REC: A Proud Partner in Recognising Excellence in Education

14th July 2014

By David Geary, Policy Adviser

The REC partnered with the tenth instalment of the Education Business Awards to recognise and honour outstanding achievement in the education sector. The REC sponsored the School Recruitment Award which recognised an educational establishment which has invested in its recruitment methods and processes to ensure a timely intake of appropriate teaching and support staff. This year the award went to the Reach Academy, in Feltham in Middlesex for its involvement with the programme Teach First, which recruits graduates with at least an upper second to teach in schools that serve disadvantaged communities.

Professor Howson, an honorary research fellow at the University of Oxford’s Department of Education and chair of the REC Audited Education steering group said:
“As increasing demands are placed on schools, it has never been more important to recognise those that strive for excellence in education. School recruitment is an essential component of school management, and I was delighted to present this award on behalf of the REC to Reach Academy, Middlesex. The winners, and those other schools shortlisted in the various categories, have an important role to play in helping their colleagues in all schools aspire to achieve excellence in education for the benefit of all our young people”.

Recruiters play a vital role in ensuring that schools are staffed with suitably qualified and thoroughly vetted staff to accommodate both their flexible and permanent needs. Given the volume of regulation schools are currently engaged with it seems hardly surprising that many are looking to agencies to provide this service. Agencies in turn take this responsibility seriously and many have signed up to REC Audited Education, which scrutinises their entire recruitment process to ensure it meets the highest standards and effectively demonstrates that an agency is providing the best practice in the sector.

Following publication of the government’s statutory guidance ‘Keeping children safe in education’, the REC and its members have undertaken to seek annual safeguarding checks in respect of all staff placed in schools. This ensures that our members currently do more than the statutory minimums established by the Department for Education.