Oversae Traned Teachers

The Recruitment of Overseas Trained Teachers
Olwen McNamara and Sarah Lewis The University of Manchester and John Howson Education Data Surveys
Research Report Conducted on Behalf of NASUWT the largest union representing teachers and headteachers throughout the UK
Preface
This countrys reliance on the recruitment of overseas teachers is not new. For many decades, public and private sector organisations have engaged in both small and largescale operations to import teacher labour from overseas. Whilst in the past the Caribbean and the Indian subcontinent provided an essential source of labour for the post-war British economy, the trends are now changing. The demand for overseas trained teachers reflects a wider context of fluctuating supply and demand, uncertainty and job security, status and respect for public sector workers such as teachers. Where the supply of British labour has been scarce, there has been a corresponding demand for overseas labour. This is not new, and overseas workers have made a vital contribution to the nations public services. However, it is a cause for serious concern that whilst overseas workers, such as teachers, have worked tirelessly for our public services, the interests of these staff have not been served to the best, as their commitment and hard work has been exploited for profit. NASUWT believes that this has undermined the essence of the public service ethos and operated to the detriment of overseas workers and their countries of origin. It was because of these concerns that NASUWT commissioned this independent study into the recruitment of overseas teachers. This report provides a valuable and generative insight into the experiences of overseas teachers in England. In it, the researchers make a series of important recommendations to improve the working conditions of overseas teachers, and to develop better intervention by Government, employers, regulatory bodies and trade unions in meeting the needs of overseas teachers in our schools. Within a global knowledge economy, the international movement of teachers should be a realistic proposition. However, the educational, cultural and economic benefits which might arise from this are unlikely to be realised where such teachers face negative experiences, discrimination, alienation and abuse in the countries where they seek to teach. This report highlights the role which Government, working with a range of national and international partners, can play in realising an effective global vision for education which benefits pupils and teachers alike.
Chris Keates General Secretary
The authors would like to acknowledge the work of Hilary Constable in compiling a literature review which supported this report.
Contents
Executive Summary 1. Literature Review 1.1 Background 1.2 Teacher Supply and Recruitment 1.3 Profile and Location of Overseas Trained Teachers 1.4 Experiences of Overseas Trained Teachers 1.5 Effectiveness of Overseas Trained Teachers 1.6 Qualified Teacher Status 1.7 Costs and Benefits to Source and Recruiting Countries 2. Methodology 2.1 Definitions and Aims 2.2 Quantitative Sampling Strategy, Process and Instruments 2.3 Interview Sample, Process and Schedules 2.4 Participants 2.5 Analysis 2.6 Limitations to the Study 3. Profile of Overseas Trained Teachers 3.1 Biographical Profile 3.2 Geographic Profile 3.3 Teacher Status 3.4 Data on Overseas Trained Teacher Programme 3.5 Professional Affiliation 4. Recruitment of Overseas Trained Teachers 4.1 Recruitment Practices, Length of Service and Type of Contract 4.2 Information Provided on Recruitment 4.3 Accuracy of Information on Point of Recruitment 4.4 Global Recruitment Strategies 4.5 Impact on Source Country 5. Experiences of Overseas Trained Teachers 5.1 Induction and Further Professional Development 5.2 Teaching in the UK 5.3 Problems Encountered 5.4 Support Structures 6. Employing Overseas Trained Teachers 6.1 Attitudes and Perceptions about Recruitment 6.2 Perceived Skill Levels 6.3 Cost and Benefits 7. Discussion 7.1 Discussion of Findings 7.2 Further Research
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8. Recommendations References Glossary Appendices 1. Headteacher Questionnaire 2. OTT Questionnaire 3. Local Association Secretary Questionnaire 4. Regional Officer Questionnaire 5. Interview Schedules 6. Qualitative Thematic Analysis 7. LEA and OTTs Experience 8. Subject Specialisms Trained to Teach and Teaching in the UK 9. Nationality Groups and LEA 10. Maps to Show Location of Schools Who Have Employed OTTs 11. Number of Overseas Teachers for Each Country and Year and LEA 12. Local Association Secretaries Perceptions 13. Maps to Show the Number of OTTs on the OTTP 14. Type of Assessment and Subject Specialisms Assessed on OTTP from January 2001 to March 2004 15. Reason for Asking Union for Support 16. Other Support Those OTTs with Union Affiliation Would Like Their Union to Provide 17. Headteachers Reasons for OTTs Non-Completion of Contracts 18. Other Information OTTs Would have Found Useful 19. Reasons for Deciding to