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Managing school staff
3 articles
Conduct
- Allegations against staff: investigation reports Are there templates of investigation reports on allegations against staff? We link to an investigation report template from the Advisory, Conciliation and Arbitration Service (ACAS), and to a template used by a school. We also relay guidance on investigating allegations against staff.
- Guide to difficult conversations with staff Prepare yourself for challenging conversations with staff by following our tips on how to give feedback, develop questioning skills and practice active listening, so you can approach your meetings with confidence.
- Staff drinking on residential trips Have your say and see if other schools let staff drink on residential trips and what rules they put in place.
1 article
Cover and supply arrangements
- 'Rarely cover' and 'foreseeable absence': rules and guidance Understand what is meant by, and the rules around, 'rarely cover' and 'foreseeable' absence, and find answers to common questions on who can provide cover. We also relay guidance from unions.
8 articles
Restructuring and transitions
- Advice for a new deputy headteacher If you're starting out as a deputy headteacher, understand your responsibilities and how to prepare to deputise. Be clear on the benefits of mentoring schemes and effective stakeholder relationships.
- Consulting staff: guidance Find out how you should consult staff about proposed changes, and use our model consultation letters to invite staff to express their views on issues such as staff restructures and changes to holiday and pay arrangements.
- Handover checklist for school business managers Handing over to a new school business manager? Use our downloadable handover checklist to help them get settled in the role. It includes tasks and information related to finance, premises management and HR.
- How to reorganise your staff structure UpdatedFollow our step-by-step guide to make sure you stay compliant when restructuring. It includes guidance on sharing staff across schools, the consultation process and making changes to an employment contract.
- New headteachers: questions to ask your SLT Ask your SLT these questions in the early days of headship so you can learn more about how your leadership team works, the strengths and weaknesses of your staff and the school's context.
- Restructuring support staff: developing a proposal Is there guidance on restructuring the support staff team? We relay advice from one of our associate education experts on how to restructure school support staff cost-effectively. We also look at an example of how a support staff restructure was carried out and link to templates for business cases.
- Salary safeguarding Teachers may be entitled to safeguarded pay if their role changes as a result of a restructure or the closure of the school. Understand how to calculate a safeguarded sum and the required duration of safeguarding.
- Succession planning in schools Address succession planning in your school with this article. Learn how to identify future leadership needs, develop potential leaders and survey staff to understand their skills and aspirations.
10 articles
Staffing structures
- Administrative staff structures: secondary schools Are there examples of administrative staff structures in secondary schools? We look at examples of administrative staffing structures from secondary schools of different sizes. You will also find links to further articles from The Key, which look at reorganising a school's staffing structure.
- Conducting a school staffing review Is there advice on conducting a school staffing review? This article has a KeyDoc that can be used to show how much schools spend on staff. We also link to guidance from LAs on reviewing staff structures, and look at the implications of a staffing review, including benchmarking and restructuring.
- Leadership structures in 'outstanding' schools How you structure your leadership team is an important decision. To help you with this, have a look at how some ‘outstanding’ schools have structured their leadership teams, and read advice on how you can organise your staffing structure.
- Leadership structures in primary schools How do primary schools structure their leadership teams? We relay advice from three of our associate education experts on different leadership structures. We also refer to examples of leadership structures from schools and link to National College case studies on this topic.
- Leadership structures in small primary schools Get advice on how leadership in small primary schools might work in practice and find examples of leadership structures from other small primary schools.
- Organising a cost-effective staffing structure How can we structure our staff in a cost-effective way? We relay advice from two of our associate education experts on how school staffing structures can be financially efficient. We look at the structure of the SLT, the middle leadership tier and the allocation of TLR payments.
- Organising a cost-effective support staff structure How can we organise our support staff structure in a cost-efficient way? We relay advice on this question from four of our associate education experts. We also include a case study from a school and a downloadable KeyDoc for calculating support staff salary costs.
- Primary school staffing structures: examples Are there examples of primary school staffing structures? In this article, you will find examples of staffing structures in one-form, one-and-a-half-form, two-form, three-form and four-form entry primary schools.
- Staffing structures: special schools Read expert advice on reviewing your staffing structure, and see examples of structures from primary, secondary and all-through special schools.
- The SENCO as a strategic leader: guidance How can a SENCO become a strategic leader? We relay advice from one of our education experts on how SENCOs can develop their role to become an effective leader of SEN provision. You will also find learning outcomes for the National Award for SEN Co-ordination that relate to leadership.
25 articles
Workload and wellbeing
- 10 ways to support staff wellbeing and work-life balance Find out how 3 schools reduced workload and improved work-life balance for their staff. Use their ideas to retain great people, save on recruitment and make your school a happier place.
