Page 11 - ELG2406 June Issue 490

NEWS

unaccredited school closed its the problem. And it is the
doors. Sources among both the demand for secure jobs that is
Union and employers told the preventing experienced teachers
Gazette they are confident an from returning to the sector.
agreement will soon be reached, In London, for example, many
with one industry source ex-TEFLers have shifted into
welcoming the move because it working as teaching assistants
would ‘put pressure on the rogue where their ELT qualifications
providers’. give them a head-start. Their
Sectoral pay rates are nothing pay – though low at around £500
new. Spain has had them for a week – is guaranteed, and their
decades, though rates remain hours are regular, from 8:30 to
low. In Australia they have been 15:30. Lesson planning and
set, as most pay rates are, by the marking is minimal, and while
Fair Pay Ombudsman for many most TAs are unpaid eight weeks
years and are probably the highest of the school holiday year, they
in the English-speaking world. can easily get TEFL work in the
The problem, however, is that school holidays. come back to teaching, but would always been salaried positions of
employers are allowed to employ Moving into the mainstream, not accept zero-hour contracts. He £37,000-£45,000.
teachers on a ‘casual basis’, with where teacher shortages are also took the decision to sell ownership Will language schools have to
four-week rolling contracts. rife, is increasingly common. One of the school to the city’s top not- follow their lead? In the UK, they
school on the south coast, which for-profit independent schools so may have no option. If the Labour
If the Labour contacted its former teachers he could offer them permanent Party win the next election they
Party win the next after COVID, found they had all jobs. For the results of this have to ban zero-hours contracts
unless staff choose them. After
taken permanent jobs at a local
endeavour, read the case study
election they have school for children with Special accompanying this article. working for 12 weeks, workers
The
to ban zero-hours Educational Needs. university companies running must be offered a permanent
foundation
When the owner of ELC
job based on the average of all
year
contracts Bristol – one of the six schools in programmes are generally offering working time undertaken, and not
the country to get a perfect score salaried jobs, some fixed-term. just ‘teaching hours’.
While teachers earn a on inspection – set out to find Kaplan is offering a starting salary ‘I did see that,’ one school
reasonable wage, it is job security, his teachers, they had all found of £35,000 in London, though owner admitted. ‘But I didn’t
not income, which is causing permanent jobs. They wanted to the London rate for INTO has realise the impact.’
Case study

ELC Bristol set out to build back its teaching team after COVID.
Below, Vice Principal and Academic Director of ELC Bristol,
Mark Calland reveals the secrets of their success in recruitment
and retention:
The key factors in recruitment and retention for us are:

1. Salary: most of our teachers start on £24.73 per teaching
hour. We also have an 11-band scale with the top level
being £30.60 an hour.
2. Security: all but one of our regular teachers are on
permanent contracts, and the teacher who isn't chose not
to take one, as she only works a few hours and wants the
flexibility not to work for certain periods.
3. Support: a caring and supportive ethos has long been key
to our success as a school. We also try to be flexible and
accommodating in relation to what hours teachers want to
work, which classes they would like to teach or avoid and
in granting holiday requests. We get termly feedback from
teachers in the shape of an end-of-term feedback form and
this also enables us to tailor our professional development
to their wants and needs. We also have an annual staff
review, which gives teachers another opportunity to make
requests and voice concerns. From the top down at ELC, a
sense of humour has always played its part in ensuring that
people enjoy being in the staffroom and look forward to
coming to work.
4. Career development: we have a principal, an academic
director, a director of studies and a senior teacher, which
gives ambitious teachers the sense that there is scope for
promotion if they work hard and are successful in their roles.

Only one regular teacher left us last year; he had only been with
us for several months and was not on a permanent contract, but
had been offered one at the University of the West of England
on a high salary. This represents 5% of teachers leaving.

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