The podcast features three experienced school leaders who begin their discussion by each offering their three core principles of best practice for effective recruitment and retention.
We then consider how we might go about finding the best teaching staff, including how we recruit effectively for specific roles, and what kind of things might attract high-quality candidates to want to work in your school. We also discuss what an effective recruitment process looks like.
When it comes to retention, our panel considers in depth how to build a school culture that is “difficult to leave”, including how we integrate new staff, mentoring, professional development and support, systems of appraisal, and more.
And we talk about effective systems of induction for new staff as well to ensure they can hit the ground running when they begin.
As ever, our podcast is hosted by Helen Frostick, a National Leader of Education and a retired primary school headteacher. She is a long-standing member of the Headteacher Update editorial board. Her guests for this episode are:
- Louise Stevenson is the headteacher of St Mary’s CE Primary School in Truro.
- Ifrah Khan is currently a teacher of upper key stage 2 at Loughborough Primary School in south London. She is a humanities lead and has led on curriculum design too. Her teaching career has been in areas of disadvantage and deprivation in London. Find her previous podcast appearances for Headteacher Update via www.headteacher-update.com/authors/ifrah-khan
- Paul K Ainsworth has held director of school improvement roles in four multi-academy trusts and is currently the education director with Infinity Academies Trust in Lincolnshire. He has supported leaders of small rural primary schools to large 11 to 18 urban secondaries. He is the author of No Silver Bullets, two books focused on school improvement. Paul often appears on the Headteacher Update Podcast. Find his episodes and all his articles for the magazine via www.headteacher-update.com/authors/paul-k-ainsworth
To hear other Headteacher Update podcasts, or to subscribe for free to new editions, search for 'The Headteacher Update Podcast' in your podcast streaming application of choice. Or visit www.headteacher-update.com/content/podcasts
For details about The Headteacher Update Podcast, or to suggest future topics, email editor Pete Henshaw at pete.henshaw@markallengroup.com