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19th December 2014
ETF Mathematics Graduate Recruitment Incentive Award
Final Report
Submitted by Tribal
Final Report
The Education and Training Foundation 6th October 2014
DocConfi DocDraft DRAFT DocTitle Maths Graduate Recruitment Incentive Award DocumentSubtitle Interim Report DocDate 6th October 2014 DocClient The Education and Training Foundation Title Footer/DocVersion ~PreBodyHeader Closure Report ~ExecHeader Closure Report ~DocHeader Closure Report ~SecHeader Closure Report ~AppHeader Closure Report HeaderType Manual DocCopyRight DocReference ProtectionMarking ~TitleFooterRefProtection ProductLogo No_Logo
Contact Details Nikki Tregellas Programme Manager
+44 7798 571165 Nikki.tregellas@tribalgroup.com Norma Honey Project Director
+44 7768 950150 Norma.honey@tribalgroup.com
Contact Address Tribal, Kings Orchard, One Queen Street, Bristol, BS2 0HQ
T: 0845 123 6001
Tribal, operating through the entity whose details appear below (“Tribal”), has produced this report for the benefit
of The Education and Training Foundation (the “Client”) only and it has been released to the Client subject to the
terms and conditions of the contract between Tribal and the Client. Tribal has not verified the accuracy, quality,
correctness or completeness, merchantability or fitness for a particular purpose or requirement any information
supplied by or on behalf of the Client in the course of Tribal’s work and accepts no liability in connection with any
such matters, whether arising under contract, tort or otherwise. Any party that obtains access to this report or a
copy (under Freedom of Information Act 2000 or otherwise) and chooses to rely on this report (or any part of it)
does so at their own risk. To the fullest extent permitted by law, Tribal does not assume any responsibility and will
not accept any responsibility in respect of this report to any party other than the Client. By accepting and using
this report, the Client warrants and undertakes that it shall not rely solely upon this report in making any decision
and shall take specialist external advice from lawyers, accountants, financial advisers, tax specialists and/or other
professionals as appropriate to the nature, type and potential ramifications of the decision which is being made.
Tribal, Kings Orchard, One Queen Street, Bristol, BS2 0HQ
T: 0845 123 6001
Final Report
The Education and Training Foundation 6th October 2014
Contents
1. Introduction 1
2. Executive summary 2
3. Project Delivery 5 3.1. Assessment process 5
3.1.1. Awards recommended 6 3.1.2. Rejected and ineligible awards 7 3.1.3. Withdrawn awards 7
3.2. Ongoing support 8 3.3. Workshops 8 3.4. Monitoring surveys 9 3.5. Case studies 10
4. Achievement of Objectives and Impact 13 4.1. Objectives 13 4.2. Key milestones 13 4.3. Key results 13
5. Observations of impact and recommendations 16 5.1. Direct impact of projects on recruitment 16
5.1.1. Observations 17 5.2. Recommendations 17
6. Equality and diversity 19 6.1. Equality and Diversity Data 20
6.1.1. Recruits by Age 20 6.1.2. Recruits by Gender 20 6.1.3. Recruits by Ethnicity 21 6.1.4. General 22
7. Merger of phase one and phase two 23
8. Phase two 24
Final Report
The Education and Training Foundation 6th October 2014
Glossary
BIS Department for Business, Innovation and Skills
CPD Continuing Professional Development
E&D Equality and Diversity
ETF Education and Training Foundation
FE Further Education
HR Human Resources
IoE Institute of Education
MEP Maths Enhancement Programme
Page 1 of 23
Final Report
1. Introduction
The Education and Training Foundation (ETF) Mathematics Graduate Recruitment Incentive Award project
supports the Government’s ambition to improve standards in mathematics teaching in the Further Education (FE)
and Skills sector. The project provided recruitment incentive awards of £20,000 or £30,000 (if working in
partnership) to FE and Skills organisations and enabled them to explore innovative ways of recruiting and
retaining specialist graduate mathematics teachers.
The context of the project is firmly rooted in the national need to increase the number of mathematics teachers.
This is not a new phenomenon; however, the demand has been exacerbated by the government’s ambition for
higher standards in mathematics teaching and learning for all students and in particular by the need for all
students to study mathematics as part of their programme of study until they are 19 years old. GCSE is regarded
as the ‘gold standard’ and the goal for all students. For those already achieving a grade C or above, a
requirement to study ‘Core Mathematics’1 will equally demand a significant increase in the number of
mathematics teachers when fully rolled out in 2015.
The recent successful Mathematics Enhancement Programme (MEP) has begun the process of up-skilling
functional skills teachers and has trained 2,200 teachers. With further support, these teachers will add
significantly to the capacity of organisations in the sector to teach GCSE mathematics. There will be appropriate
training for teachers to meet the forthcoming Core Skills mathematics requirements. However, there is still an
anticipated overall shortfall in numbers of appropriately trained teachers. The Mathematics Graduate Recruitment
Incentive Award project has made an important contribution to addressing the need for more teachers in the FE
and skills sector and there are 140 graduates who are new to teaching either training to be mathematics teachers
or teaching mathematics as a direct result of this Incentive award.
