Receiving an allegation from a pupil and facing an impending investigation can be a distressing time when teaching. Your school should ensure it provides effective support, conducts a fair investigation and provide you with a named member of staff if you are suspended from work.
Author Archives: Andrew Lifford
You may have seen news reports over the recent years that some teachers are eligible to claim back student loan repayments. This is an initiative launched by the government to improve teacher retention rates in certain subjects.
You may be placed on a teacher support plan but might be unsure of what is involved, how much to be concerned about and how it links to capability procedures.
You will want to read your school’s capability and appraisal policy as approaches can differ from school to school.
You might be searching for a new teaching job, applying for supply work or wanting to access your personal teaching record. Your teacher reference number (TRN) is a unique identifier which you can use when evidencing your teaching qualifications and accessing your teaching certificates online.
You might be disappointed because you have been unsuccessful or overlooked during internal recruitment at your school. You might question why a colleague has received a promotion over another colleague and do not think your school is following a fair or transparent recruitment process.
You might receive gifts from parents and pupils during the Christmas period or at the end of the school year. While it can be nice to receive gifts you will want to make sure you adhere to the rules outlined in your school’s gift policy if it has one.
You might have been asked to join a WhatsApp group by other teachers at your school or might already be a member of a departmental group chat. Your school will have a social media and data protection policy which you will have to adhere to.
You might be employed on a fixed-term contract at your school and want to know what your employment rights are. Sometimes fixed-term contracts are issued to cover maternity leave, long-term sick leave or for a specific time-limited task.
As a teacher you might wonder if there is a requirement from your school to deliver a high standard of continuing professional development (CPD) and other professional development opportunities throughout the year.
You could have over 30 pupils in your class and wonder if there is a legal limit to the amount of pupils you can teach in a class. You might have also read the following BBC article which highlighted a primary school in Devon with a year 6 class of 63 pupils.