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19th December 2014

ETF Mathematics Graduate Recruitment Incentive Award

Final Report

Submitted by Tribal

Final Report

The Education and Training Foundation 6th October 2014

DocConfi DocDraft DRAFT DocTitle Maths Graduate Recruitment Incentive Award DocumentSubtitle Interim Report DocDate 6th October 2014 DocClient The Education and Training Foundation Title Footer/DocVersion ~PreBodyHeader Closure Report ~ExecHeader Closure Report ~DocHeader Closure Report ~SecHeader Closure Report ~AppHeader Closure Report HeaderType Manual DocCopyRight DocReference ProtectionMarking ~TitleFooterRefProtection ProductLogo No_Logo

Contact Details Nikki Tregellas Programme Manager

+44 7798 571165 [email protected] Norma Honey Project Director

+44 7768 950150 [email protected]

Contact Address Tribal, Kings Orchard, One Queen Street, Bristol, BS2 0HQ

T: 0845 123 6001

Tribal, operating through the entity whose details appear below (“Tribal”), has produced this report for the benefit

of The Education and Training Foundation (the “Client”) only and it has been released to the Client subject to the

terms and conditions of the contract between Tribal and the Client. Tribal has not verified the accuracy, quality,

correctness or completeness, merchantability or fitness for a particular purpose or requirement any information

supplied by or on behalf of the Client in the course of Tribal’s work and accepts no liability in connection with any

such matters, whether arising under contract, tort or otherwise. Any party that obtains access to this report or a

copy (under Freedom of Information Act 2000 or otherwise) and chooses to rely on this report (or any part of it)

does so at their own risk. To the fullest extent permitted by law, Tribal does not assume any responsibility and will

not accept any responsibility in respect of this report to any party other than the Client. By accepting and using

this report, the Client warrants and undertakes that it shall not rely solely upon this report in making any decision

and shall take specialist external advice from lawyers, accountants, financial advisers, tax specialists and/or other

professionals as appropriate to the nature, type and potential ramifications of the decision which is being made.

Tribal, Kings Orchard, One Queen Street, Bristol, BS2 0HQ

T: 0845 123 6001

mailto:[email protected]

mailto:[email protected]

Final Report


Contents

1. Introduction 1

2. Executive summary 2

3. Project Delivery 5 3.1. Assessment process 5

3.1.1. Awards recommended 6 3.1.2. Rejected and ineligible awards 7 3.1.3. Withdrawn awards 7

3.2. Ongoing support 8 3.3. Workshops 8 3.4. Monitoring surveys 9 3.5. Case studies 10

4. Achievement of Objectives and Impact 13 4.1. Objectives 13 4.2. Key milestones 13 4.3. Key results 13

5. Observations of impact and recommendations 16 5.1. Direct impact of projects on recruitment 16

5.1.1. Observations 17 5.2. Recommendations 17

6. Equality and diversity 19 6.1. Equality and Diversity Data 20

6.1.1. Recruits by Age 20 6.1.2. Recruits by Gender 20 6.1.3. Recruits by Ethnicity 21 6.1.4. General 22

7. Merger of phase one and phase two 23

8. Phase two 24

Final Report


Glossary

BIS Department for Business, Innovation and Skills

CPD Continuing Professional Development

E&D Equality and Diversity

ETF Education and Training Foundation

FE Further Education

HR Human Resources

IoE Institute of Education

MEP Maths Enhancement Programme

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Final Report

1. Introduction

The Education and Training Foundation (ETF) Mathematics Graduate Recruitment Incentive Award project

supports the Government’s ambition to improve standards in mathematics teaching in the Further Education (FE)

and Skills sector. The project provided recruitment incentive awards of £20,000 or £30,000 (if working in

partnership) to FE and Skills organisations and enabled them to explore innovative ways of recruiting and

retaining specialist graduate mathematics teachers.

The context of the project is firmly rooted in the national need to increase the number of mathematics teachers.

This is not a new phenomenon; however, the demand has been exacerbated by the government’s ambition for

higher standards in mathematics teaching and learning for all students and in particular by the need for all

students to study mathematics as part of their programme of study until they are 19 years old. GCSE is regarded

as the ‘gold standard’ and the goal for all students. For those already achieving a grade C or above, a

requirement to study ‘Core Mathematics’1 will equally demand a significant increase in the number of

mathematics teachers when fully rolled out in 2015.

The recent successful Mathematics Enhancement Programme (MEP) has begun the process of up-skilling

functional skills teachers and has trained 2,200 teachers. With further support, these teachers will add

significantly to the capacity of organisations in the sector to teach GCSE mathematics. There will be appropriate

training for teachers to meet the forthcoming Core Skills mathematics requirements. However, there is still an

anticipated overall shortfall in numbers of appropriately trained teachers. The Mathematics Graduate Recruitment

Incentive Award project has made an important contribution to addressing the need for more teachers in the FE

and skills sector and there are 140 graduates who are new to teaching either training to be mathematics teachers

or teaching mathematics as a direct result of this Incentive award.