A key objective of the project was for the participating organisations to also review current recruitment practices to
determine whether they are fit for purpose when recruiting for a shortage subject such as mathematics. The
outcomes and lessons learned from these reviews have provided evidence of whether incentivising shortage
subjects is successful in encouraging more graduates to consider teaching as a career option and thus helpful in
addressing the shortage of subject specialists within the sector.
Graduate recruitment, whilst very positive, should not be seen as an end in itself in building the capacity of
mathematics teachers in the FE and skills sector alone. The enhanced processes and ongoing support for the
graduate are key to retention and, therefore, the continued sustainability of capacity increases.
Emerging evidence from award holders, confirms the positive effects of the award in instigating review and
change in practice leading to impacts across the organisation. Quotes from surveys and case studies give a
flavour of these impacts and are integrated throughout the report.
Award holders are noting early impact on mathematics teaching and learning as the graduates bring a
refreshing new outlook to the curriculum.
Training Providers, in particular, have been able to appoint a mathematics specialist for the first time
which has enhanced mathematics provision and curricula.
1 The Core Maths initiative is aimed at increasing the number of post-16 students studying the subject who have already passed GCSE
maths. The programme is currently being piloted with a roll-out expected from 2015/16 academic year.
Page 2 of 23
Final Report
2. Executive summary
The Further Education and Skills sector has acknowledged a shortfall in capacity for recruiting specialist
mathematics teachers within the sector. The exploration of whether incentives of any kind (e.g. financial, terms
and conditions) can impact positively on this situation is at the heart of this project and data secured from the
project suggests there is value to be obtained from offering enhanced employment packages to applicants.
The call for applications was distributed in February 2014 and the contract for support was awarded to Tribal in
April 2014. It was essential, therefore, that application approvals were made promptly in order for the award
holders to have enough time to recruit graduates. Delivery of similar programmes in the future should seek to
commence the application and support process as soon as possible in the academic year (see section 5.2
recommendations).
The Foundation received a total of 159 applications, of which 124 were awarded an incentive while 35 were
ineligible, rejected or withdrawn. Ongoing support to award holders was provided by Tribal throughout the
duration of the project in response to individual queries and concerns. Workshops and a webinar were also
carried out to communicate key messages about the project, to clarify contractual requirements, to celebrate the
success of the project and to share this with the sector. Tribal undertook an initial monitoring survey of award
holders to gather early feedback on the project in July 2014. A second survey was conducted in November 2014
to monitor further progress of the project and gather the end of project statistics. A number of case studies have
been developed as part of this project and will be used to provide further evidence of best practice to share with
the sector.
Key findings
124 organisations were successful in being granted an incentive award :
o 89 x £20k awards
o 34 x £30k awards
o 1 x £170K awards
As a result of this project there are now 140 additional teachers appointed and working in the sector
102 organisations recruited at least one person as a result of this incentive award
Award holders were spread both geographically and across organisation type (see section 3.1)
Award holders have confirmed the additional funding was instrumental in facilitating enhanced offers to
appointees
Many award holders have been successful in appointing where they had been unable to do so previously
24 organisations have recruited more than one graduate as a result of this incentive award
Training Providers, in particular, have been able to appoint a mathematics specialist for the first time
which has enhanced mathematics provision and curricula.
Appointees have been offered appropriate training programmes allied with internal support e.g.
mentoring, team teaching or internal CPD, often funded by this incentive award.
The workshops, webinars and additional support provided through the programme has been shown to be
essential components of support and have been highly rated by award holders.
Numerous award holders feel that the award should be repeated with a number of them wishing to apply
again.
Page 3 of 23
Final Report
The awards are enhancing the move towards the development of cadres of well qualified teachers in
organisations locally and regionally.
Award holders are noting early impact on mathematics teaching and learning as the graduates bring a
refreshing new outlook to the curriculum.
The initial and final monitoring surveys provide evidence of common areas of practice which contribute positively
towards success in recruiting for a shortage subject. Examples of this include:
Internal advertising to teaching and non-teaching staff
The use of local press and local contacts
The review and challenge of the usual person specification criteria to encourage applications from a wider
field of expertise and experience
Enhancing salary packages
The provision of additional support through mentoring and training
The reduction in contact hours
The need/benefit of providing a structured teacher professional development scheme.