Teach in the UK 20. Most Challenging Issues About Teaching in the UK 21. Most Rewarding Issues About Teaching in the UK 22. OTTs Advice to Others Considering Teaching in the UK 23. OTTs Reasons for Seeking Help 24. Local Association Secretaries Reasons Why Approached by OTTs 25. Local Association Secretaries Views on Current Trend of Levels of Problems 26. Local Association Secretaries Views on the Preparation of OTTs to Work in Schools 27. Headteachers Advantages of Employing OTTs 28. Headteachers Disadvantages of Employing OTTs 29. Headteachers View of OTTs as Staffing Resources 30. Local Association Secretaries Views on the Recruitment of OTTs to Work in Schools 31. Commonwealth Teacher Recruitment Protocol Tables Table Table Table Table Table Table Table Table Table
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UK-Approved Work Permits Where Job Includes Teacher 3 Mean Number of Attempts Needed to Pass the QTS Skills Tests 7 Frequency of Sample in Each LEA 12 Frequency of LEA and Phase of Schools 12 OTTs country of Origin and Age 14 Country of Origin and Experience of OTTs 14 Number of OTTs Country of Origin and Year Started Teaching in the UK 15 Subject Specialism of OTTs Teaching in Secondary Schools in UK 16 LEAs and Phase of School 16 The Recruitment of Overseas Trained Teachers
Table 10: Table 11: Table Table Table Table Table Table 12: 13: 14: 15: 16: 17:
Number of OTTs Employed in Schools Since 2001 OTTs by Country and Year for the 3 LEAs with the Highest Number of OTTs Teachers Experience and Professional Status in the UK Number of OTTs Assessed for UK QTS from January 2001 to March 2004 Country of Origin and Year Started OTTP OTTs Country of Origin and Teaching Phase Assessed Union Membership and Teaching Phase Table of Headteachers Reasons for Recruiting OTTs
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Graph of Number of OTTs from the Northern and Southern Hemispheres and Month Started Teaching in the UK from January 2001 - March 2004 Percentage of OTTs Union Membership Percentage of OTTs Recruited by Each Organisation Percentage of OTTs and Type of Contract Box Plots of Amount and Quality of Information Provided When First Recruited in the Areas of: Employment Status in the UK, Position/Job, Social Conditions, Discipline in School, Pay/Salary, Working Conditions and Standard of Living Box Plots of Accuracy of Information Provided When First Recruited in the Areas of: Employment Status in the UK, Position/Job, Social Conditions, Pupil Discipline, Pay/Salary, Working Conditions and Standard of Living Box plots of Accuracy of Information by Recruiter Box Plots of Support Received When First Arrived in the Areas of: Professional Expectations, Pedagogic Skills, Curriculum Knowledge, Housing Needs and Financial Advice Box plots of Support Received when First Arrived in the Areas of: Professional Expectations, Pedagogic Skills, Curriculum Knowledge, Housing Needs and Financial Advice for the 3 LEAs Box Plots for the 12 Statements Box Pots for the 13 Statements Graph to Show Countries which Seem to Produce Better Teachers than this Country Box plots of OTTs Rated Against UK-Trained Teachers in the Areas of: Curriculum Knowledge; Subject Knowledge; Pedagogic Skills and Classroom Management Box plots of Problems with Employing OTTs in the Areas of: Work Permits; Subject Knowledge; Discipline Issues; Knowledge of National Curriculum; Pedagogic Skills; Ability to Relate to Staff, Pupils and Parents; and Ability to Settle Down in the UK
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Executive Summary
1. Preamble The research was conducted on behalf of the National Association of Schoolmasters Union of Women Teachers (NASUWT) by the University of Manchester in collaboration with Education Data Surveys between January and July 2004. 2. Aims of the study To gather information about OTTs employed in England, their biographical and professional profile, and their experience of gaining Qualified Teacher Status. To examine the mechanisms used to recruit OTTs, the quality of information and contractual provisions offered to them, and the educational, economic and social impact of their recruitment on their countries of origin. To explore the reasons why OTTs came to the UK, their experiences and their needs in respect of professional, social, financial, induction and training support. To report on the union affiliation of OTTs, and the support they receive and require. 3. Definition of Terms For the purpose of this research study, the term overseas trained teacher (OTT) refers to teachers who were trained outside of the EU. This is independent of whether they are working under the holiday visa scheme, employer-arranged work permits, or because they had a right of abode for other reasons. We also excluded teachers on exchanges and teachers trained elsewhere in the UK. Also excluded are teachers who came from overseas with the intention of settling permanently in this country; for this reason responses from OTTs who entered the country prior to 2001 are not included in the sample reported upon in this study, as it was considered that these teachers had now sufficient experience of teaching in England and that they did not fall within the compass of the study. 