Inset, careers advice and confidentiality clauses...

Hey there, Teacher Tappers!

The Spring term is underway, and the if you’re feeling a bit overwhelmed by all of the upcoming policy changes, you’re not alone! Ofsted, curriculum, SEND…if you’re struggling to keep up, one way to keep abreast of what changes are coming is to make sure you’re subscribed to our weekly newsletter, and check out our daily reads, where we share blogs and articles on the latest changes. To check if you’ve opted in, click here and go to ‘settings’ in the app.

Winners of the prize draw

Last month we had FOUR winners for the February prize draw! One Tapper had her ticket selected, and then three colleagues who had also been tapping in February also scooped gift cards.

New prize draw – but ticket codes are gone!

🎉 Our March prize draw is back – and this time there are no ticket codes to worry about!

If you tap at least once between 6–31 March, you’ll automatically be entered. The winner will see a message in the app from 2 April.

And there’s more: any Teacher Tappers who have the same school listed in their profile as the winner, and who also tapped between 6–31 March, will receive gift cards too.

Will we see even more winners this month?

You can check the full terms and conditions here.

Inset preferences

Over the last few weeks, there have been videos circulating on TikTok after a holiday company put out a video calling for parents to contact their school and ask their leaders to put INSET days together to create an “INSET holiday week”.

Many teachers made reaction videos to this online, pointing out that the content of INSET days meant they had to take place at fixed points of the year, and suggesting that schools could simply “group them” was unhelpful for home-school relationships.

But how many schools currently have this set up? Not many! Just 4% have an INSET holiday week, with 8% of primary teachers and 13% of secondary teachers reporting their school uses twilights, and 84% of primary teachers and 74% of secondary teachers reporting their INSET days are spread across the year.

But how popular is an INSET week among teachers? Given a choice, 21% of primary teachers would prefer an INSET week, compared to 16% of primary leaders. Its popularity is very similar among those who work in secondary settings, with a similar pattern of 20% of secondary teachers and 15% of secondary leaders preferring to have their INSET organised in this way.

Careers advice for students

93% of secondary school teachers told us they have a named person at the school in charge of careers – and this figure hasn’t changed since we last asked in 2021.

There has, however, been a change in the number of schools offering work experience to students. In 2022, almost half (46%) of secondary teachers reported that their school didn’t offer any work experience to KS2 students. Today, that figure has dropped to 30%.

This change appears to be driven by the state-sector, with two thirds of private secondary teachers reporting their school does not offer work experience at all, and this has stayed constant since 2022. In contrast, looking just at state-school teachers, the figure has dropped from 45% to 26%.

What do you think of work experience? Is it something all students should do, or a nice extra? How does your school organise the placements? Make suggestions for questions by getting in touch with england@teachertapp.co.uk.

Teacher Tapper wanted to know…

This week we have had LOTS of great questions sent in by Teacher Tappers – but this one on confidentiality clauses got us talking here at Teacher Tapp Towers.

This teacher told us there was talk of a confidentiality clause being added to contracts for teachers at his school. He wanted to know how common this was. What we found out is that awareness of these clauses varies between teaching staff and senior leaders, and also between private and state schools.

State-funded schools

17% of teachers and 24% of leaders have clauses – but within those percentages, just 5% of teachers knew they had a clause, and what it entailed, and the same was true for only 12% of leaders.
20% of teachers and 35% of leaders knew they didn’t have a clause in their contract.
The most notable stat was that a huge 62% of teachers and 42% of leaders didn’t know if they had a clause or not.

Private schools

There was more awareness of confidentiality clauses among private school teachers.

27% of teachers and 38% of leaders reported they had a clause, and of those percentages, 6% and 16% of teachers and leaders knew what they entailed.

19% of teachers and 27% of leaders knew they did not have a clause for confidentiality.

55% of teachers and 34% of leaders weren’t sure if they did or didn’t.

Alistair Wood, CEP of Edapt, advises those who aren’t sure what their contract says to remedy this, and soon! “Every school staff member should have a copy of their contract and take the time to read it,” he says. “It is easy to overlook in the excitement of starting a new job, and the relevance of its terms can easily be forgotten as your role develops, but it is one of the most important documents you will have.”

Obviously, we all hope things won’t go wrong, but Alastair makes the point that if things do, it’s the wording of the contract that will be the first place to look for help. “If a problem arises later, [your contract] is often one of the first things a union or organisation like Edapt will ask to see. Although many contracts look similar, the details can vary significantly between schools, so it is important to understand exactly what you have agreed to. If you are unsure about any part of it, get advice early.”

These findings also provide a useful pointer for leaders: if you have something important in your contract about confidentiality, these results suggest staff might not be aware. It’s always a good idea to regularly remind everybody what is in their contracts, and ensure everyone is clear on what can be discussed or shared outside of work.

Zoom in on 👀 tasks the Department for Education say teachers shouldn’t be asked to do…

In 2024, the Department for Education released a list of tasks teachers shouldn’t be asked to do. But has it made a difference?

Have things changed? Not that much!

Classroom teachers reported undertaking the tasks at a very similar level to 2024, with the exception of collecting money (dropped from 57% to 46% among primary teachers, and 29% to 21% among secondary teachers).

Putting up displays is slightly less common in secondary, 59% DOWN from 64%, but no significant change in primary, 92% DOWN from 93%.

What do you make of this list? Are these tasks ever going to move off teachers’ to-do piles? And should more efforts go towards reducing these tasks so teachers can crack on with the parts of the job that require expertise? Let us know what you think!