The following selection of quotes from award holders illustrates how the award has impacted on existing practices
and individual organisations:
Page 4 of 23
Final Report
Recruitment
‘It has been brilliant as it has allowed us to develop a strategic approach to the recruitment of, and
development of, the College's staff delivering maths’. – Executive Director, Bedford College
‘Being involved in the scheme allowed us to review our recruitment process; it was particularly beneficial to
attend the event in London before the summer and to hear and share ideas and practices with colleagues from
other colleges, especially those who had used something similar in the previous year.’ – Assistant Principal
– Sciences, Bournville College
‘Helped us to innovate in terms of advertising but more importantly enable us to provide a comprehensive
support package and bespoke professional development programme for the candidates which we hope will
encourage retention and avoid early exit from the profession.’ – Assistant Principal, Exeter College
Mathematics in the organisation
‘Further raised the profile of the importance of mathematics in the FE sector across the College, particularly at
a senior leadership level.’ – Section Leader English and Maths, Askham Bryan College
‘It has given us the flexibility to think more creatively about maths teaching. As a result, we are restructuring
our maths delivery within the College and we are pulling together maths teachers from several departments
into one department to give them a professional 'maths' identity.’ – Assistant Principal, Wakefield College
Overall
‘A much needed boost to bring expertise into the company to support the development of Maths skills within
the workforce and a re-energised approach to help improve success rates and quality of delivery for our
learners.’ – Functional Skills Co-ordinator, HIT Training
‘The award has enabled the college to attract a high calibre younger candidate to teach maths, increasing the
maths teaching capacity particularly at GCSE & Level 3. Also offering a fresh and engaging approach for the
younger and less engaged learners.’ – Director of Human Resources, East Riding College
Page 5 of 23
Final Report
3. Project Delivery
3.1. Assessment process
Tribal received 159 applications for the Mathematics Graduate Recruitment Incentive Award. The charts below
indicate the geographic breakdown by region of both the £30K applications and the £20K applications and a
review of application by organisation type:
Chart 1: Geographic breakdown of award applications
Chart 2: Applications by type of organisation
The application assessment procedure provided a rigorous review of planned activity and eligibility checks. The
criteria used for assessment were:
East England
East Midlands
London North East
North West
South East
South West
West Midlands
Yorkshire and
Humber
10
15 13
1
18 22
13
8
14
5 5 2
4 7
5 3
7 7
Nu
mb
er
of
Ap
plic
atio
ns
Region
Geographic Breakdown of Award Applications
£20K Award £30K Award
78%
21% 1%
Applications by Type of Organisation
FE College Training Provider 6th Form
Page 6 of 23
Final Report
Are there any partnership or collaborative arrangements?
This question determined:
– which award the organisation was eligible for
– which organisations made up the partnership
– details of proposed partnership workings
– how leadership and reporting requirements would be met.
Is the activity sustainable?
A key objective of the project was to explore potential practice which will impact positively on recruitment to
shortage subjects in the future.
Has retention of the teacher been considered appropriately?
While the aim of the project was improved recruitment, it was vitally important for the organisation to have a
structured plan of support and training for the recruit to enhance the likelihood of retention. The initial
experience of new teachers is critical in ensuring that they remain in the sector; therefore, it was important to
check that plans from applicants included strong support.
Is there acceptable consideration of equality and diversity?
This tested the existence of rigorous policies but also sought information about whether applicants were
planning innovative or different practices as part of the project.
Is this a particularly innovative suggestion?
The shortage of mathematics teachers in the sector was the main driver for the incentive awards and the
project was looking for award holders to consider different approaches to recruitment to a subject that had
proved difficult in the past. Doing more of the same was, therefore, not an option. It was important that
award holders produced plans which incorporated different and innovative approaches to recruitment and
retention.
Has the application considered long term impact?
Lessons learned from the success of the project should inform future recruitment practice and have impact
on the teaching of mathematics in the organisation. It is hoped that this project, along with others, will lead
to improvement in mathematics teaching and achievements within the sector.
Assessment against these criteria led to award holders either being recommended, rejected or being asked for
further information/clarification in order to support as many applications as possible.
3.1.1. Awards recommended
Tribal recommended 123 awards to be distributed. ETF reviewed a separate application from the Newcastle
College Group resulting in an award of £170K to share across their partnership organisations. 124 awards were
recommended in total.
The table below indicates the geographic breakdown of the 159 applications compared to the 124 that were
recommended for receipt of an award.
Page 7 of 23
Final Report
Chart 3: Geographic breakdown of awards applied for and recommended
The table below shows the breakdown in total funding distributed and the number of awards by award category:
Table 1: Funding category of awards
Award Category Total Funding Number of Applications
£20K £1,780,000 89
£30K £1,020,000 34
£170K £170,000 1
Total £2,970,000 124
3.1.2. Rejected and ineligible awards
From the 159 applications received, 18 were rejected. Below are the general themes as to why they were
rejected:
Unrealistic/overambitious expectations of what the graduate could do
Activities were not different to anything they should be doing already
11 applications were deemed ineligible due to not meeting the criteria for funding e.g. a sixth form college.
3.1.3. Withdrawn awards
Six organisations withdrew their application for an award after it was initially accepted. More often than not the
key reason given was that they had reviewed their business requirements and processes internally and, as a
result, decided the award was no longer relevant.
In July 2014, after being involved and supported through the project for a number of months a further provider
withdrew their award and have since returned their funding so the number of ongoing projects reported in this
report is 123. The funding from the withdrawn providers has been reallocated to the Newcastle pilot project.
