June 2011

The know zone

  • Lead vocals
    Quotes from George Eliot, George Burns, William Galdstone and Dr Seuss More
  • Sink or swim?
    A divided governing body can be deadly, so prospective heads should find out all they can before joining a new school, says Richard Bird. More
  • Cognitive behaviour
    Measures to save money don’t have to be massively radical. Small efficiencies can yield great gains, says Sam Ellis. More
  • Life-changing
    After going to sea as a teenage midshipman on a cargo liner, Kevin McAleese changed course and went into teaching. The former head of two large comprehensive schools, he is now chairman of the NHS North Yorkshire and York Primary Care Trust and an education consultant. More
  • Money talks
    Charity pfeg works with teachers to develop young people’s financial awareness and campaigns nationally to make learning about money matters an education priority. More
  • Adding value
    With schools facing cuts of nearly 5 per cent in real terms and one in six English secondary schools in deficit, achieving value for money is more important than ever. More
  • Train to gain?
    Is the government’s plan for a raft of teaching schools the best way forward for managing continuing professional development? And how does teacher training fit in? Leaders share their thoughts. More
  • Leaders' surgery
    The antidote to common leadership conundrums… More
  • Forming a united front
    Polarised debates about education are counter-productive. What we need, says Brian Lightman, is a supra-political approach in which all sides come together to analyse what works and resolve fundamental problems. More
  • Bored meeting
    Mike Hodgkiss offers some strategies for making interminable, tedious meetings slightly more tolerable.Mike Hodgkiss offers some strategies for making interminable, tedious meetings slightly more tolerable. More
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Adding value

Just the job…

With schools facing cuts of nearly 5 per cent in real terms and one in six English secondary schools in deficit, achieving value for money is more important than ever. One way schools can secure substantial savings is by moving to online teacher recruitment.

Traditional recruitment advertising can cost a secondary school up to £25,000 per year, whereas a yearly subscription with Eteach, the UK’s leading online school recruitment business, is £3,000 for unlimited vacancy advertising.

The numbers show that teachers are already moving online. Eteach reported new members and active jobseekers were up by 30 per cent in 2011 and users on its candidate career portal were up by 145 per cent, while over 15,000 candidates joined its School and Regional Talent Pools. There are currently over 500,000 teacher members, giving employers access to an unrivalled pool of talent. The service is free to teachers, who simply enter their CV and then have access to a live database of vacancies.

In March over a hundred schools started recruiting with Eteach, bringing the total to over 6,000. Paul Howells, an ex-teacher who founded Eteach ten years ago, said: "In a time of austerity it makes no sense for schools to be spending a fortune on traditional recruitment advertising – they should be able to invest their budget in education."

One of the benefits of ASCL membership is discounts and special rates on a range of personal and educational products and services. There are healthcare products, online staff well-being systems financial advice and self-evaluation surveys. Check out the full list at www.ascl.org.uk

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