Dedicated to Education
News
Marathon Man
June 2022
Faversham Firefighter (and close friend of Dedicate Recruitment) Luke Pritchard is running the 2022 TCS London Marathon in full fire gear including helmet and breathing apparatus! Luke will be running in support of The Fire Fighters Charity which provides specialist lifelong support for members of the UK's fire services community, empowering individuals to achieve mental, physical and social wellbeing throughout their lives.
Please support Luke's fundraising by donating on his JustGiving page.
Dedicate Recruitment are delighted to sponsor Luke and wish him great success with his marathon run!
New Schools Bill set to boost education standards across the country
May 2022
The Schools Bill (published 12th May), the first major legislation for schools since 2016, is set to deliver on the government’s mission to raise standards across the country, increasing attendance and improve safeguarding for children.
Paving the way for all schools to join a strong multi-academy trust, the bill provides a framework for a new, legally enforceable set of standards. These new statutory academy standards will help ensure trusts remain strong, stable and effective. It will also provide protection for grammar and faith schools to retain their status within MATs.
The bill is backed by huge government investment, funding will rise by £4 billion in 2022/23 compared with 2021/22, representing a 7% increase per pupil. £5 billion has been pledged for the Government’s education recovery programme, offering catch-up tutoring for students who fell behind during the pandemic.
Prime Minister Boris Johnson said: “We are determined to raise standards in our schools so every child has access to the same opportunities wherever they live, and our brilliant teachers are supported to do what they do best, which is why we’re putting our education ambition into law this week. By giving every child a good education, we’re giving them the opportunity to thrive so they can reach their full potential and secure the jobs needed - this is absolutely vital to our levelling up mission.”
Anyone for tennis?
May 2022
Dedicate Recruitment are delighted to add another local community partnership with the 2022-23 sponsorship of Faversham Tennis Club.
The tennis club provides a friendly and safe environment for family tennis with a very strong junior coaching section with over 90 players. Faversham Tennis has strong links with a number of local primary schools, as well as assisting with advanced coaching sessions for members of the Queen Elizabeth Grammar School Tennis Squads. The club has three all-weather floodlit tarmac courts, two mini-courts, a hitting wall and clubhouse.
Dedicate Recruitment branding can be seen on court banners and the ‘junior player of the week’ trophies.
Opportunity for All
April 2022
The Government’s ‘Opportunity for All’ schools white paper (published March 28th) sets out an academy shakeup within England’s school landscape – with significant reforms for multi-academy trusts, schools and local councils.
Most interesting is the announcement that trusts are expected to have at least 10 schools or 7,500 pupils by 2030, currently 53% of existing trusts have one school, and 75% have under five. Free schools would be a possible exception, which could initially open as a standalone trust.
In January 2010, there were just 203 academies with fewer than 200,000 pupils. Last year over 4.5m pupils were educated in nearly 10,000 academies. According to a recent survey of multi-academy trust schools, they reported improved expertise-sharing, recruitment, retention and curriculum resources. The trust expansion outlined in the white paper is planned to be supported by £86 million funding over three years.
Education Secretary Nadhim Zahawi commented: “This is levelling up in action. The ‘Opportunity for All’ White Paper will deliver for every child, parent and family…harnessing the incredible energy and expertise of the one million people that work in schools.”
Schools & Academies Show 2022
March 2022
The Schools & Academies Show will be taking place in London this year (ExCeL, 27th April) recognised as the go-to event for education leaders to source solutions for their schools, network and hear from influential decision-makers.
As the UK’s largest education exhibition, the Schools & Academies Show returns to London for the first time in 2 years, giving access to over thirty hours of CPD accredited content. Visitors will also be able to meet with over 140 leading education suppliers presenting revolutionary products and services for the sector. Registration for The Schools & Academies Show is free for those working in schools, multi-academy trusts, charities, local and central government. Click here to register
Levelling Up Education
March 2022
Government reform plans announced last month are set to target the UK’s education support and investment programme – part of the broader ‘levelling up’ initiative – to boost high quality teaching across the country.
Areas such as County Durham, Cornwall and Hartlepool have been identified by the report as ‘cold spots’ where school outcomes are weakest. In these education investment areas, teachers are set to receive retention payments and new specialist sixth-form free schools will be established.
Schools in these areas could also be moved into strong Multi-Academy Trusts, to attract and retain the best teachers. Another upcoming Government white paper is expected to set a 2030 target for all schools to become academies, according to an exclusive article by Freddie Whittaker in Schools Week.
With nearly half of all UK schools already converted to academies, it was suggested that Education Secretary Nadhim Zahawi was keen to see the reform completed within eight years.
Remote Working On The Rise
February 2022
11% of jobs advertised in the UK in January were entirely remote working roles, concluded a recent study by business adviser Hazlewoods.