0
5
10
15
20
25
East England
East Midlands
London North East North West South East South West West Midlands
Yorkshire and Humber
Geographic Breakdown of Awards Applied for and Recommended
£20K Award Applications £20K Award Recommendations £30K Award Applications £30K Award Recommendations £170K Award Applications £170K Award Recommendations
Page 8 of 23
Final Report
3.2. Ongoing support
Throughout the project significant additional support was provided by Tribal to give bespoke responses to
individual organisations. There were numerous enquiries regarding the contractual requirements; in particular,
clarification was often sought as to the eligibility of the academic qualification of prospective recruits. Other
common queries included: providers seeking to revise their delivery plan by amending the timetable; for those
who were struggling to recruit, seeking confirmation on the eligibility of spend; questions from financial
departments who were unaware of why funds had been sent to their organisations and who were, therefore,
unable to appropriately allocate budgets or costs.
3.3. Workshops
3.3.1. Initial workshops and webinar
In the early stages of the project Tribal held two face to face workshops to support organisations; one in London
on 11th June 2014 and one in Manchester on 12
th June 2014 with a representative from ETF attending each
workshop. In total, 21 people attended the London event and 32 in Manchester. A further webinar event was
held on 27th June to provide those beneficiaries who were unable to attend the workshops the opportunity to learn
about the topics covered and discussion points. Nine people attended the webinar, resulting in a total of 62
people benefitting from the events overall. Of the 62 attendees there were 61 different organisations represented
at these events which equates to 49% of the award holders.
The aim of the workshops was to provide support to organisations on how to maximise the impact and retention
of their appointee. The workshops outlined the context of the project, the contractual requirements and provided
a forum for discussion for award holders. Delegates worked in regional groups, which enabled discussion to take
place and relationships to be developed across each region. Training providers were placed together to
acknowledge and determine their particular needs, which emphasised that the project was collaborative and not
competitive.
From these very early sessions it became clear that the timescale of the project presented some issues for
recruitment as it was late in the academic year for recruiting potential appointees. The need for a structured
training programme appropriate for the appointee was also acknowledged and it was noted that reduced teaching
hours were essential.
Evaluations from the sessions show they were very successful in providing useful information about the project.
Out of the 62 delegates, 55 (89%) completed an evaluation form following their attendance at one of the events.
100% of respondents rated the event positively as either very useful or useful, with an encouraging 75% of people
selecting the highest rating of ‘very useful’.
3.3.2. Final Workshop
To celebrate the success of the project and to provide information for future potential award holders, an event
was held in London on 9th December 2014. All eligible providers from the sector were invited including those who
applied previously but were unsuccessful. There were 59 attendees from the FE and Skills sector and of these 9
organisations attended that were non existing award holders.
Speakers from the Department for Business, Innovation and Science (BIS), the Education and Training
Foundation (ETF) and the Institute of Education (IOE) provided a policy and mathematics perspectives for
Page 9 of 23
Final Report
delegates alongside presentations from some award holders who gave an overview of their individual projects
and the impact on their organisation.
Workshops by award holders were held and provided more detailed information and opportunity for delegates to
ask questions and have further discussions. During the workshop, Tribal provided guidance and advice on the
application process for the next phase of the project. Attendees were asked to complete evaluations and 96% of
respondents indicated they found the event either very useful (79%) or useful (26%). Below are some comments
from the final workshop evaluation forms:
3.4. Monitoring surveys
An initial online monitoring survey was sent to all award holders in July 2014, with a reminder for completion sent
early in September 2014. Out of 123 award holders, 102 (83%) returned the survey.
A final monitoring survey was sent to award holders in November 2014 resulting in 116 responses (94%). The key
results from the survey data include:
102 organisations have appointed post holders
77% made changes to their recruitment processes as a part of the programme
85% said the incentive scheme resulted in a positive impact on the mathematics strategy within their
organisation
34% linked this incentive with other incentive schemes e.g. ‘Golden Hellos’, bursaries, PGCE course fees
95% of appointees are graduates and have a level 3 or above qualification in mathematics (the others
have a maths related degree)
84% of organisations offered some level of incentive to the graduates – bonus; enhanced salary; reduced
timetable.
41% of organisations recruited non-teaching staff into teaching roles.
“It was useful to hear from BIS. It was also great to work with other providers to develop their programme” –
Canterbury College
“A good mix of excellent speakers and facilitators” – Bury College
“Really excellent and productive day, with lots of relevant information about how to complete a successful
bid“– Leicester College
“Lots of detail and good balance of practical help, inspiration, networking opportunities” – Wirral Metropolitan
College
Page 10 of 23
Final Report
3.5. Case studies
A number of case studies have been developed with award holders drawn from a cross section of rural and urban
areas, large and small organisations, colleges and training providers. The case studies identify a range of key
factors which will assist future award applicants or holders when considering increasing their mathematics
workforce. The finalised case studies are included as Appendix B.
Do you feel that this incentive award has led to improved recruitment processes?
‘Helped us to innovate in terms of advertising but more importantly enable us to provide a comprehensive
support package and bespoke professional development programme for the candidates which we hope will
encourage retention and avoid early exit from the profession.’ – Assistant Principal, Exeter College
‘The college is looking at the good practice from this process to try to attract staff into other skills shortage
areas across the college.’ – English and Maths Skills Manager, Rotherham College
Has the incentive award produced any impact on the mathematics strategy within your organisation?
‘We now have a much larger proportion of FT staff (even adding one post has made a big difference) and all
our functional maths teachers can teach GCSE as well. This post has enabled us to attach a member of the
maths team to each college faculty, greatly improving communication between the vocational and maths staff.
