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Bucks CC uses drama to aid teacher recruitment

Buckinghamshire County Council is running a training workshop to help head teachers and governors to interview and recruit new teachers and volunteers, in line with the government's Safeguarding Agenda.

The workshop, co-developed by drama-based training provider Steps Drama, is designed to highlight a best practice approach to recruitment in schools and gives the delegates, from primary and secondary schools throughout the county, an opportunity to practise their interview skills in live role plays, with actors posing as job candidates.

Jenny O'Neill, senior HR officer at Buckinghamshire County Council, said: "Schools need rigorous and robust recruitment methods, to verify as far as they can that people are fit to work with children.

"Many head teachers and governors have never been trained in how to conduct interviews. We developed the content for this workshop and Steps helped us to package it in an interesting and fun way, to make it attractive to the target audience."

Called Safe Recruitment and Selection in Schools, the workshop has run eight times, with around 20 head teachers and governors attending each session. It emphasises the importance of the Safeguarding Agenda, which aims to ensure checks are in place to safeguard the welfare of children, and it highlights different aspects of the recruitment process, including planning for interviews, shortlisting and taking up references.

"We encourage head teachers and governors to cross examine candidates by asking probing questions and to pursue any aspect of the candidate's application that isn't clear," said Jenny O'Neill.

In the workshop, the actor-facilitators from Steps run a 30-minute interactive drama, showing a head teacher and department head discussing two interviews they have just completed. The drama aims to emphasise the value of having a structured approach to interviews, with clear criteria for success, and to illustrate the need for interviewers to ask open questions and to drill down into any area of a person's application that they don't feel comfortable with, challenging issues such as vague language or gaps in employment.

"The Steps team get the audience to contribute ideas and suggestions," said Jenny O'Neill. "They draw out lessons and best practice, using the experience of the audience members. This is a much more effective learning experience than having someone stand at the front and give a lecture."

The Council's senior HR officers provide tips and guidelines on reviewing application forms against job descriptions, specifying the person required, planning questions and running a structured interview.

Steps then run a live simulation designed to enable the delegates to put the learning into practice. The delegates are split into four groups and they review applications from five candidates who are applying for a job as a primary school teacher. The delegates shortlist three individuals and they conduct a 15-minute panel interview with each of the three candidates.

"The Steps actors are very well-briefed and they create realistic candidates, each of whom has pluses and minuses," said Jenny O'Neill. "The aim is to allow the delegates to practise asking non-technical questions on issues such as team working, planning and their motivations for wanting to work with children. The delegates have to use their interview skills to get the whole story from each character."

At the end of the simulation, the delegates give each other feedback and they also receive feedback from the actors who play the candidates.

"The delegates gain an opportunity to practise and reflect on their interviewing skills in a safe environment," said Jenny O'Neill. "By conducting more robust interviews, schools can address Safeguarding issues and ensure they make even better choices in recruitment that will raise the standard of education."

The Council intends to run the workshop three more times. It also plans to apply this training approach to help meet other recruitment needs, such as for care workers in homes for elderly people.

"This style of training could be just as relevant to help those who interview and recruit workers who look after the welfare of vulnerable adults," said Jenny O'Neill.

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