A key objective of the project was for the participating organisations to also review current recruitment practices to

determine whether they are fit for purpose when recruiting for a shortage subject such as mathematics. The

outcomes and lessons learned from these reviews have provided evidence of whether incentivising shortage

subjects is successful in encouraging more graduates to consider teaching as a career option and thus helpful in

addressing the shortage of subject specialists within the sector.

Graduate recruitment, whilst very positive, should not be seen as an end in itself in building the capacity of

mathematics teachers in the FE and skills sector alone. The enhanced processes and ongoing support for the

graduate are key to retention and, therefore, the continued sustainability of capacity increases.

Emerging evidence from award holders, confirms the positive effects of the award in instigating review and

change in practice leading to impacts across the organisation. Quotes from surveys and case studies give a

flavour of these impacts and are integrated throughout the report.

Award holders are noting early impact on mathematics teaching and learning as the graduates bring a

refreshing new outlook to the curriculum.

Training Providers, in particular, have been able to appoint a mathematics specialist for the first time

which has enhanced mathematics provision and curricula.

1 The Core Maths initiative is aimed at increasing the number of post-16 students studying the subject who have already passed GCSE

maths. The programme is currently being piloted with a roll-out expected from 2015/16 academic year.

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2. Executive summary

The Further Education and Skills sector has acknowledged a shortfall in capacity for recruiting specialist

mathematics teachers within the sector. The exploration of whether incentives of any kind (e.g. financial, terms

and conditions) can impact positively on this situation is at the heart of this project and data secured from the

project suggests there is value to be obtained from offering enhanced employment packages to applicants.

The call for applications was distributed in February 2014 and the contract for support was awarded to Tribal in

April 2014. It was essential, therefore, that application approvals were made promptly in order for the award

holders to have enough time to recruit graduates. Delivery of similar programmes in the future should seek to

commence the application and support process as soon as possible in the academic year (see section 5.2

recommendations).

The Foundation received a total of 159 applications, of which 124 were awarded an incentive while 35 were

ineligible, rejected or withdrawn. Ongoing support to award holders was provided by Tribal throughout the

duration of the project in response to individual queries and concerns. Workshops and a webinar were also

carried out to communicate key messages about the project, to clarify contractual requirements, to celebrate the

success of the project and to share this with the sector. Tribal undertook an initial monitoring survey of award

holders to gather early feedback on the project in July 2014. A second survey was conducted in November 2014

to monitor further progress of the project and gather the end of project statistics. A number of case studies have

been developed as part of this project and will be used to provide further evidence of best practice to share with

the sector.

Key findings

124 organisations were successful in being granted an incentive award :

o 89 x £20k awards

o 34 x £30k awards

o 1 x £170K awards

As a result of this project there are now 140 additional teachers appointed and working in the sector

102 organisations recruited at least one person as a result of this incentive award

Award holders were spread both geographically and across organisation type (see section 3.1)

Award holders have confirmed the additional funding was instrumental in facilitating enhanced offers to

appointees

Many award holders have been successful in appointing where they had been unable to do so previously

24 organisations have recruited more than one graduate as a result of this incentive award

Training Providers, in particular, have been able to appoint a mathematics specialist for the first time

which has enhanced mathematics provision and curricula.

Appointees have been offered appropriate training programmes allied with internal support e.g.

mentoring, team teaching or internal CPD, often funded by this incentive award.

The workshops, webinars and additional support provided through the programme has been shown to be

essential components of support and have been highly rated by award holders.

Numerous award holders feel that the award should be repeated with a number of them wishing to apply

again.

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The awards are enhancing the move towards the development of cadres of well qualified teachers in

organisations locally and regionally.

Award holders are noting early impact on mathematics teaching and learning as the graduates bring a

refreshing new outlook to the curriculum.

The initial and final monitoring surveys provide evidence of common areas of practice which contribute positively

towards success in recruiting for a shortage subject. Examples of this include:

Internal advertising to teaching and non-teaching staff

The use of local press and local contacts

The review and challenge of the usual person specification criteria to encourage applications from a wider

field of expertise and experience

Enhancing salary packages

The provision of additional support through mentoring and training

The reduction in contact hours

The need/benefit of providing a structured teacher professional development scheme.

The following selection of quotes from award holders illustrates how the award has impacted on existing practices

and individual organisations:

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Recruitment

‘It has been brilliant as it has allowed us to develop a strategic approach to the recruitment of, and

development of, the College's staff delivering maths’. – Executive Director, Bedford College

‘Being involved in the scheme allowed us to review our recruitment process; it was particularly beneficial to

attend the event in London before the summer and to hear and share ideas and practices with colleagues from

other colleges, especially those who had used something similar in the previous year.’ – Assistant Principal

– Sciences, Bournville College

‘Helped us to innovate in terms of advertising but more importantly enable us to provide a comprehensive

support package and bespoke professional development programme for the candidates which we hope will

encourage retention and avoid early exit from the profession.’ – Assistant Principal, Exeter College

Mathematics in the organisation

‘Further raised the profile of the importance of mathematics in the FE sector across the College, particularly at

a senior leadership level.’ – Section Leader English and Maths, Askham Bryan College