Attendance in maths is 2% better than last year (still needs improvement) and students and teachers alike
know who to go to for information, guidance and queries.’ – Director of Curriculum, Foundation and
Progression, Greenwich Community College
‘We now have a distinct mathematics team, the new teachers are having an impact across college in their
delivery style and passion for maths and they have changed the dynamics within the maths team.’ – Head of
Department Foundation Learning, English & Mathematics, Trafford College
How would you sum-up the impact of the incentive scheme on your organisation?
‘Excellent opportunity to bring in 'new blood' with fantastic enthusiasm’ – Head of Department – Maths,
Oldham College
‘High impact in helping to create a dynamic new maths delivery team’ – Director of HR, Basingstoke
College of Technology
‘It has been brilliant as it has allowed us to develop a strategic approach to the recruitment of, and
development of, the College's staff delivering maths.’ – Executive Director, Bedford College
‘Greenbank is a small provider and it has allowed us to meet growing demand particularly for students with
high needs support and begin to more confidently approach the changes moving forward to offer some
students GCSEs’ – Education and Curriculum Manager, The Greenbank Project
‘This is a really positive initiative and we would like to see it continue. Our trainee is a young man from the
local community, and we see this as a really excellent opportunity to support local people into the teaching
profession as well as increasing our capacity to deliver maths at all levels.’ – Head of Faculty - Science,
Maths and Humanities, Tower Hamlets College
Page 11 of 23
Final Report
Below is a summary of the key themes identified from the case studies, supported by quotes from the
organisations, indicating how the award supported practice improvements:
Recruitment
The programme has shown that there are benefits in reviewing organisational recruitment processes and
improvements in dialogue between Human Resources staff and curriculum teams when planning recruitment
ensures a better understanding of appointment needs.
Extending traditional approaches to recruitment has also proved beneficial with examples of using social media,
wider contacts and networks being effective recruitment campaign methods. A number of organisations indicated
that the programme gave them the opportunity to focus on recruiting based on ‘potential rather than previous
experience’ as a key recruitment criteria.
Organisational
The feedback from award holders suggests that whole organisational approaches and senior leadership
engagement is key when recruiting to skills shortage areas. A number of organisations also recruited internally
with some appointing from previously non-teaching staff pools. In these instances it was ensuring that the
organisation clearly communicated internally the opportunities and roles to which they were seeking to recruit.
Support
The support for appointees when they commence working is critical and the delivery of a thoroughly planned
induction into all aspects of the organisation is very often seen as an important element to helping the graduate
adapt to their new role.
Reduced teaching hours and a competitive or enhanced salary package has also been offered by many
organisations who have found this an invaluable incentive in successfully recruiting. The careful selection of
appropriate mentors and teaching groups for the graduate has also been helpful to ensure the new recruit feels
supported appropriately.
‘Working with existing networks and partnerships supports the communication of the offer and a ‘brokerage’
approach supports reach and impact’ – Director, Newcastle College Group
‘Our philosophy from the outset was to recruit for passion and pride in excellent teaching, learning and
assessment’ – Director of Human Resources, Canterbury College
‘Maths can sometimes be seen as a ‘male-orientated’ subject (less so now of course) but our maths
ambassador is also a great advocate and example for our female students to consider maths as a serious
subject for A-Level study and beyond. We have used the award to promote a new post of ‘Maths Ambassador’
– a role created for a recent graduate from a good maths degree – with a view to impact positively not only on
our own college but also the maths provision more broadly in this area’.– Assistant Principal, North Lindsey
College
Page 12 of 23
Final Report
CPD
Providing support for the continuing professional development of the new recruit is seen as vital and an ongoing
programme of development is recommended for all new recruits.
These themes and other comments drawn from award holders indicate that organisations have made changes to
existing practices and are noticing differences on teaching and learning. As one organisation noted ‘she is
changing the male-oriented’ view of maths and is making the lessons ‘fun’.
Often, the impact to organisations has been immediate and this seems to be particularly true for training
providers, rather than FE colleges.
Full details of the case studies can be found in Appendix B.
‘This gave way to our ‘wrap-around’ induction programme we termed the Teacher Academy. The Teacher
Academy provides intensive induction for the new trainees covering all aspects of FE teaching – from
understanding the roles across College (e.g. registry); enrolment; IAG & DA; SAR; the Quality Cycle and
learner journey; peer observations; professional standards; coaching and mentoring; CPD workshops and
team teaching’ – Director – HR, Canterbury College
‘Ensuring the graduate has a reduced timetable and induction schedule with sufficient support from
colleagues. The advice received at the training event in July was useful in refining the delivery plan. We
added links to the ETF project’s website from the advert and job description so potential candidates could find
out more about the project before applying. This helped applicants to understand more about the project. The
timing of these opportunities should be in line with end of FE academic year to ensure the maximising of
potential recruitment pool.’ – Head of Pre Degree, Plymouth College of Art
‘We believe that the melding of the project with the formal teacher training qualification is a strength in terms of
simultaneously qualifying participants with while they are in the workplace. Government Bursaries for good
degree Maths teachers makes it possible to fund the training.’ – Director – Centre for Lifelong Learning,
City & Islington College
‘X has come into post and has immediately made an impact. This would have not been possible without the
award. As a small, not for profit business, we empower our sub-contractors to deliver all the activity to meet
the requirements of the contract. As a lead, we provide a seamless support mechanism in order for the
consortium partners to ready themselves for a direct SFA contract. In terms of equality and diversity, X has
already suggested some ideas for motivational speaking which we are going to act on as soon as possible.’ –
Director, Yorkshire Training Partnership
Page 13 of 23
Final Report
4. Achievement of Objectives and Impact
4.1. Objectives
The key objective of this project was to contribute to the government’s main workforce strategy target for
increasing the number of graduate maths teachers. This programme has resulted in 140 graduates across 102
different organisations being recruited to teach in the FE and skills sector.