- Alcohol at staff parties It’s up to you to decide whether staff can drink alcohol at social events like Christmas parties. Take a look at some of the things to consider, and see how other schools approach this issue.
- Developing peer-to-peer mentoring Learn how to use peer mentoring effectively and what peer-to-peer sessions might look like, to create a supportive professional culture in your school.
- How one 'outstanding' secondary school cut its marking workload by 75%: case study Barr Beacon School cut down teachers' marking time to less than an hour a day by banning detailed written marking and improving the way staff give feedback to pupils. Read on and download this school's marking policy and other resources to learn how you can make this happen too.
- How to create a staff mental health and wellbeing action plan Know what good staff mental health and wellbeing looks like and get advice on achieving it. Use our template to help you create a staff mental health and wellbeing action plan.
- How to escalate staff wellbeing concerns As a line manager, find out how and when to escalate wellbeing concerns about your staff, so you can effectively support them at school.
- How to offer flexible working to attract outstanding staff and boost retention: case study An innovative timetable enables Manchester Communication Academy to offer flexi days, staggered start times and part-time working – contributing to a 90% staff retention rate. Read on for ideas about how to implement flexible working in your school.
- How to run a working group to improve staff wellbeing: case study Hardenhuish School's wellbeing and workload working group comes together to discuss practical solutions to discrete workload burdens, and implement new initiatives based on best practice. Hear how Jo Glossop, the school's assistant head, set it up and how you can too.
- How to run welfare checks for school staff Know how to conduct wellbeing checks with your staff so you can effectively provide support and respond to any problems they have. Download our list of discussion questions to help you prepare.
- Marking mythbuster Meaningful feedback that improves pupils’ work does not have to be written. However, many school leaders are still telling us that they are struggling with reducing marking workload in their school. To help, we've put together this mythbuster to help you work out what you don't have to worry about.
- New headteacher's presentation to staff Find out how to introduce yourself to staff for the first time and get advice on what you should cover to help you set the groundwork for building good relationships.
- Poll results: how to reduce your teachers' workload School leaders like you have stopped many time-consuming tasks in their school without negatively impacting pupil outcomes. See what you and your team can stop doing too.
- Rewarding staff: payments, perks and incentives Be clear on what financial and non-financial rewards and incentives you can give staff, so you can show them some appreciation and stay compliant.
- Save time and improve wellbeing by cutting down internal meetings The Duston School made meetings both more effective and more enjoyable when it condensed them in response to coronavirus restrictions. Here’s how principal Sam Strickland gives his staff at least 3 hours of their week back and how you can too.
- Slash teachers' workload: what to stop doing Cut out these 8 time-consuming practices and win back precious hours for your staff, without sacrificing learning or inspection outcomes.
- Staff survey pack Everything you need to create your survey – a statement bank covering a range of topics, a survey template and a letter to staff. Plus, examples from schools.
- Staff wellbeing: how to spot early signs of depression and anxiety With an open and honest wellbeing culture in place, you may be able to spot problems early. Get advice on what to look for and what to do if you have concerns.
- Staff wellbeing: how to use individual action plans Find out if individual wellbeing action plans are right for your school, so you can help support your staff. Download our template and see an example plan to help you confidently create your own.
- Staff wellbeing questionnaires See what the potential benefits of a questionnaire are, examples of questionnaires, and what to do with the data.
- Staff wellbeing toolkit for line managers The pressures of coronavirus mean that looking after the wellbeing of your staff is especially important. Use these resources to help you spot wellbeing challenges, take the appropriate next steps, and support a whole-school focus on wellbeing.
- Start-of-year presentations and meetings for staff Is there advice on running start-of-year presentations and meetings? We relay advice from one of our associate education experts on what to include in such a presentation and link to examples of presentations. We also include advice from another expert on running start-of-year meetings.
- Teacher workload audit tool Use our teacher workload audit tool to spot workload issues and cut down on time wasted on ineffective or unproductive tasks.
- Trans staff: summary of legal rights Understand your legal responsibilities around supporting staff that identify as trans in the workplace and learn how to make informed decisions around the arrangements you put in place.
- What not to do with pupil performance data Ofsted has warned against excessive use of data to assess pupil performance because it is not always reliable. Here are 5 common data practices that you could stop doing, and strategies to use instead, to identify what your pupils know and drive down teacher workload.
- Workload: get to the heart of what's overloading your staff with 'keep, tweak or ditch' Keen to address workload but don't know where to start? See the wood from the trees with Kensington Primary School's democratic, no-nonsense way to spot and solve the biggest burdens for everyone on your staff team.