‘It has given us the flexibility to think more creatively about maths teaching. As a result, we are restructuring

our maths delivery within the College and we are pulling together maths teachers from several departments

into one department to give them a professional 'maths' identity.’ – Assistant Principal, Wakefield College

Overall

‘A much needed boost to bring expertise into the company to support the development of Maths skills within

the workforce and a re-energised approach to help improve success rates and quality of delivery for our

learners.’ – Functional Skills Co-ordinator, HIT Training

‘The award has enabled the college to attract a high calibre younger candidate to teach maths, increasing the

maths teaching capacity particularly at GCSE & Level 3. Also offering a fresh and engaging approach for the

younger and less engaged learners.’ – Director of Human Resources, East Riding College

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3. Project Delivery

3.1. Assessment process

Tribal received 159 applications for the Mathematics Graduate Recruitment Incentive Award. The charts below

indicate the geographic breakdown by region of both the £30K applications and the £20K applications and a

review of application by organisation type:

Chart 1: Geographic breakdown of award applications

Chart 2: Applications by type of organisation

The application assessment procedure provided a rigorous review of planned activity and eligibility checks. The

criteria used for assessment were:

East England

East Midlands

London North East

North West

South East

South West

West Midlands

Yorkshire and

Humber

10

15 13

1

18 22

13

8

14

5 5 2

4 7

5 3

7 7

Nu

mb

er

of

Ap

plic

atio

ns

Region

Geographic Breakdown of Award Applications

£20K Award £30K Award

78%

21% 1%

Applications by Type of Organisation

FE College Training Provider 6th Form

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Final Report

Are there any partnership or collaborative arrangements?

This question determined:

– which award the organisation was eligible for

– which organisations made up the partnership

– details of proposed partnership workings

– how leadership and reporting requirements would be met.

Is the activity sustainable?

A key objective of the project was to explore potential practice which will impact positively on recruitment to

shortage subjects in the future.

Has retention of the teacher been considered appropriately?

While the aim of the project was improved recruitment, it was vitally important for the organisation to have a

structured plan of support and training for the recruit to enhance the likelihood of retention. The initial

experience of new teachers is critical in ensuring that they remain in the sector; therefore, it was important to

check that plans from applicants included strong support.

Is there acceptable consideration of equality and diversity?

This tested the existence of rigorous policies but also sought information about whether applicants were

planning innovative or different practices as part of the project.

Is this a particularly innovative suggestion?

The shortage of mathematics teachers in the sector was the main driver for the incentive awards and the

project was looking for award holders to consider different approaches to recruitment to a subject that had

proved difficult in the past. Doing more of the same was, therefore, not an option. It was important that

award holders produced plans which incorporated different and innovative approaches to recruitment and

retention.

Has the application considered long term impact?

Lessons learned from the success of the project should inform future recruitment practice and have impact

on the teaching of mathematics in the organisation. It is hoped that this project, along with others, will lead

to improvement in mathematics teaching and achievements within the sector.

Assessment against these criteria led to award holders either being recommended, rejected or being asked for

further information/clarification in order to support as many applications as possible.

3.1.1. Awards recommended

Tribal recommended 123 awards to be distributed. ETF reviewed a separate application from the Newcastle

College Group resulting in an award of £170K to share across their partnership organisations. 124 awards were

recommended in total.

The table below indicates the geographic breakdown of the 159 applications compared to the 124 that were

recommended for receipt of an award.

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Final Report

Chart 3: Geographic breakdown of awards applied for and recommended

The table below shows the breakdown in total funding distributed and the number of awards by award category:

Table 1: Funding category of awards

Award Category Total Funding Number of Applications

£20K £1,780,000 89

£30K £1,020,000 34

£170K £170,000 1

Total £2,970,000 124

3.1.2. Rejected and ineligible awards

From the 159 applications received, 18 were rejected. Below are the general themes as to why they were

rejected:

Unrealistic/overambitious expectations of what the graduate could do

Activities were not different to anything they should be doing already

11 applications were deemed ineligible due to not meeting the criteria for funding e.g. a sixth form college.

3.1.3. Withdrawn awards

Six organisations withdrew their application for an award after it was initially accepted. More often than not the

key reason given was that they had reviewed their business requirements and processes internally and, as a

result, decided the award was no longer relevant.

In July 2014, after being involved and supported through the project for a number of months a further provider

withdrew their award and have since returned their funding so the number of ongoing projects reported in this

report is 123. The funding from the withdrawn providers has been reallocated to the Newcastle pilot project.

0

5

10

15

20

25

East England

East Midlands

London North East North West South East South West West Midlands

Yorkshire and Humber

Geographic Breakdown of Awards Applied for and Recommended

£20K Award Applications £20K Award Recommendations £30K Award Applications £30K Award Recommendations £170K Award Applications £170K Award Recommendations

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Final Report

3.2. Ongoing support

Throughout the project significant additional support was provided by Tribal to give bespoke responses to

individual organisations. There were numerous enquiries regarding the contractual requirements; in particular,

clarification was often sought as to the eligibility of the academic qualification of prospective recruits. Other

common queries included: providers seeking to revise their delivery plan by amending the timetable; for those

who were struggling to recruit, seeking confirmation on the eligibility of spend; questions from financial

departments who were unaware of why funds had been sent to their organisations and who were, therefore,

unable to appropriately allocate budgets or costs.