4.2. Key milestones
The table below indicates the key activities and milestones for the project:
Table 2: Contractual milestones
Key activities and milestones Month Completed
Inception meeting to agree the basis and terms of this contract April 2014
Evaluation of bids to create the portfolio of funded projects May 2014
Agree the portfolio of funded projects and timing of transfer of funds June 2014
Notify successful applications for funding June 2014
Agree: The timing of workshops and format of the project final report June 2014
Commence 1st payments to award holders June 2014
Interim report from Tribal to ETF October 2014
The 2nd payments sent to award holders Started in December 2014
Final report from Tribal to ETF December 2014
4.3. Key results
This Maths Graduate Recruitment Incentive Award project has, since April 2014, achieved the following:
An additional 140 new mathematics teachers are either in training to become a teacher or teaching in the
sector who would not have been had it not been for the support provided by the award
102 organisations have recruited successfully
24 organisations have recruited more than one graduate as a result of this award incentive
Providers are noting early impact on mathematics teaching and learning as the graduates bring a
different ‘look’ to teaching and learning in the curriculum
In particular, Training Providers have been able to appoint a mathematics specialist for the first time
which has enhanced mathematics provision and curriculum.
Page 14 of 23
Final Report
The charts below indicate the breakdown of those organisations who have successfully recruited to date. These
charts show that 87% (90 out of 104) of FE colleges that were provided with an award have successfully recruited
compared to 63% (12 out of 19) of training providers who have managed to recruit.
Charts 4 and 5: Percentage of FE colleges and training providers
The charts below indicate the number of organisations that have recruited by type and award value to date. 81%
of those who were awarded £20K have successfully recruited and 87% of those who were awarded £30K. The
FE College that was awarded £170K have also successfully recruited totalling 102 organisations who have
recruited.
Charts 6 and 7: Percentage of organisations by award value
87%
13%
Percentage of FE Colleges that have recruited
Recruited (90) Not Recruited (14)
63%
37%
Percentage of Training Providers that have recruited
Recruited (12) Not Recruited (7)
81%
19%
Percentage of £20K Award Holders that have recruited
Recruited (73) Not Recruited (17)
87%
13%
Percentage of £30K Award Holders that have recruited
Recruited (28) Not Recruited (4)
Page 15 of 23
Final Report
The chart below indicates the number of organisations by region that have successfully recruited to date.
Charts 8: Number of organisations by region
3
1
3
1
4 5
0
3
1
10 10
6 6
17
13
15
9
16
0
2
4
6
8
10
12
14
16
18
East England
East Midlands
London North East
North West
South East
South West
West Midlands
Yorkshire and
Humber
Geographic Spread of Recruitment
Not Recruited
Recruited
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Final Report
5. Observations of impact and recommendations
5.1. Overall Impact of project
Given the short time the project has been in operation there is already promising evidence of positive impacts. As
a direct result of this funding there are now:
an additional 140 staff have been recruited into the FE and Skills sector
a staggering 74 award holders have declared they feel that this incentive award has led to an improved
recruitment process within their organisations.
99 award holders have also indicated they feel this incentive award has positively impacted on their
mathematics strategy.
82 organisations are offering a mentoring programme to their new recruit and 56 have been able to offer
reduced teaching hours.
This funding has also allowed an enhanced salary to be provided within 17 of the organisations and 16 have
been able to offer a bonus payment.
The project clearly supports the recommendations and spirit of the CAVTL report. The encouragement and
development of staff looking for a career change, who have significant mathematics in their previous studies
is leading to the increased mathematics qualification in teachers in the sector and are definitely to be
regarded as ‘home grown talent’, as mentioned in the recommendations of the report. A total of 39 award
holders have indicated they recruited non-teaching staff into teaching roles.
Recommendation 8 refers to the ‘development of a cadre of specialist English and maths teachers in every
college’. This incentive award project is clearly helping to achieve this with at least 102 organisations now
having access to specialist teachers and 24 award holders having recruited more than one maths specialist.
The success of phase one and with the development of phase two this will lead to even further achievements
in this area as the project is extended to more providers and will also begin to develop local and regional
groups who will be sharing good practice.
