Sector update: The latest from REC’s Education sector group

Following recent updates published by the Department for Education (DfE), agencies operating in this sector need to be aware of several developments:

Covid testing in schools

The DfE has confirmed that the testing programme in schools will begin when schools reopen on March 8. The presence of new strains of coronavirus since the testing regime was initially proposed has led to some changes to the testing programme.

Instead of daily testing for school employees, staff will be given 2 lateral flow tests a week to do at home. Supply teachers and other support staff on long term assignments will be included in this regime. Those staff on short ad hoc arrangements can be included where deemed appropriate by individual headteachers.

In order to preserve teaching time, the DfE is not expecting education staff to be involved in the administering of tests. Instead, other administration or clerical staff may be involved in this process. Where it is necessary, additional agency staff may be brought in to assist with the testing process. Local authorities will have access to some funding available to support this through Public Health England.

Vaccines

The independent Joint Committee on Vaccination and Immunisation has confirmed that there will be no occupational priority for any jobs in phase 2 of the vaccine rollout. The vaccination rollout will instead continue by age group with 40-49 year olds the next group to be prioritised. Teachers within this bracket will be eligible for vaccines, but there is no additional priority for them beyond age. The government has made this decision to avoid adding new priority categories which they say would have slowed down the process due to the additional administrative burden.

The DfE has also confirmed that there are no plans in place for vaccines to be made mandatory for those working in schools.

Education Recovery Package

The government has also announced a new Education Recovery Package for schools to help them recover from the effects of the pandemic. The funding for this package is over £300m and the government has committed to two weeks of summer school being provided in some capacity. Details of which cohorts of students this will apply to are unknown, as are the details of what staffing capacity will be needed to fulfil this requirement. More details will be released in due course, but it is highly likely that agency staff will be able to be involved in this process.

Capacity in the Market

As schools re-open and testing begins the DfE is expecting a healthy demand for temps in March and through to Easter. To assist with this demand, the DfE is interested in hearing capacity updates from REC members to help assess where there could be shortages and assist schools in finding supply teachers. Members that are happy to share information on their placements and capacity to supply teachers could be recommended by the DfE directly to schools struggling to source their own staff. If you are interested in sharing this information with the DfE then please let us know.

Update to Teaching and Regulation Agency (TRA) processes

Since January professional regulators in the EEA will no longer share information about sanctions imposed on EEA teachers with the TRA.

Teachers who qualified in the EEA and Switzerland can still apply for Qualified Teachers Status.  Applicants will need to provide a letter of professional standing from the regulator in the country in which they qualified. The letter should:

1. confirm that they are recognised in an EU country, Iceland, Liechtenstein, Norway, Switzerland, Australia, Canada, New Zealand or USA
2. show they are not subject to any restrictions in that country
3. be dated within the 3 months prior to their application.

DfE expect that evidence on professional standing can be obtained from EU regulators, as this is a common feature of professional regulation.

However, if applicants find that for some reason they cannot obtain evidence of professional standing from the regulator they can contact the QTS.enquiries@education.gov.uk inbox.  The TRA can then contact the competent authority for the teaching profession in that country if needed.  

Education Webinar

The REC’s next webinar for the education sector will be held on 23 March, and will include legal, policy and business updates relevant to the sector. If you are interested in attending, you can register on the REC website.