The challenge
The National Teaching & Advisory Service (NT&AS) provides 1-2-1 tutoring outside of a school setting for children who have special educational needs (SEN). NT&AS approached us to find experienced SEN staff who deliver 1:1 teaching.
It stipulated that the desired candidates had to be qualified and have “the flexibility and confidence to work on a 1-2-1 basis… and the ability and experience to teach students with SEN and challenging behaviours”.
Matt Churchley, an SEN Executive Business Manager at Reed, knew the importance of understanding the logistics behind the day-to-day requirements, as well as discussing exactly what skills and experience were required before he began recruiting:
“I worked with the client to design specific questions to use during my pre-screening process to ensure I was putting candidates forward with the relevant knowledge and expertise”.
Reed’s teachers have had a significant impact on the children we work with, the schools they work within, and the relationships built with families and other lead professionals. They adhere to and project our ethos of inclusivity and creative teaching.
Team Manager at NT&AS
The solution
Our specialist education consultants began by creating a bespoke job advertisement that matched NT&AS’s requirements. Matt emailed his local network of teachers, selecting only those whose skills matched those required for the job.
Within the email, he highlighted the benefits of this type of work and how it compares to school-based teaching, an attraction strategy that Matt has found sparks the interest of passive candidates.
Upon receiving interest, Matt took the time to have an in-depth conversation with potential candidates, followed by a face-to-face meeting. During the recruitment process, Matt was in regular contact with NT&AS, ensuring they were kept up to date. Matt also set realistic expectations during the first discussion to ensure he and the client had set goals and time frames.
Following this process, the candidates’ CVs were presented to the client. “Matt always provides good quality CVs on request,” Sam MacDonald, Team Manager at NT&AS, explained. “He is always reliable and offers teachers of superb skill and character”.
The results
Following on from interviews, the client was extremely happy with the shortlisted candidates. Sam said: “The quality of CVs presented were superb. Matt listens to our requirements and candidates usually have all the qualities we require”.
Carla Pascale, one of the candidates who was hired as an SEN Teacher at NT&AS, was delighted with the process which helped her to secure the role: “Reed offered an excellent service throughout, I felt like they knew me, and I was more than just a candidate. They were very supportive at every step, and I always felt informed and that I could call with any queries”.
Reed initially placed more than 40 qualified teachers on temporary contracts, but their excellent performance has led NT&AS to transfer many of them onto permanent contracts.
Sam added: “Reed’s teachers have had a significant impact on the children we work with, the schools they work within, and the relationships built with families and other lead professionals. They adhere to and project our ethos of inclusivity and creative teaching”.