This significant evidence points to a very positive response to the underlying question of ‘do incentives work?’,
and all award holders note that the award has enabled them to offer a more attractive package to potential
recruits. It has also facilitated review and rethinking of existing processes which will be extended to wider contexts
of recruitment particularly for shortage subjects.
Comparisons with the school sector pose additional problems for the FE sector when recruiting to core subjects
such as mathematics, however, these awards provide an initial pathway into the sector where organisations can
support new recruits and give them a flavour of what the sector can offer. It is hoped that this will encourage
appointees to remain in the sector and will require organisations to consider career structures. However, it does
reinforce the need for a national review of salaries for teachers of core subjects given the national deficit in
mathematics teachers.
The FE sector is exciting and demanding but funding issues can add to the problems of recruitment of high quality
staff in shortage subjects.
There is very positive work been carried out in the FE sector with regard to upskilling existing staff. Examples of
this support are the very successful Mathematics Enhancement Programme which has supported the
mathematics development of 1800 teachers and started them on the path to becoming effective mathematics
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Final Report
teachers up to GCSE level. The million pound ‘pipeline’ project will build on this project and target existing
teachers involved in delivering mathematics, extending the support to vocational staff and teachers in the secure
estate to support their personal development and hopefully provide a more confident cohort of mathematics
teachers, which in turn to a better learning experience for our learners. The incentive awards have also widened
the field for new recruits. It is to be hoped that this will become part of an acknowledged recruitment process as
we know that the job is far from complete.
5.1.1. Observations
The majority of award holders have used some or the entire award to allow for the enhancement of the terms
and conditions for the recruit.
Policies on equality and diversity existed in all award holders; however, few have used the award specifically
to address under-representation. This could be improved by weighting the scoring criteria in future rounds.
Anecdotal evidence suggests that organisations are seeing significant change in their mathematics
department and teaching as a result of new recruits.
Evidence to date is indicating that recruits are bringing a new approach to mathematics teaching which is
having a positive effect on mathematics across the organisations.
The scheme has enabled the introduction of new young graduates who bring new ideas and an empathy
with students.
Structured and ongoing support/induction programmes for recruits supports retention.
5.2. Recommendations
Given the success of the project in recruiting 140 additional maths graduates to the sector and the role
incentives have had, consideration should be given to longer term support for the concept of incentive
schemes for skills/subject shortage areas.
The timing of the project has an impact on the success. Awards need to be distributed early in the New Year
to match sector recruitment timetables and to provide enough time to maximise recruitment opportunities.
Award holders have suggested that they would benefit from programme support for a lengthier period and
ongoing support for recruits is seen as important in increasing the likelihood of retention.
Early opportunities for award holders to meet and discuss concerns and issues are key in setting the scene
for the project.
Senior Management Team involvement, including finance departments, is critical; it is evident that where this
has happened changes have been facilitated more effectively.
Early indicators show organisations linking with other funding opportunities to afford a range of incentives
helps with the success of recruiting and support.
Where organisations have used funds to support enhanced terms and conditions, recruitment and retention
seems to have been successful.
Effective induction and mentoring programmes for graduates are essential.
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Final Report
For shortage subjects, an effective dialogue between the curriculum area and Human Resources at the
beginning of any recruitment process is essential to ensure the process recognises different needs.
Locally and regionally, providers should be encouraged to share good practice and develop a dialogue to
support the development of mathematics.
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6. Equality and diversity
This project required organisations to consider recruitment to a shortage subject where there was a need for
different approaches to be considered. The project also asked award holders to consider how they could
innovate in their recruitment practice to address equality and diversity issues. An equalities approach
understands that who we are, based on social categories such as gender, race, disability, age, social class,
sexuality and religion will impact on our life experiences.
Historically, employers have ignored certain differences such as background, personality and work style,
however, as part of this project, organisations have responded to the issue of diversity through the development
of flexibility in working practices and services in their offer to new recruits for this incentive award. For example,
new recruits have been offered fewer teaching hours supported with mentoring and training. There has also been
an emphasis on recruitment practices which pay particular note to these areas and it has led to some success in
recruitment from previously unknown groups. An example of where award holders have challenged their usual
recruitment processes to be more inclusive is a provider who recruited a male teacher in the Health and Social
care division which has traditionally tended to attract a large proportion of both female learners and teachers.
These approaches recognise that we must promote inclusive working environments and organisations may need
to respond differently to both individuals and to groups. Phase one of the project has started down this track.
In many ways the project itself challenges existing practice and all award holders were required to revisit their
recruitment process which led to a much broader approach and engagement of people with potential rather than
acknowledged experience.
‘Our Trainees have come from diverse backgrounds in terms of education and former careers/ work experience.
The Trainees have been recruited at a national level and hence the Trainees have re-located from as far afield as
Scotland, Lancashire and Cambridgeshire across both programmes. Our two pure maths graduates this year are
both male, but from different ethnic backgrounds and nationalities. The three other trainees who are on the
programme and will be teach STEM subjects are of mixed gender including two female trainees for engineering
and maths.’ – Director of Human Resources, Canterbury College
‘It was important to our programme from the outset that our recruitment campaign had to be national and
applicants were encouraged to come from ‘non-standard’ routes in that we deliberately did not recruit solely from
certain universities/ take the milk round approach. And our selection process was based on potential not previous
experience.’ – Director of Human Resources, Canterbury College
‘The recruitment for these positions was in line with college practices to ensure the above are met. This includes
advertising in a variety of media, promoting guaranteed interviews for candidates from under represented areas.’
