More formal and informal opportunities for NQTs to network with each other
    - More content related to behaviour management, chid protection, special educational needs, and working with support staff
    - Differentiating training
    - More consultation and collaboration between schools and the local authority to design and deliver the training
    - Organising training at times that provide greater accessibility for NQTs (e.g. twilights)
     - Practical sessions that are delivered by skilled practitioners with recent school experience
    - Clearer communication of dates and times
    - Less paperwork

Participation in Postgraduate professional development (PPD) programmes

  • Just under a third of all NQTs were participating in a PPD programme. More NQTs in secondary schools were participating than in primary schools.

 

Quality and performance

Senior leaders' views on the quality of NQTs

  • Senior leaders responding to our 2010 survey were asked to rate NQTs' qualities against a range of competences. Overall they were most satisfied with NQTs' IT skills, commitment to children, their team working skills with teaching colleagues, ability to meet the professional standards, lesson planning, awareness of what the job entails and ability to deal with children.
  • Senior leaders were least satisfied with NQTs' ability to deal with parents, preparedness to teach phonics (relevant only in primary schools), team-working skills with non-school colleagues and administrative work.
  • Senior leaders in the secondary sector generally rated the abilities of NQTs more highly than primary-based senior leaders. There were statistically significant differences between secondary and primary responses in relation to subject specialism, lesson planning, awareness of what the job entails, meeting the professional standards for teaching and pupil assessment/assessment for learning.
  • There were no significant changes in senior leaders' views about the qualities of NQTs between the 2008 and the 2010 surveys.

Senior leaders' perceptions of changes in quality of NQTs over time

  • Among senior leaders responding to our 2010 survey almost half believed that the quality of NQTs had increased or slightly increased over the previous three years. Almost half detected no difference and less than ten percent believed there had been a decrease in quality.
  • Secondary-based senior leaders were significantly less likely to report a decrease in the general quality of NQTs in the 2010 survey than in the 2008 survey. Among respondents from the primary sector the picture was unchanged.

Satisfaction of senior leaders with their choice of NQTs

  • Almost three-quarters of senior leaders responding to our 2010 survey were satisfied or very satisfied with their choice of NQTs over the last three years.
  • Analysis by school type shows that secondary respondents were more positive about an increase in quality and less likely than primary respondents to report declining quality.
  • There were no significant changes in senior leaders' satisfaction with the choice of NQT candidates between the 2008 and the 2010 surveys

NQTs perceptions of the value of their ITE in preparing them for the role

  • NQTs responding to our 2010 survey rated their initial teacher education highly across most of the criteria listed in our survey. Almost half of respondents rated the effectiveness of their preparation for the role as very good in four areas- moving towards meeting the professional standards, commitment to children, working with/in charge of a full class of children and lesson planning. For each of these criteria - and for awareness of what the job entails - over three-quarters of respondents rated their preparation as good or very good.
  • The areas identified by NQTs as the weakest in terms of preparation for the role of classroom teacher were administrative work, commitment to parents, team working with non-school colleagues and the ability to deal with parents; in each of these, less than a fifth felt that their ITE offered very good preparation.
  • Secondary respondents rated their ITE more highly than primary respondents as good for preparation; four of these differences were significant: subject/specialism knowledge; pupil assessment/assessment for learning; ability to deal with parents; and commitment to parents. In three areas - team working skills with support staff, team working skills with non school colleagues and working with/in charge of a full class of children - primary respondents felt themselves more adequately prepared than secondary peers.

Comparing senior leaders' and NQTs' perceptions of the value of ITE in preparation for the role

  • Comparative analysis of NQTs' perceptions of the effectiveness of their ITE with senior leaders' evaluations of their quality using the same criteria shows a relatively high degree of congruence in our 2010 survey data.
  • Of the top eight highest ranked criteria in the NQT survey, seven appear in the top eight ranking from the senior leader survey, with three occupying the same position in both rankings.
  • However there were some interesting variations. Working with a full class/in charge of a whole class had the third highest rating in the NQT survey, but for senior leaders, NQTs' skills in this area were rated only 10th. Similarly, while NQTs believed that they were relatively well prepared for pupil assessment/assessment for learning; senior leaders found this area one of the weaknesses of NQTs.
  • Conversely, IT skills was the highest placed criterion in terms of skills that NQTs exhibit according to senior leaders, but were only placed twelfth in NQTs' ranking of criteria that benefited from their ITE experience.

 

 

Retention

Retention overall

  • The overall picture in 2010 is of stability – in most cases few NQTs in their first two to three years of teaching had left the schools involved since 2005; and 92% of schools said that retention of NQTs was not a problem.
  • Fourteen percent of leaders in more deprived schools stated that retention of NQTs was a problem compared with 5% of leaders in the least deprived schools.
  • Primary schools were more likely to report some leaving after one year. After that, though, stability was higher in primary schools than in secondaries. Slightly higher proportions of NQTs were leaving more deprived schools compared with others.
  • There were some indications that there was greater stability in 2010 compared with 2008, with significantly higher proportions of senior leaders indicating that none of their NQTs had left after two or more years in 2010. This difference was particularly large in primary schools, where almost half of schools reported no NQTs leaving after two or more years in 2010 compared with less than 29% in 2008.
  • Where NQTs did leave, they were overwhelmingly likely to be moving on to other jobs in teaching (although this was slightly less likely in primary schools).

Reasons for leaving the school

  • The most common reasons given for NQTs leaving were promotion and contracts ending.
  • Among secondary school senior leaders 68% cited promotion as a reason for leaving, compared with 33% of primary school leaders. Senior leaders in more deprived schools were more likely to mention pupil behaviour, types of class taught and mismatch between skills and the demands of the job, although the strength of the link between deprivation and reasons for leaving was quite weak in each case.
  • In 2010, senior leaders were less likely to cite promotion as a reason for NQTs leaving (43% of leaders in 2010) compared with 2008 (51%) and also - encouragingly - they were less likely to mention pupil behaviour in 2010 (7% in 2010 compares with 12% in 2008).
  • When asked an open question regarding measures that supported retention, most responses cited ensuring staff were supported, via measures including providing a supportive environment, mentoring, induction, professional development, protected time and career opportunities. Other measures mentioned included financial incentives/permanent contracts and classroom issues especially pupil behaviour and teaching a preferred age range/subject/level.

NQT intentions relating to staying in or leaving the profession

  • Ninety-four percent of the NQTs we spoke with intended to stay in teaching in 2010, a slight increase from the 91% who intend to stay in teaching in 2008.
  • Of the teachers intending to stay, 78% intended to stay in teaching for the rest of their career, 21% for between two and ten years and only one individual intended to leave in the next year.
  • Of the 22 teachers that intended to leave, heavy workload was by far the most common reason given, with 68% of the 22 reporting this.