Retaining great teachers and leaders - at all career stages - is something all schools and trusts want to do. There are numerous initiatives to support this across the sector, from flexible working to a greater focus on wellbeing.
At Learning in Harmony Trust, one way we do this is through an internal secondment scheme, whereby teachers and leaders have the opportunity to spend up to a year at another school within our trust, or a shorter part-time secondment with our central trust teams.
Since the programme began in 2019, more than 30 members of staff have been through it, gaining the opportunity to learn from others, develop new skills and take on different opportunities, confident in having the full support of their school and trust community.
Secondments in practice
Every year, we send out a trust-wide letter inviting colleagues to have a discussion with their line manager about career goals. Based on these conversations, we match staff to year-long placement opportunities that align with individual aspirations and trust priorities.
For example, it might be that a school is prioritising maths development, but their maths lead is on maternity leave. We could then place someone passionate about building maths curricula to spend time supporting this on a secondment.
Meanwhile, another school might be looking to refresh its approach to CPD, so we might second a deputy head from a different school who has previously had success in driving this forward.
For our central roles, we have seconded teachers with experience in leading early career teachers to support the delivery of our initial teacher training programme on a part-time basis, for just a few days a year.
All colleagues moving schools do so on the same terms as their existing contract, but to ensure they truly integrate into their host school community, they have new line managers and take on responsibilities in line with their seniority.
We also take care to ensure that the “home” schools are supported when their colleagues decide to take part in a secondment. Many of our secondments are therefore arranged as direct exchanges or reciprocal arrangements across a few schools, so that staff cover is available.
Staying in touch with the ‘home’ school
We understand that some teachers, while excited by the opportunity, may worry about missing out on development and career opportunities while away from their “home” setting.
As such, colleagues are encouraged to stay in touch with their base school, taking part in school events and having regular discussions with their line manager there about their professional development goals. This includes building in transparent conversations about whether a colleague would like to return.
Benefits for our staff and pupils
We’ve run our programme for five years now and, at all schools, there have been key members of staff who have experienced working in two or more schools in the trust.
This has not only helped those individuals to grow their professional experience but also created a network of individuals who have taken ideas from different settings, shared them between schools and continue to be in touch.
We’ve seen direct benefits for pupils, too, as secondments have often supported a specific aspect of school development.
For example, one of our placement opportunities included a member of staff overseeing the introduction of a new targeted maths programme, which has led to improved outcomes for pupils in the core subject.
We’ve also seen staff unlock new passions - for example, some teachers have permanently joined our special schools, helping to boost career satisfaction for them while ensuring we retain talented staff, meet the needs of our communities and avoid regularly having to hire new staff.
We’re excited to see the incredible teachers and leaders that the scheme develops, helping us to harness a culture that understands the best thing for our young people - and the staff that teach them - is to work collaboratively towards joint priorities, supported by the sharing of expertise.
Jim Johnson is an executive leader at Learning in Harmony Trust
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