3.3. Workshops

3.3.1. Initial workshops and webinar

In the early stages of the project Tribal held two face to face workshops to support organisations; one in London

on 11th June 2014 and one in Manchester on 12

th June 2014 with a representative from ETF attending each

workshop. In total, 21 people attended the London event and 32 in Manchester. A further webinar event was

held on 27th June to provide those beneficiaries who were unable to attend the workshops the opportunity to learn

about the topics covered and discussion points. Nine people attended the webinar, resulting in a total of 62

people benefitting from the events overall. Of the 62 attendees there were 61 different organisations represented

at these events which equates to 49% of the award holders.

The aim of the workshops was to provide support to organisations on how to maximise the impact and retention

of their appointee. The workshops outlined the context of the project, the contractual requirements and provided

a forum for discussion for award holders. Delegates worked in regional groups, which enabled discussion to take

place and relationships to be developed across each region. Training providers were placed together to

acknowledge and determine their particular needs, which emphasised that the project was collaborative and not

competitive.

From these very early sessions it became clear that the timescale of the project presented some issues for

recruitment as it was late in the academic year for recruiting potential appointees. The need for a structured

training programme appropriate for the appointee was also acknowledged and it was noted that reduced teaching

hours were essential.

Evaluations from the sessions show they were very successful in providing useful information about the project.

Out of the 62 delegates, 55 (89%) completed an evaluation form following their attendance at one of the events.

100% of respondents rated the event positively as either very useful or useful, with an encouraging 75% of people

selecting the highest rating of ‘very useful’.

3.3.2. Final Workshop

To celebrate the success of the project and to provide information for future potential award holders, an event

was held in London on 9th December 2014. All eligible providers from the sector were invited including those who

applied previously but were unsuccessful. There were 59 attendees from the FE and Skills sector and of these 9

organisations attended that were non existing award holders.

Speakers from the Department for Business, Innovation and Science (BIS), the Education and Training

Foundation (ETF) and the Institute of Education (IOE) provided a policy and mathematics perspectives for

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Final Report

delegates alongside presentations from some award holders who gave an overview of their individual projects

and the impact on their organisation.

Workshops by award holders were held and provided more detailed information and opportunity for delegates to

ask questions and have further discussions. During the workshop, Tribal provided guidance and advice on the

application process for the next phase of the project. Attendees were asked to complete evaluations and 96% of

respondents indicated they found the event either very useful (79%) or useful (26%). Below are some comments

from the final workshop evaluation forms:

3.4. Monitoring surveys

An initial online monitoring survey was sent to all award holders in July 2014, with a reminder for completion sent

early in September 2014. Out of 123 award holders, 102 (83%) returned the survey.

A final monitoring survey was sent to award holders in November 2014 resulting in 116 responses (94%). The key

results from the survey data include:

102 organisations have appointed post holders

77% made changes to their recruitment processes as a part of the programme

85% said the incentive scheme resulted in a positive impact on the mathematics strategy within their

organisation

34% linked this incentive with other incentive schemes e.g. ‘Golden Hellos’, bursaries, PGCE course fees

95% of appointees are graduates and have a level 3 or above qualification in mathematics (the others

have a maths related degree)

84% of organisations offered some level of incentive to the graduates – bonus; enhanced salary; reduced

timetable.

41% of organisations recruited non-teaching staff into teaching roles.

“It was useful to hear from BIS. It was also great to work with other providers to develop their programme” –

Canterbury College

“A good mix of excellent speakers and facilitators” – Bury College

“Really excellent and productive day, with lots of relevant information about how to complete a successful

bid“– Leicester College

“Lots of detail and good balance of practical help, inspiration, networking opportunities” – Wirral Metropolitan

College

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Final Report

3.5. Case studies

A number of case studies have been developed with award holders drawn from a cross section of rural and urban

areas, large and small organisations, colleges and training providers. The case studies identify a range of key

factors which will assist future award applicants or holders when considering increasing their mathematics

workforce. The finalised case studies are included as Appendix B.

Do you feel that this incentive award has led to improved recruitment processes?

‘Helped us to innovate in terms of advertising but more importantly enable us to provide a comprehensive

support package and bespoke professional development programme for the candidates which we hope will

encourage retention and avoid early exit from the profession.’ – Assistant Principal, Exeter College

‘The college is looking at the good practice from this process to try to attract staff into other skills shortage

areas across the college.’ – English and Maths Skills Manager, Rotherham College

Has the incentive award produced any impact on the mathematics strategy within your organisation?

‘We now have a much larger proportion of FT staff (even adding one post has made a big difference) and all

our functional maths teachers can teach GCSE as well. This post has enabled us to attach a member of the

maths team to each college faculty, greatly improving communication between the vocational and maths staff.