4. Methodology The research was primarily carried out by means of questionnaires sent to OTTs, headteachers and NASUWT Regional Officers and Local Association Secretaries during February and March 2004. Initially eight LEAs, which secondary data analysis indicated had high densities of OTTs, were targeted. Seven further LEAs were added following initial discussions with stakeholders. Secondary sampling conducted through NASUWT Local Association Secretaries ensured that some OTTs were picked up in areas that were relatively isolated from the high-density areas in the main sampling frame. Interviews were also conducted with key stakeholder representatives from: government departments, recruitment agencies, high commissions, OTTs and NASUWT Regional Officers. 5. Findings 1. Three quarters of the 136 OTTs in the sample originated from just three southern hemisphere countries (South Africa, Australia and New Zealand) in almost equal numbers. About half of the remainder originated from North America and the other half from various other areas such as Africa and Commonwealth Caribbean states. Similar to the gender split of the UK teaching force, 75% of OTTs were female and 25% male. The age profile of the sample showed that 16% were under 25, 40% between 26 and 30, a further 19% between 31 and 35, and the remaining 25% were over 35. In terms of experience just over 30% had less than 4 years, whereas over 25% had over 11 years teaching experience. Sixty-five per cent of OTTs were primary trained and 35% secondary, where the most common specialisms were English and PE. Interestingly none of these are shortage subjects. This pattern of specialism is further supported by the data for the OTT programme in which 24% were primary and the most common secondary specialism was English (18%). The Recruitment of Overseas Trained Teachers
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2. Geographically the OTTs were largely located in inner-city London schools. Of the 15 LEAs targeted the ones with the highest density of OTTs were Hounslow, Tower Hamlets, Waltham Forest, Haringey, Greenwich and Newham. Of the 277 schools that responded 182 had employed 1,155 OTTs between September 2001 and March 2004. This is in line with school workforce data (2003). However, neither this nor work permit data give an adequate picture with regard to numbers. 3. Of the OTTs in the sample, 75% were recruited by agencies, nearly 50% by just six major players (TimePlan, Capita, Masterlock, Select, Protocol and Dream); schools and LEAs recruited just over 20%. Just over half of the OTTs were recruited for work in particular schools and 40% for supply work. Overall, 40% had permanent contracts and 27% annual contracts; the average length of stay was seven terms. Around three quarters of headteachers claimed they recruited OTTs because there were no UK teachers available at the time. 4. The information received by OTTs at the point of recruitment was rated: good or adequate in respect of employment status (74%), post/job (69%) and pay and working conditions (65%); but less satisfactory in respect of social conditions where over a third thought it was poor (35%). With regard to discipline and standard of living, the quality of the information was regarded as very variable. Retrospective analysis of the accuracy of the information by OTTs showed that they thought it was good or adequate in all categories except social conditions, where 25% deemed it poor, and discipline, where nearly 30% thought it poor. 5. The induction support OTTs received was rated adequate or good in respect of pedagogic skills by 83%; and professional expectations and curriculum knowledge by nearly 70%. Less well thought of and rated adequate or poor by about 80% were housing needs and financial advice. 6. Nearly 60% of the OTTs in the sample had the status and salary of unqualified teachers, and were not working towards UK Qualified Teacher Status, despite their overseas qualifications and the fact that 67% had over 4 years experience as teachers. Only 15% of OTTs had UK Qualified Teacher Status and a further 26% were currently working towards being assessed on the OTT programme. The assessment process itself was considered by the OTTs, and other stakeholders, to be time-consuming, onerous and demeaning, particularly by the OTTs who had considerable teaching experience. They also thought the similarity of teacher training programmes should make the mapping of equivalences possible in order to facilitate assessment for UK Qualified Teacher Status. The OTT programme is currently under review and it is planned to devolve it to Designated Recommending Bodies, but no fundamental changes are anticipated by the Teacher Training Agency, thus the issues surrounding UK Qualified Teacher Status will most probably continue to exist. The prospects for significant change seem further reduced since the General Teaching Council England, the regulating body for teachers, do not apparently see this as an area in which they have a meaningful contribution to make in respect of policy or practice. 