Recruiting The Best

by Craig Coutts, Head of School

 

Recruiting The Best

Schools are complex organisations, however if you boil it down to the essential elements, it comes down to four main ingredients: students, learning programs, facilities and of course teachers and staff. You can have the best of all those things, but none of them matter if you do not have good staff that make everything work and ensure there is appropriate learning for students. Recruitment of staff is one of the most important responsibilities we have as a leadership team and we spend a great deal of time to ensure we get the best person for each role. 

What are we looking for?

We have strict parameters when we are reviewing applications, of which we receive hundreds every year. Only qualified and experienced teachers are ever considered and usually we prefer at least 3-6 years experience minimum, preferably in an international school setting. We look at the roles they have done and also the schools they have worked in to check if there is experience within a similar context and quality to YIS. We also consider length of service and the type of curriculum and learning programs they have taught. Cover letters are a strong indicator for us as we get an understanding about their approach in regard to students, learning, pedagogy and inclusivity. We interview on average 6 - 8 people for every position so we ensure we really are getting the best person possible for our students.

What is the process? 

We ensure we have a range of people involved in the decision making process to bring a variety of perspectives and experience to the process and to minimise any bias. We ask for three written confidential references for each candidate shortlisted we choose to interview. There are 3 people in every interview, which is normally 45-60 minutes in length and we conduct a second interview for potential candidates. All candidates have a chance to ask questions to learn more about our school throughout the interview process. If we are interviewing for a leadership role, we ask them to present to the SLT on a strategic focus for our school, to check their understanding of YIS and our mission and values and also find out more about their clarity of thought, vision and communication abilities. Once a decision is made, I call their Head of School or direct supervisor and do a final verbal reference check.

Safeguarding

This is an important element of the recruitment process. Safeguarding questions are included in the written references and the candidate is directly asked about safeguarding training and past history in the second interview. This is also part of the verbal reference conducted by me. Once an offer is made it is conditional upon receiving a clear background check which goes back ten years and looks into criminal allegations from every country the candidate has lived in, as well as a full social media check.

 

The recruitment of the best teachers possible is really important and the quality of applications we receive is very high from around the world. YIS is seen as a top quality school in the international arena and therefore many applicants aspire to teach at our school as they relate in our mission and values and be part of our community, but also they see that working with our current staff and leaders is a way to learn and grow as an educator and these are the people we really want to have in our school.