Attendance in maths is 2% better than last year (still needs improvement) and students and teachers alike

know who to go to for information, guidance and queries.’ – Director of Curriculum, Foundation and

Progression, Greenwich Community College

‘We now have a distinct mathematics team, the new teachers are having an impact across college in their

delivery style and passion for maths and they have changed the dynamics within the maths team.’ – Head of

Department Foundation Learning, English & Mathematics, Trafford College

How would you sum-up the impact of the incentive scheme on your organisation?

‘Excellent opportunity to bring in 'new blood' with fantastic enthusiasm’ – Head of Department – Maths,

Oldham College

‘High impact in helping to create a dynamic new maths delivery team’ – Director of HR, Basingstoke

College of Technology

‘It has been brilliant as it has allowed us to develop a strategic approach to the recruitment of, and

development of, the College's staff delivering maths.’ – Executive Director, Bedford College

‘Greenbank is a small provider and it has allowed us to meet growing demand particularly for students with

high needs support and begin to more confidently approach the changes moving forward to offer some

students GCSEs’ – Education and Curriculum Manager, The Greenbank Project

‘This is a really positive initiative and we would like to see it continue. Our trainee is a young man from the

local community, and we see this as a really excellent opportunity to support local people into the teaching

profession as well as increasing our capacity to deliver maths at all levels.’ – Head of Faculty - Science,

Maths and Humanities, Tower Hamlets College

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Final Report

Below is a summary of the key themes identified from the case studies, supported by quotes from the

organisations, indicating how the award supported practice improvements:

Recruitment

The programme has shown that there are benefits in reviewing organisational recruitment processes and

improvements in dialogue between Human Resources staff and curriculum teams when planning recruitment

ensures a better understanding of appointment needs.

Extending traditional approaches to recruitment has also proved beneficial with examples of using social media,

wider contacts and networks being effective recruitment campaign methods. A number of organisations indicated

that the programme gave them the opportunity to focus on recruiting based on ‘potential rather than previous

experience’ as a key recruitment criteria.

Organisational

The feedback from award holders suggests that whole organisational approaches and senior leadership

engagement is key when recruiting to skills shortage areas. A number of organisations also recruited internally

with some appointing from previously non-teaching staff pools. In these instances it was ensuring that the

organisation clearly communicated internally the opportunities and roles to which they were seeking to recruit.

Support

The support for appointees when they commence working is critical and the delivery of a thoroughly planned

induction into all aspects of the organisation is very often seen as an important element to helping the graduate

adapt to their new role.

Reduced teaching hours and a competitive or enhanced salary package has also been offered by many

organisations who have found this an invaluable incentive in successfully recruiting. The careful selection of

appropriate mentors and teaching groups for the graduate has also been helpful to ensure the new recruit feels

supported appropriately.

‘Working with existing networks and partnerships supports the communication of the offer and a ‘brokerage’

approach supports reach and impact’ – Director, Newcastle College Group

‘Our philosophy from the outset was to recruit for passion and pride in excellent teaching, learning and

assessment’ – Director of Human Resources, Canterbury College

‘Maths can sometimes be seen as a ‘male-orientated’ subject (less so now of course) but our maths

ambassador is also a great advocate and example for our female students to consider maths as a serious

subject for A-Level study and beyond. We have used the award to promote a new post of ‘Maths Ambassador’

– a role created for a recent graduate from a good maths degree – with a view to impact positively not only on

our own college but also the maths provision more broadly in this area’.– Assistant Principal, North Lindsey

College

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Final Report

CPD

Providing support for the continuing professional development of the new recruit is seen as vital and an ongoing

programme of development is recommended for all new recruits.

These themes and other comments drawn from award holders indicate that organisations have made changes to

existing practices and are noticing differences on teaching and learning. As one organisation noted ‘she is

changing the male-oriented’ view of maths and is making the lessons ‘fun’.

Often, the impact to organisations has been immediate and this seems to be particularly true for training

providers, rather than FE colleges.

Full details of the case studies can be found in Appendix B.

‘This gave way to our ‘wrap-around’ induction programme we termed the Teacher Academy. The Teacher

Academy provides intensive induction for the new trainees covering all aspects of FE teaching – from

understanding the roles across College (e.g. registry); enrolment; IAG & DA; SAR; the Quality Cycle and

learner journey; peer observations; professional standards; coaching and mentoring; CPD workshops and

team teaching’ – Director – HR, Canterbury College

‘Ensuring the graduate has a reduced timetable and induction schedule with sufficient support from

colleagues. The advice received at the training event in July was useful in refining the delivery plan. We

added links to the ETF project’s website from the advert and job description so potential candidates could find

out more about the project before applying. This helped applicants to understand more about the project. The

timing of these opportunities should be in line with end of FE academic year to ensure the maximising of

potential recruitment pool.’ – Head of Pre Degree, Plymouth College of Art

‘We believe that the melding of the project with the formal teacher training qualification is a strength in terms of

simultaneously qualifying participants with while they are in the workplace. Government Bursaries for good

degree Maths teachers makes it possible to fund the training.’ – Director – Centre for Lifelong Learning,