7. Amongst the OTTs surveyed, 44% were members of professional associations in the UK. The pattern of affiliation was significantly different in the primary and secondary sectors in that there was a lower frequency of union membership in the primary phase. Thirty-nine per cent of primary OTTs were members of a union as opposed to 55% of secondary OTTs. Within these two phases there were again significant differences: in primary, 14% were members of NASUWT whereas 84% were members of the National Union of Teachers (NUT); in the secondary phase 74% were members of NASUWT whereas 22% were members of the NUT. Generally speaking, the data provided indicated that Local Association Secretaries were not well informed regarding issues relating to OTTs. 8. The problems encountered by OTTs were categorised as professional (53%), practical/social/ emotional (48%), legal/contractual (13%), financial management (10%) ii The Recruitment of Overseas Trained Teachers
and discrimination (20%). Examples of professional issues reported by OTTs focused centrally around the UK education system (planning, assessment, curriculum, workload, discipline issues). Over half of the NASUWT Local Association Secretaries who responded had been approached by OTTs about professional issues. Social/emotional/practical issues reported by OTTs included stress, depression, transition to the UK and practical issues centred largely around accommodation, living in the UK, getting a bank account, etc. Over a quarter of Local Association Secretaries who responded reported that they had been approached by OTTs in relation to these issues. Legal/contractual problems encountered by OTTs included ending and changing contracts, legal issues in relation to contracts and work permits. Over half of the NASUWT Local Association Secretaries had been approached by OTTs about legal and contractual matters mainly in respect of issues relating to Qualified Teacher Status and general contractual matters. Twenty-seven OTTs (20%) claimed to have encountered discrimination; of these, 9 felt they were not treated the same as UK teachers, a further 4 felt they were discriminated against by school staff, and 6 claimed racial discrimination. Only one NASUWT Local Association Secretary reported that an episode of discrimination had been brought to their attention. Overall, 40% of the Local Association Secretaries who responded thought the problems experienced by OTTs were increasing and 25% thought they were decreasing. 9. The headteachers thought that OTTs were the same as UK-trained teachers in respect of: subject knowledge (74% of heads); pedagogic skills (65%); classroom management (58%); curriculum knowledge (54%). Twenty-one per cent of headteachers thought that OTTs pedagogic skills were better than those of UK-trained teachers. However, 37% thought curriculum knowledge, and 23% thought classroom management, were worse than UKtrained teachers. 10. The impact of recruitment was varied in its effects on source countries. In some, the migration to the UK did not affect the teacher workforce markedly, whereas in others overall loss of teachers to the UK, America and other destinations had a serious impact upon the education systems. This was not only with respect to the well-reported depletion of human resources in developing nations but also with respect to teacher workforce in developed countries. The overall numbers of OTTs remained fairly static over the threeyear period. The recruitment pattern from the southern hemisphere was maintained but in 2001 the traditional peak of Australian teachers did not materialise and there was a simultaneous influx of teachers from other Commonwealth countries. This caused concern and ultimately led to the formulation of the Savannah Accord and the development of a draft protocol which was subsequently revised and adopted on 1 September 2004. It aims to: Balance the rights of teachers to migrate internationally, on a temporary or permanent basis, in pursuit of a range of career possibilities, against the need to protect the integrity of national education systems, and to prevent the exploitation of the scarce human resources of poor countries. The Protocol also seeks to safeguard the rights of recruited teachers, and the conditions relating to their service in the recruiting country. (www.thecommonwealth.org) Whilst the protocol was initially drawn up as a result of issues which arose in the Commonwealth countries, due to the increase in teacher migration and the proposed General Agreement on Trades and Services, a case could be made to widen it to include all countries as not all OTTs originate from these countries. The DfES representative agreed that the recruitment organisations, governments, LEAs and other key stakeholders should be working together in OTT recruitment practices. All non-governmental stakeholders called for a more managed approach to overseas teacher recruitment. Both the OTTs and the key stakeholders also noted the disparity between information that OTTs received when recruited and the reality of working and living in the UK. The Recruitment of Overseas Trained Teachers iii
