The recruitment and appointment of teachers in Jersey

1240/5(2526)

WRITTEN QUESTIONS TO THE PRESIDENT OF THE EDUCATION, SPORT AND CULTURE COMMITTEE BY DEPUTY G.P. SOUTHERN OF ST. HELIER

ANSWER TO BE TABLED ON TUESDAY 24th MAY 2005

Question 1

Would the President inform members whether the standard of applicants attracted to apply for teaching posts in Jersey has been maintained over the past decade, and whether his department keeps data to monitor any change in the standard of applicants, such as class of degree held, and number of posts appointed to those without a formal teaching qualification for the age group concerned?

Answer

The Department does not keep data to monitor the standard of applicants. However, the data below suggests that the  academic  standard  of  teachers  in  the  U.K.,  who  have  successfully  completed  training,  has  improved continuously since 1993.

School Workforce Analysis in England 2004 – Percentage of Cohort

1993 1994 1995 1996 1997 1998 1999 2000 2001 2002 2003

Postgraduate Class of first degree

1st honours 2nd honours other and unclassified honours ordinary/pass Total

3.7 3.8

81.6 83.1

7.4 7.0

7.3 6.1

100 100

3. 4.4

83.2 83.2

7.0 6.0

5.5 6.4

100 100

5.0 5.0

85.4 85.3

2. 4.6

4. 5.1

100 100

3. 5.6

8. 86.1
   9. 4.1
      9. 4.2

100 100

4. 5.7 6.2

84.4 85.9 85.1

4.4 3.5 3.2

5.9 4.9 5.4

100 100 100

Undergraduate Class of first degree

1st honours 2nd honours other and unclassified honours ordinary/pass Total

4.2 3.8

80.5 80.5

3.2 3.4

12.1 12.4

100 100

3.9 4.0

84.1 85.7

3.1 3.0

8.9 7.3

100 100

4.5 4.8

89.9 88.1

4.1 2.8

1.5 4.3

100 100

5.3 6.0

87.8 89.8

3.5 3.1

3.4 1.0

100 100

3. 6.9 6.7

5. 89.5 90.8

2.7 2.7 2.3

0.7 0.8 0.2

100 100 100

Applicants for teaching posts are expected to have a first degree and a Postgraduate Certificate in Education or a dedicated  degree  in  Education.  Normally  prospective  candidates  are  also  required  to  demonstrate  sound professional practice in the classroom as part of the selection procedure.

There are currently five teachers who hold a degree and have not yet completed a Postgraduate Certificate in Education. However, four of these do hold a qualification to teach post 16 years. All teachers in Jersey are required to demonstrate that they meet national teaching standards during the first year of their employment. Those who are successful are awarded Jersey Qualified Teacher status which is monitored and evaluated by the Institute of Education, London University.

Question 2

Would the President inform members whether the Committee will be reviewing its teacher recruitment and selection policies in the light of possible reductions in applicants resulting from –

1. the adoption of "20 per cent means 20percent" taxation? and,
2. the continuing improvement to teachers' working conditions in the U.K. resulting from reduced administrative and othernon-teaching duties which are still requiredin Jersey?

Answer

1. The Committee hasrecently been reviewing its teacher recruitmentand selection policies in light ofthe States of Jersey HRTransformation Project. It will continue tomonitorappointment trends especially in respect ofshortage subjects.
2. As part of the 2004-2006payagreement between the Education, Sport and Culture Committeeand the TeachersAssociations,provisionhas been madefor the establishment of a review bodytoconsider the impact ofwork force reforms in UKand to review localconditionsof service.

Question 3

Will the President inform members what data, if any, is retained to monitor recruitment and retention rates for teaching staff, and, in particular, can he give, for example, comparative figures for 2004 and 1994 of –

1. the numberof applicants perpost?
2. the numberof occasions whereno appointment wasmade?,and
3. the numberof occasions when the successfulcandidatehas refused the offerofemployment?, for bothprimaryandsecondarysectors.

Would the President also provide comparative figures for a similar period for those leaving the teaching profession in Jersey in under two years, and, in particular, inform members whether the Committee has comparative data on the number of teachers who fail their probationary period in Jersey as compared to a comparable U.K. Authority?"

Answer

Data has been collated by academic year dating back to September 2001.

1. Number of advertised teaching posts:

2 0 0 1 – 2002 S e co n d ary 1 6 7 P ri m a r y 1 0 3

2 0 0 2 – 2003 S e co n d ary 7 1 P ri m a r y 4 9

2 0 0 3 – 2004 S e co n d ary 6 2 P ri m a r y 4 0

2 0 0 4 – current S e co n d ary 5 1 P ri m a r y 1 3

2. Number of occasions where no appointment was made:

2 0 0 1 – 2002 S e co n d ary 1 1 P ri m a r y 1 5

2 0 0 2 – 2003 S e co n d ary 1 7 P ri m a r y 7

2 0 0 3 – 2004 S e co n d ary 5 P ri m a r y 2

2 0 0 4 – current S e co n d ary 0 P ri m a r y 0

R e -advertised posts are included in the numbers for Question 3 (a). Since 2001, no class has been without a

teacher at the beginning of an academic year. However, it is possible that some may have been employed from the supply list or on a short-term contract.

3. Teachers leaving the employ of the Education, Sport and Culture Committee with less than 2 years service:

2 0 0 1 –  2002 2 0 2 0 0 2 – 2003 2 2 2 0 0 3 – 2004 2 1 2 0 0 4 – current 1 2

S o me of these teachers may have moved into the private sector. The Department is not aware of any teachers

refusing the offer of employment since 2001. In the last two years four teachers have failed their probationary period; two of these were newly qualified teachers. Data for comparison with the U.K. has been requested from the DfES.