City & Islington College

‘X has come into post and has immediately made an impact. This would have not been possible without the

award. As a small, not for profit business, we empower our sub-contractors to deliver all the activity to meet

the requirements of the contract. As a lead, we provide a seamless support mechanism in order for the

consortium partners to ready themselves for a direct SFA contract. In terms of equality and diversity, X has

already suggested some ideas for motivational speaking which we are going to act on as soon as possible.’ –

Director, Yorkshire Training Partnership

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4. Achievement of Objectives and Impact

4.1. Objectives

The key objective of this project was to contribute to the government’s main workforce strategy target for

increasing the number of graduate maths teachers. This programme has resulted in 140 graduates across 102

different organisations being recruited to teach in the FE and skills sector.

4.2. Key milestones

The table below indicates the key activities and milestones for the project:

Table 2: Contractual milestones

Key activities and milestones Month Completed

Inception meeting to agree the basis and terms of this contract April 2014

Evaluation of bids to create the portfolio of funded projects May 2014

Agree the portfolio of funded projects and timing of transfer of funds June 2014

Notify successful applications for funding June 2014

Agree: The timing of workshops and format of the project final report June 2014

Commence 1st payments to award holders June 2014

Interim report from Tribal to ETF October 2014

The 2nd payments sent to award holders Started in December 2014

Final report from Tribal to ETF December 2014

4.3. Key results

This Maths Graduate Recruitment Incentive Award project has, since April 2014, achieved the following:

An additional 140 new mathematics teachers are either in training to become a teacher or teaching in the

sector who would not have been had it not been for the support provided by the award

102 organisations have recruited successfully

24 organisations have recruited more than one graduate as a result of this award incentive

Providers are noting early impact on mathematics teaching and learning as the graduates bring a

different ‘look’ to teaching and learning in the curriculum

In particular, Training Providers have been able to appoint a mathematics specialist for the first time

which has enhanced mathematics provision and curriculum.

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Final Report

The charts below indicate the breakdown of those organisations who have successfully recruited to date. These

charts show that 87% (90 out of 104) of FE colleges that were provided with an award have successfully recruited

compared to 63% (12 out of 19) of training providers who have managed to recruit.

Charts 4 and 5: Percentage of FE colleges and training providers

The charts below indicate the number of organisations that have recruited by type and award value to date. 81%

of those who were awarded £20K have successfully recruited and 87% of those who were awarded £30K. The

FE College that was awarded £170K have also successfully recruited totalling 102 organisations who have

recruited.

Charts 6 and 7: Percentage of organisations by award value

87%

13%

Percentage of FE Colleges that have recruited

Recruited (90) Not Recruited (14)

63%

37%

Percentage of Training Providers that have recruited


81%

19%

Percentage of £20K Award Holders that have recruited


87%

13%

Percentage of £30K Award Holders that have recruited


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Final Report

The chart below indicates the number of organisations by region that have successfully recruited to date.

Charts 8: Number of organisations by region

3

1

3

1

4 5

0

3

1

10 10

6 6

17

13

15

9

16

0

2

4

6

8

10

12

14

16

18

East England

East Midlands

London North East

North West

South East

South West

West Midlands

Yorkshire and

Humber

Geographic Spread of Recruitment

Not Recruited

Recruited

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Final Report

5. Observations of impact and recommendations

5.1. Overall Impact of project

Given the short time the project has been in operation there is already promising evidence of positive impacts. As

a direct result of this funding there are now:

an additional 140 staff have been recruited into the FE and Skills sector

a staggering 74 award holders have declared they feel that this incentive award has led to an improved

recruitment process within their organisations.

99 award holders have also indicated they feel this incentive award has positively impacted on their

mathematics strategy.

82 organisations are offering a mentoring programme to their new recruit and 56 have been able to offer

reduced teaching hours.

This funding has also allowed an enhanced salary to be provided within 17 of the organisations and 16 have

been able to offer a bonus payment.

The project clearly supports the recommendations and spirit of the CAVTL report. The encouragement and

development of staff looking for a career change, who have significant mathematics in their previous studies

is leading to the increased mathematics qualification in teachers in the sector and are definitely to be

regarded as ‘home grown talent’, as mentioned in the recommendations of the report. A total of 39 award

holders have indicated they recruited non-teaching staff into teaching roles.

Recommendation 8 refers to the ‘development of a cadre of specialist English and maths teachers in every

college’. This incentive award project is clearly helping to achieve this with at least 102 organisations now

having access to specialist teachers and 24 award holders having recruited more than one maths specialist.

The success of phase one and with the development of phase two this will lead to even further achievements

in this area as the project is extended to more providers and will also begin to develop local and regional

groups who will be sharing good practice.

This significant evidence points to a very positive response to the underlying question of ‘do incentives work?’,

and all award holders note that the award has enabled them to offer a more attractive package to potential

recruits. It has also facilitated review and rethinking of existing processes which will be extended to wider contexts

of recruitment particularly for shortage subjects.