6. Recommendations NASUWT should lobby the Government and other stakeholders with a view to: 1. Ensuring that more comprehensive and detailed data is collected about OTTs; for example, the present umbrella category of OTT and instructors on form 618G should be disaggregated, as should the work permit data, to distinguish between school teachers and others. Ensuring that the data is subsequently used to inform the strategic planning of the workforce; exploring why, for example, a large percentage of OTTs recruited were in non-shortage areas, the highest numbers being recorded for primary and secondary English. 2. Recognising the instability of the current free market in teacher supply and seeking to ameliorate the effects upon the countries of origin from which OTTs are drawn. The DfES and others should be proactive in managing recruitment by, for example, negotiating contracts with traditional source countries to supply, or even train, teachers for schools in England. This is of particular importance for countries such as those in the Caribbean, where the teachers leaving make a substantial minority of the teaching force. 3. Acknowledging the strategically significant position recruiting organisations (recruitment agencies, LEAs, headteachers) hold. A regulative body of key stakeholders should be convened to monitor the implementation of an Ethical Code of Conduct in accordance with the Commonwealth Teacher Recruitment Protocol. Thus guaranteeing that recruiting organisations provide both prospective recruits minimum standards of information relating specifically to their particular contexts and contracts, and source and recruiting country with full data regarding recruitment. Further, the General Teaching Council England, as the teachers regulative body, should be encouraged to be proactive in respect of these matters. 4. Ensuring that OTTs, upon their arrival in the country, are provided with an induction package targeted to their individual needs, and receive continued support with regard to professional, social and emotional issues. 5. Keeping under close review the management and monitoring of the OTTP, particularly in view of the proposed devolution of the programme to Designated Recommending Bodies. The TTA in its current review of the programme should consider making the process leading to overseas Qualified Teacher Status both easier to negotiate and more responsive to individual histories. Consideration should, for example, be given to: raising the awareness of newly arrived OTTs about the qualification; simplifying documentation; allowing OTTs themselves to apply for the programme; fast-tracking OTTs with considerable experience and/or seniority in their country of origin. 6. Exploring the possibility of mapping, against UK Qualified Teacher Status standards, the equivalence of teacher training programmes, through an organisation such as National Academic Recognition Information Centre. This would be particularly beneficial for countries which traditionally supply high numbers of OTTs, in order to identify areas of similarity and difference so that the current lengthy assessment processes, related to the programme, could be simplified. NASUWT National Executive should consider the following: 7. Compiling a more detailed and comprehensive database of its members in order that it can identify particular groups, collect information in respect of them, and, where necessary, target services and support more effectively. 8. Reviewing its professional development programmes for staff and lay activists in respect of awareness of OTTs. Whether in areas of high density or relative isolation of OTTs, NASUWT Representatives should be alerted to the needs and the issues they confront, such as, for example, the racial discrimination reported by 20% of the sample surveyed. iv The Recruitment of Overseas Trained Teachers
9. Reviewing its organisational structures with a view to facilitating access and encouraging enrolment of OTTs. This would be particularly useful in respect of the website where, for example, pages should be developed specifically for members from overseas, offering information and support, and the facility to contact each other through discussion forums. It would also be valuable to have a free access area for prospective recruits to visit before or at the point of recruitment. 10. Reviewing its policies in light of the recent increase in the migration of teachers in the global context and the proposed General Agreement on Trades and Services. It should consider making strategic alliances with international bodies and professional associations, such as Education International, to develop reciprocal arrangements for membership and transfer of information to meet the needs of the international teacher labour market.
