As an educator who covers four of the seven protected characteristics listed in the Equality Act, I have faced many barriers within my teaching career.
Indeed, during my initial teacher training interviews, I felt singled out because I disclosed my dyslexia and mental health issues, both positively and negatively, for my neurodiversity and mental health conditions. One interview left me so upset and offended, I made a formal complaint to the university and Ucas.
Another offered me a place because of my disability; positive discrimination at the time was prevalent in recruitment.
I didn’t actually find out I was autistic and battling attention deficit hyperactivity disorder (ADHD) until my second year in teaching. And, topping off my extensive list of learning difficulties, I was also diagnosed with a mild hearing impairment, making teaching in a classroom so difficult.
All this made me anxious and concerned I would be a “defective teacher”. However, the Access to Work service recommended I speak to someone about it and my own neurodiversity, which opened my eyes to how the world sees me and how I can approach my lifelong goals.
I have also recently moved roles - and the experience was an eye-opening one in terms of how schools can improve their recruitment processes for neurodiverse staff and help to ensure that they give everyone a fair shot during applications.
Improving teacher recruitment for neurodiverse applicants
1. The application
My application to my current school was an impulse decision after looking at the Tes jobs website one Sunday evening.
One job caught my eye but, on first read, the advert was very compact and difficult to read. Schools may find that making good use of headings and text formatting may resolve the issues I had with reading the advert.
The application form asked the usual questions; age, ethnicity, marital status and “special requirements for interview”.
This box is so common that I didn’t think much about it and filled in my default response: “Please note that I will be carrying a hearing aid transmitter to assist my communication. I have a diagnosis of dyslexia, dyspraxia, autism and ADHD (combined), which is controlled and managed well.”
2. The interview
The next day I was called to arrange my interview that week. The school wanted to accommodate my needs and asked if I required anything in addition to my portable hearing loop that I would bring with me.
The HR assistant also asked me if I needed a specific colour of paper for any written communication, a common need for people with dyslexia, and I was pleasantly surprised to be asked this.
The interview day itself had the usual agenda: teach a lesson, a tour of the school, then an interview with some school leaders.
I completed the tour first, led by the HR administrator, who was not fazed by my portable hearing loop.
Although I did not request the tour during a quiet time of the day, the school completed it while all students were in lessons.
The school did change the class I was teaching at short notice, but it informed me two days before the interview and the topic did not change. I found it easy to adapt my resources for the different year group and I felt my differentiation was still age-appropriate.
Neurodiversity affects educators in different ways, so as much notice as is feasibly possible will support a wide range of applicants. In my work management, I follow a two-day notice rule, as I usually cope with changes two or more days before they happen.
However, I was not informed that I would need to complete a GCSE exam paper, and would have preferred to be informed early in the application process.
As I knew the school used a different exam board to what I had experienced in the past and this exam board was currently a hot topic in computing circles, I was rather anxious waiting for the paper. Apparently my exam responses were excellent.
I raised this lack of notice about the exam paper with the school after starting. It was very apologetic and said I should have been informed of the paper and it would ensure that future applicants have this information.
My interview itself was with two of the deputy headteachers and the head of faculty of maths and computing.
I asked several questions that I had thought of in my interview preparation; highlighting the biggest issues I found from the school’s website.
My questions focused on what leaders were doing to support these issues, and their responses were very positive.
I then explained to them how neurodiversity affected me during my teaching career and asked them what support they put in place for neurodiverse staff.
They admitted that they could not answer the question but seemed enthused by my openness and were keen to support neurodiverse staff in any way they can.
3. The job offer
At the end of the day, one of the deputy headteachers called to offer me the role and informed me of all the support, such as seeking Access to Work and occupational health guidance, the school wanted to implement before I started. This was something that previous employers made no effort to do.
With bitterness from lacklustre support still on my mind, I expected the school to break its promise as soon as I finished the call.
Indeed, after that day, the school did not contact me for several months and this contributed to my already deteriorating mental health.
However, although contact from the school didn’t resume until around a month before my first day, once it did the process was quick and easy to understand.
My worries could have been mitigated if I knew what stages would be completed and when, and this is something schools should think about.
4. Starting the job
Since starting, my passion to teach has returned.
My line manager has incredibly high expectations of how I must be supported to become a successful head of department, and HR and senior leaders are in regular contact with me to ensure that all my needs are met.
I also share an office with a member of staff who was in my interview, so they understand my way of working.
Some neurodiverse staff may not have many successful coping strategies that I have developed during my teaching career, so schools must do everything they can to help these staff and ensure that everyone who wants to be an educator can do so.
This means leaders must be prepared for the introverted as much as for the extroverted, and see if there are common strategies to support all staff. This will make them more at ease with school leaders and allow your school community to grow and flourish.
Alexander Davis is the head of computing at Q3 Academy Tipton in the West Midlands