Comparisons with the school sector pose additional problems for the FE sector when recruiting to core subjects

such as mathematics, however, these awards provide an initial pathway into the sector where organisations can

support new recruits and give them a flavour of what the sector can offer. It is hoped that this will encourage

appointees to remain in the sector and will require organisations to consider career structures. However, it does

reinforce the need for a national review of salaries for teachers of core subjects given the national deficit in

mathematics teachers.

The FE sector is exciting and demanding but funding issues can add to the problems of recruitment of high quality

staff in shortage subjects.

There is very positive work been carried out in the FE sector with regard to upskilling existing staff. Examples of

this support are the very successful Mathematics Enhancement Programme which has supported the

mathematics development of 1800 teachers and started them on the path to becoming effective mathematics

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teachers up to GCSE level. The million pound ‘pipeline’ project will build on this project and target existing

teachers involved in delivering mathematics, extending the support to vocational staff and teachers in the secure

estate to support their personal development and hopefully provide a more confident cohort of mathematics

teachers, which in turn to a better learning experience for our learners. The incentive awards have also widened

the field for new recruits. It is to be hoped that this will become part of an acknowledged recruitment process as

we know that the job is far from complete.

5.1.1. Observations

The majority of award holders have used some or the entire award to allow for the enhancement of the terms

and conditions for the recruit.

Policies on equality and diversity existed in all award holders; however, few have used the award specifically

to address under-representation. This could be improved by weighting the scoring criteria in future rounds.

Anecdotal evidence suggests that organisations are seeing significant change in their mathematics

department and teaching as a result of new recruits.

Evidence to date is indicating that recruits are bringing a new approach to mathematics teaching which is

having a positive effect on mathematics across the organisations.

The scheme has enabled the introduction of new young graduates who bring new ideas and an empathy

with students.

Structured and ongoing support/induction programmes for recruits supports retention.

5.2. Recommendations

Given the success of the project in recruiting 140 additional maths graduates to the sector and the role

incentives have had, consideration should be given to longer term support for the concept of incentive

schemes for skills/subject shortage areas.

The timing of the project has an impact on the success. Awards need to be distributed early in the New Year

to match sector recruitment timetables and to provide enough time to maximise recruitment opportunities.

Award holders have suggested that they would benefit from programme support for a lengthier period and

ongoing support for recruits is seen as important in increasing the likelihood of retention.

Early opportunities for award holders to meet and discuss concerns and issues are key in setting the scene

for the project.

Senior Management Team involvement, including finance departments, is critical; it is evident that where this

has happened changes have been facilitated more effectively.

Early indicators show organisations linking with other funding opportunities to afford a range of incentives

helps with the success of recruiting and support.

Where organisations have used funds to support enhanced terms and conditions, recruitment and retention

seems to have been successful.

Effective induction and mentoring programmes for graduates are essential.

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Final Report

For shortage subjects, an effective dialogue between the curriculum area and Human Resources at the

beginning of any recruitment process is essential to ensure the process recognises different needs.

Locally and regionally, providers should be encouraged to share good practice and develop a dialogue to

support the development of mathematics.

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Final Report

6. Equality and diversity

This project required organisations to consider recruitment to a shortage subject where there was a need for

different approaches to be considered. The project also asked award holders to consider how they could

innovate in their recruitment practice to address equality and diversity issues. An equalities approach

understands that who we are, based on social categories such as gender, race, disability, age, social class,

sexuality and religion will impact on our life experiences.

Historically, employers have ignored certain differences such as background, personality and work style,

however, as part of this project, organisations have responded to the issue of diversity through the development

of flexibility in working practices and services in their offer to new recruits for this incentive award. For example,

new recruits have been offered fewer teaching hours supported with mentoring and training. There has also been

an emphasis on recruitment practices which pay particular note to these areas and it has led to some success in

recruitment from previously unknown groups. An example of where award holders have challenged their usual

recruitment processes to be more inclusive is a provider who recruited a male teacher in the Health and Social

care division which has traditionally tended to attract a large proportion of both female learners and teachers.

These approaches recognise that we must promote inclusive working environments and organisations may need

to respond differently to both individuals and to groups. Phase one of the project has started down this track.

In many ways the project itself challenges existing practice and all award holders were required to revisit their

recruitment process which led to a much broader approach and engagement of people with potential rather than

acknowledged experience.

‘Our Trainees have come from diverse backgrounds in terms of education and former careers/ work experience.

The Trainees have been recruited at a national level and hence the Trainees have re-located from as far afield as

Scotland, Lancashire and Cambridgeshire across both programmes. Our two pure maths graduates this year are

both male, but from different ethnic backgrounds and nationalities. The three other trainees who are on the

programme and will be teach STEM subjects are of mixed gender including two female trainees for engineering

and maths.’ – Director of Human Resources, Canterbury College

‘It was important to our programme from the outset that our recruitment campaign had to be national and

applicants were encouraged to come from ‘non-standard’ routes in that we deliberately did not recruit solely from

certain universities/ take the milk round approach. And our selection process was based on potential not previous

experience.’ – Director of Human Resources, Canterbury College

‘The recruitment for these positions was in line with college practices to ensure the above are met. This includes

advertising in a variety of media, promoting guaranteed interviews for candidates from under represented areas.’

