No school will employ me

[Thegreatbigbarrieroflondon]

I will keep this short and sweet but my god, why is it so bloody hard to get a job in a school? I have a first class degree in a relevant subject and previous school experience but yet I cannot get through all the onboarding tick boxes.

Ive been offered two jobs post interview but yet they’ve had to pull the plus because:

I have had had 4 jobs in the past 3 years (times were a little crazy due to covid and I had various reasons for having so many).

*The first job was in a college and they were able to provide a basic reference as my line manager left education (schools said a basic reference was not enough)

• Second job was for a charity that was commissioned for 12 months but has since dissolved and no longer runs the project so my manager has jumped ship to another charity (and school won’t accept a reference from HR).

• third job was as a support worker and my manager has also moved and the schools won’t accept a basic reference from HR

and on and on it goes. I even suggested getting an academic reference from my tutor as I’ve just finished my degree but again not good enough and no character references etc etc.

Honestly I’ve just given up now, I’ve found new employment in the housing sector whereby I didn’t have to go through so much nonsence. I have a clear DBS too. I know recruitment needs to be water tight but when schools can’t recruit, they’re literally making things even harder for themselves. I’m not the only person to have this problem either.

anyone else share my frustration here? My housing role pays a lot more but I did enjoy working in secondary schools.

I had exactly the same problem! I ended up getting another Masters degree so I could get a couple of references. The alternative was volunteering in a charity shop for a year to get references 🙄🤷‍♀️ schools are deffo shooting themselves in the foot by not being more accommodating to people who don’t have a long work history or enough references etc. I am TA now, with 2 masters degrees working for teachers with only BSc, it’s odd.

Obviously you can’t. I moved on this year after eight years in my previous job. I gave two referees from the same school, the headteacher and an assistant head who had line managed me. No reason why that’s a problem.

It is a problem if the school has a policy that the only member of staff allowed to supply a reference is the head, which is the case in many schools, and you were lucky it was not the case in your school - so yes, it is a problem!

That school has misinterpreted the guidance in KCSIE. It stipulates that one reference must be from the current employer and if it’s from a school it must be confirmed by the headteacher, which for simplicity’s sake usually means it needs to come from the headteacher. There’s nothing at all to say that the second referee can’t be from the same school and like pp I’ve also never encountered this as a policy.

Yes exactly - they’ve either had bad safer recruitment training or someone has got the wrong end of the stick.

I appreciate that’s not much use to the candidate however.

Well I start my new job next week. I was sent the itinerary yesterday and my first day is consisting of lunch in a hotel nearby, all expenses paid.

I think they’ve done me a favour.

Agree with you, OP. Having worked in the private sector and in schools, most major companies have the same policy re references, ie X worked here from X to X. This includes major household names, universities etc. Many, many employers! It’s incredible that so many people think this is dodgy in some way - rather it’s the company’s way of protecting themselves if something goes wrong subsequently! It is extremely short sighed and whilst safer recruitment is incredibly important, so too is moving with the times and not denying excellent teachers the chance of a job for no fault of their own 🙄

That’s a weird boast for this board, OP. None of us wrote the recruitment policies that you came up against and several of us have shown how they represent a misinterpretation of KCSIE.

Good luck in your new job.

@ThanksItHasPockets

Apologies. It wasn’t a boast. It’s just I now have to try and see the positives in my new job. (For what it’s worth I’ve worked in all sectors). The novelty of the free lunches and perks quickly lessens I find. I’m also starting my new job on the same day my children break up for their summer, which brings its own challenges.

I was actually quite disappointed I couldn’t return to education but I’m a firm believer in things happen for a reason. Therefore I’m just making the best of it now.

Thanks to all who have responded.

Happening rather.

Thanks @Thegreatbigbarrieroflondon. I really do wish you the best for the new role and I am sorry that we have lost you from education for now.

Plenty of us have worked in the private sector. My experience is that HR will only give you a factual reference, but if you are a good employee then usually a line manager will be willing to supply a bit more detail.

As well as this, I'd say if the specific situation is explained to employers then often they will give the detail needed.

I do think it's a red flag if someone can't get a single reference beyond just dates for 4 different jobs, and they've had 4 different jobs in a very short period of time.

I’m currently having a similar issue. Clear DBS but had a few sketchy years of employment due to various explainable reasons. A relevant degree etc. Giving up now. I know the hoops are necessary to a degree, but I think they’ve taken it too far.

You want to work in a school; this is how schools recruit. That's just how it is. It would be a huge red flag for me if someone had moved around a lot and could only give basic references that sounded like the previous employer wasn't that impressed with you. I'm sorry that's how it is, as you sound like a very nice, intelligent person.

I agree that the inconsistencies in school recruitment are bonkers.
I work as school support staff and have also worked at senior levels in FE.
I have a fully clear DBS, no gaps in employment and great references.
I applied for a different job in another school over the summer and was made an offer.
Then I was asked to submit my social media sign ins for a separate company to do a ‘search’.
I think this is an intolerable breach of personal privacy and do not accept that schools have the right to have access to one’s life in this way.
No one is more in favour of protecting children than I am but I’d love to see the correlation between such investigation and any harm.
Especially when at the judicial end of the process MEN are being given non custodial sentences for crimes harming children, including possessing hundreds of thousands of child abuse images.
I don’t even use social media apart from Mumsnet and What’s App.
I was affronted and withdrew my application.
The altar of KCSIE is being used for 1984 type intrusions and I draw the line.

This request is illegal. They can carry out a Google search (other search engines are available) but they can't demand your log ins. The school had misunderstood what KCSIE says.

I withdrew my application too. It was too much. Currently going through the onboarding process for a children’s charity which is far easier so far. Their loss. Not everyone has a perfectly, linear work history. There’s nothing on my record. No safeguarding concerns and clear DBS.

Would you consider working in FE? There is a shortage of qualified teaching staff there.

I should imagine it would be similar recruitment policies. It doesn’t really favour a sketchy work history, which is fair enough. On the grounds of safeguarding they see me as a potential risk. A clear DBS means nothing, other than you’ve not been caught yet. But I’m still registered with my agency and I can walk into another school and work tomorrow if I wanted? I mean I’ll admit my life has been chaotic since Covid but I’m ready to settle again now. Never mind.

That’s very helpful to know for the future, thank you.