– HR Manager, Lincoln College
‘Accessible venues, inclusive advertising materials, commitment to Equality and diversity throughout recruitment
process’ – Head of Faculty, Abingdon & Witney College
‘Use of diversity website. Careful wording of advertisement emphasising our commitment to E & D’ – Director of
HR, Basingstoke College of Technology
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Final Report
6.1. Equality and Diversity Data
The charts and tables below provide data drawn from the final monitoring survey. At this stage we do not have
this data for all of the recruits so have reported on the 131 where the data is available:
Age
Gender
Ethnicity
.
6.1.1. Recruits by Age
Chart 9: Percentage of recruits by age group
Table 3: Number of recruits within each age group
Age Group Number of Recruits
18-25 50
26-35 44
36-45 19
45-55 13
56 and above 5
Total 131
6.1.2. Recruits by Gender
Chart 10: Percentage of females and males recruited
38%
34%
14%
10%
4%
Percentage by Age Groups for New Recruitees
18-25 26-35 36-45 45-55 56 and above
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Final Report
Table 4: Number of recruits by gender
Gender Number of Recruits
Male 75
Female 56
Total 131
6.1.3. Recruits by Ethnicity
Chart 11: Breakdown of recruits by ethnicity:
43%
57%
Percentage of Females and Males Recruited
Females Males
75%
9%
9%
2% 0%
0%
3%
0% 2% 0%
Ethnicity of Recruits
White - British
Other White background
Asian - British
Indian
Pakistani
Bangladeshi
Black - British
African
Chinese
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Final Report
Table 5: Number of recruits by ethnicity
Ethnicity Number of Recruits
White - British 103
Other White background 7
Asian – British 7
Indian 1
Pakistani 2
Bangladeshi 1
Black – British 3
African 4
Chinese 3
Total 131
6.1.4. General
Award holders were asked if the award had enabled them to impact positively on equality and diversity; the data
and chart below shows the percentage breakdown of responses.
48% of respondents said the award had enabled them to impact positively equality and diversity in their
organisation
6% said the award had impacted positively on disability
32% said the award had impacted positively on ethnicity
50% said the award had impacted positively on gender
2% of recruits are registered disabled
Chart 12: Breakdown of impacts from those indicating a positive impact on E&D
6%
32%
50%
12%
Has the award enabled you to impact positively on any of the following equality and diversity areas?
Disability Ethnicity Gender Other
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Final Report
7. Merger of phase one and phase two
ETF has now offered the FE and skills sector the opportunity to become involved with a second phase of the
project, running from December 2014 until the end of March 2015. As a result of the project continuing, this has
provided the opportunity for those award holders in phase one who, for various reasons, have not been able to
recruit by December 2014 to be allowed an extension until March 2015. To date 20 organisations have been
offered this extension. They will continue with their efforts to recruit and will continue to be supported in the
execution of their delivery plans. Therefore by the end of March 2015 we anticipate the achievements of the
phase one award holders to have increased even further.
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Final Report
8. Phase two
During phase one of the project, award holders confirmed that the additional funding was instrumental in
facilitating a review of existing recruitment practices and supporting enhanced offers to appointees. Phase two of
this project will build on this work through further £20k and £30k awards to organisations and by providing an
enhanced programme of support to providers and graduates that will maximise the success and impact of the
project. The opportunity to make an application for phase two was promoted at the phase one event in December
2014. Advice for organisations around eligibility criteria, the application process and contractual requirements
was provided along with an opportunity for questions.
As well as the key activities from phase one, during phase two Tribal will also:
Provide advice to providers recruiting multiple graduates on maximising value – offering bespoke
guidance on recruitment, induction and sustainability
Provide support and advice to training providers on recruitment and incentives, induction planning and
other HR functions through regional events; provide templates for adverts and interview questions, advice
on buddying and mentoring to attract and retain graduates
Form regional networking meetings for appointees to share practice and learning
Establish communities of practice such as a new FE Maths teacher support group
Provide a time limited national campaign on social media to promote the project
Provide case studies with examples of best and innovative practice to be shared with the sector.
We will provide differentiated support to applicants to help them tackle recruitment challenges and will focus on
helping them to plan effective induction activity.
Through a microsite advertising job opportunities in the sector, workshops and face-to-face support visits,
providers will be supported in recruiting and retaining graduates. Through regional learning meetings, graduate
appointees will be encouraged to engage in dialogue to share experience and best practice.
The following highlights have been achieved within phase 1 of this project and during phase 2 Tribal will work with
award holders from both phases to improve these achievements even further:
An additional 140 new mathematics teachers are either in training to become a teacher or teaching in the
sector who would not have been had it not been for the support provided by the award
102 organisations have recruited successfully
24 organisations have recruited more than one graduate as a result of this award incentive
Please see attached the following appendices referred to in this report:
Appendix A. Summary survey data
Appendix B. Case studies
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