– HR Manager, Lincoln College

‘Accessible venues, inclusive advertising materials, commitment to Equality and diversity throughout recruitment

process’ – Head of Faculty, Abingdon & Witney College

‘Use of diversity website. Careful wording of advertisement emphasising our commitment to E & D’ – Director of

HR, Basingstoke College of Technology

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Final Report

6.1. Equality and Diversity Data

The charts and tables below provide data drawn from the final monitoring survey. At this stage we do not have

this data for all of the recruits so have reported on the 131 where the data is available:

Age

Gender

Ethnicity

.

6.1.1. Recruits by Age

Chart 9: Percentage of recruits by age group

Table 3: Number of recruits within each age group

Age Group Number of Recruits

18-25 50

26-35 44

36-45 19

45-55 13

56 and above 5

Total 131

6.1.2. Recruits by Gender

Chart 10: Percentage of females and males recruited

38%

34%

14%

10%

4%

Percentage by Age Groups for New Recruitees

18-25 26-35 36-45 45-55 56 and above

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Final Report

Table 4: Number of recruits by gender

Gender Number of Recruits

Male 75

Female 56

Total 131

6.1.3. Recruits by Ethnicity

Chart 11: Breakdown of recruits by ethnicity:

43%

57%

Percentage of Females and Males Recruited

Females Males

75%

9%

9%

2% 0%

0%

3%

0% 2% 0%

Ethnicity of Recruits

White - British

Other White background

Asian - British

Indian

Pakistani

Bangladeshi

Black - British

African

Chinese

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Final Report

Table 5: Number of recruits by ethnicity

Ethnicity Number of Recruits

White - British 103

Other White background 7

Asian – British 7

Indian 1

Pakistani 2

Bangladeshi 1

Black – British 3

African 4

Chinese 3

Total 131

6.1.4. General

Award holders were asked if the award had enabled them to impact positively on equality and diversity; the data

and chart below shows the percentage breakdown of responses.

48% of respondents said the award had enabled them to impact positively equality and diversity in their

organisation

6% said the award had impacted positively on disability

32% said the award had impacted positively on ethnicity

50% said the award had impacted positively on gender

2% of recruits are registered disabled

Chart 12: Breakdown of impacts from those indicating a positive impact on E&D

6%

32%

50%

12%

Has the award enabled you to impact positively on any of the following equality and diversity areas?

Disability Ethnicity Gender Other

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Final Report

7. Merger of phase one and phase two

ETF has now offered the FE and skills sector the opportunity to become involved with a second phase of the

project, running from December 2014 until the end of March 2015. As a result of the project continuing, this has

provided the opportunity for those award holders in phase one who, for various reasons, have not been able to

recruit by December 2014 to be allowed an extension until March 2015. To date 20 organisations have been

offered this extension. They will continue with their efforts to recruit and will continue to be supported in the

execution of their delivery plans. Therefore by the end of March 2015 we anticipate the achievements of the

phase one award holders to have increased even further.

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Final Report

8. Phase two

During phase one of the project, award holders confirmed that the additional funding was instrumental in

facilitating a review of existing recruitment practices and supporting enhanced offers to appointees. Phase two of

this project will build on this work through further £20k and £30k awards to organisations and by providing an

enhanced programme of support to providers and graduates that will maximise the success and impact of the

project. The opportunity to make an application for phase two was promoted at the phase one event in December

2014. Advice for organisations around eligibility criteria, the application process and contractual requirements

was provided along with an opportunity for questions.

As well as the key activities from phase one, during phase two Tribal will also:

Provide advice to providers recruiting multiple graduates on maximising value – offering bespoke

guidance on recruitment, induction and sustainability

Provide support and advice to training providers on recruitment and incentives, induction planning and

other HR functions through regional events; provide templates for adverts and interview questions, advice

on buddying and mentoring to attract and retain graduates

Form regional networking meetings for appointees to share practice and learning

Establish communities of practice such as a new FE Maths teacher support group

Provide a time limited national campaign on social media to promote the project

Provide case studies with examples of best and innovative practice to be shared with the sector.

We will provide differentiated support to applicants to help them tackle recruitment challenges and will focus on

helping them to plan effective induction activity.

Through a microsite advertising job opportunities in the sector, workshops and face-to-face support visits,

providers will be supported in recruiting and retaining graduates. Through regional learning meetings, graduate

appointees will be encouraged to engage in dialogue to share experience and best practice.

The following highlights have been achieved within phase 1 of this project and during phase 2 Tribal will work with

award holders from both phases to improve these achievements even further:

An additional 140 new mathematics teachers are either in training to become a teacher or teaching in the

sector who would not have been had it not been for the support provided by the award

102 organisations have recruited successfully

24 organisations have recruited more than one graduate as a result of this award incentive

Please see attached the following appendices referred to in this report:

Appendix A. Summary survey data

Appendix B. Case studies

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