Remote working has become an increasingly accepted working model by employers, driven initially by the global pandemic over the past 22 months. Previously home-based roles were largely associated with low-paid customer service roles, but the research also identified that 74% of these remote roles paid more than the average annual salary of £31,000, with sectors such as technology including hybrid or fully remote jobs.
Many businesses are now recognising the benefits of a more flexible approach to work for both them and their employees. The rise of remote workers widens the potential pool of candidates - no longer confined to a set location or office - at a time when many companies are struggling to fill vacancies. As a result, businesses can downsize office space but increase head count. Additionally creating a better work/life balance and allowing for individual needs of the employee, such as childcare and commuting, are helping to retain staff long term.
Some potential concern has been noted, where office staff benefit from networking and team building, where home workers are isolated. In addition, working from home may leave employees feeling burnt out, with the line between personal and professional life blurred.
Felicity Sang, Director at Hazlewoods commented; “Some degree of work from home is going to be with us for the long term as the UK comes to terms with COVID-19 being part of the landscape for the foreseeable future. Employers have learnt to quickly adjust to external pressures. For many businesses there is currently no set way of working, as they adapt to accommodate the changes.”
Analysis of 1,400,000 job adverts posted on Indeed, (comparing January 17th 2022, December 2nd, 2021, and 23rd November 2020)
CV Writing Tips
January 2022
As part of our service to clients we review high volumes of potential candidate CVs each week. With this insight, Operations Director Dan Nevitt provides his top tips on CV writing.
· It may sound obvious but don't forget to include your name, email and contact phone number at the top of your CV and Linkedin profile if you have one.
· The first thing we look at is your personal statement – your unique combination of skills and experience. This is your calling card, the hook that will reel the hiring manager in. Remember the average recruiter takes 7.5 seconds to decide if you go on the 'yes' or 'no' pile. This should give a quick summary of who you are, what you offer and why you are right for the job. Write 150-200 words max. Bullet point key skills if required.
· Next should be your relevant work experience listed with the most recent first. Include your job title, name of organisation, time in post and key responsibilities. Show how you have added value - for example saved money, improved processes or improved staff culture. If possible, tailor your CV for the job you’re applying for. Consider including links to websites or blogs, and relevant social media profiles.
· Education should then be listed along with dates, qualifications and grades achieved. Listing achievements can be included to show why your experience makes you a suitable candidate and how you would apply it to the new role.
· You don't always need to include hobbies and interests but they can back up skills, give you something to talk about at the interview and stand out from the crowd. However if it doesn’t add value - leave it out.
· Always spell check your CV, correct errors and spelling mistakes, review any dates which conflict. Ensure consistent use of font and size, keep the format simple.
· Finally, make sure you send a CV which is current and up-to-date.
We hope this helps. We'll be offering more advice and simple tips to help in securing your ideal job. Good luck!
Careers advice for Grammar School students
January 2022
We’ve been delighted to work with Queen Elizabeth's Grammar School in Faversham to provide year 11 students with careers advice including CV writing and interview techniques. As part of their PSHE (Personal, Social, Health & Economic Education) class, Recruitment Director and company founder Liz Nevitt led a series of presentations with students taking part in role-play and interaction.
Liz commented; "These students were brilliant, so engaged and we had a lot of fun with interview role plays. I have absolute admiration for the teaching community. Keeping 30 minds connected is a huge task! My favourite takeaway? Me: "How can you help prepare yourself for an interview?", Year 11: "Have a shower, Miss!". Priceless!".
Dan Nevitt appointed as Ops Director
January 2022
We are delighted to announce the new year appointment of Dan Nevitt as Operations Director.
Dan joins from his previous role as Marketing Director of Armourcoat. In total, he has over 25 years of commercial experience, most recently serving a decade on the board for the international brand with global responsibility. "I am delighted to be appointed as Operations Director and look forward to working with Liz to deliver streamlined business solutions that serve the current, and future, client base.”
Dedicate Recruitment was established two years ago by sector expert Liz Nevitt. The husband-and-wife team brings together a wide range of industry skills and expertise. Liz commented; “I’m thrilled to have Dan on board, his work ethic and knowledge base is fantastic. Dan will be focused on helping deliver the company objectives and ensuring we develop the potential we have identified as a team.”
Please join us in wishing Dan great success for the new year!
Show time at the Education People Expo
November 2021
Dedicate Recruitment exhibited at The Education People Show this month - we really enjoyed meeting so many of the county's headteachers and school senior management teams!
The Education People Show is Kent’s leading event for the promotion and development of effective school management, learning & teaching. This free-to-attend show is the largest exhibition and conference for the county’s Head Teachers, Finance Directors, Bursars, Business Managers, Governors, Local Authority education leaders, PTA’s, IT Managers and school leadership teams from the state, academy and private sectors. Join us again in 2022.