1. Literature Review
1.1 Background
Relatively little is known about the historical pattern of overseas trained teachers (OTTs) coming into the UK. Traditionally, there have been a small number of exchange programmes administered by the British Council, through the former Central Bureaux for Educational Visits and Exchanges, which have allowed teachers to swap teaching positions. Historically, there has also been a well-known, if little researched, pattern of teachers from Commonwealth countries, such as Australia and New Zealand, coming to teach in England for a few years. The decline in the influence of local education authorities, however, particularly after the transfer of funding to schools in the early 1990s, coincided with a period of rising school rolls and falling teacher numbers. These factors together created a shortfall in teacher numbers that was especially significant in the period between 1995 and 1997, when numbers leaving the teaching profession rose to unprecedented levels, and in 2001, when extra money for schools created a severe recruitment crisis as there were insufficient trained teachers willing and able to work in schools in some parts of England. London, in particular, suffered a significant shortfall in staffing as reflected in the annual vacancy rates issued each year by the DfES that reached a peak of 3.1 per cent in primary and 3.8 per cent in secondary schools during January 2001. One solution to the staffing problems was to look for OTTs, and it was during the late 1990s and early years of this century that private sector supply agency companies moved into the education market to help schools meet their staffing needs. Later, these companies were joined by some LEAs and schools, either operating on their own or in partnership with a private sector company. There is no doubt that a number of factors on the supply side of the equation also helped boost the recruitment of teachers from overseas into the labour market in England. Firstly, teaching was already becoming a more global profession with the growth in the international school movement serving the expatriate market worldwide. Secondly, schools were becoming more cosmopolitan as society in England, especially in the urban areas, became more multicultural. Thirdly, the growth in technology and especially the Internet, helped make communications much easier than in the past. The development of cheap global travel also undoubtedly provided an additional incentive to travel. However, although the general pattern of overseas recruitment is well known, the details are not always well documented. It was not until the publication of the January 2003 data on Teachers In Service that OTTs were identified for the first time by the DfES. Even then, they were part of a category that also included Instructors without Qualified Teacher Status (QTS). Even this category did not include all overseas trained teachers since those with automatic right to QTS, such as EU-trained teachers, were included in the Qualified Regular Teacher numbers and those training on the OTT conversion programme to obtain QTS were included in the numbers of Teachers on Employment-Based Routes to QTS. Thus, it would appear that no overall assessment of the number of OTTs teaching in England in any one year could be made either by the Government or by commentators. This differs from the situation in Scotland, where even before a teacher can undertake supply work they must have registered with the General Teaching Council for Scotland.
1.2 Teacher supply and recruitment

Teacher shortage is, from time to time, experienced by developing and industrialised nations alike. One common strategy employed by relatively wealthy industrial countries for dealing with the problem is to recruit teachers from overseas. Matching the supply of teachers to demand is not an exact science and the costs are manifest: too few teachers puts a strain on existing resources and too many wastes human resources. Teacher shortages characteristically relate to factors such as: birth rate, age profile and morale of the teaching force, and the economic cycle. An NFER survey (National Foundation for Educational Research, 2001) of primary schools in 2000 found that just such a complex range of factors relating to recruitment and retention combined to cause the contemporaneous shortage of qualified teachers in England and Wales. Some secondary subjects, such as maths, are areas of chronic shortage, but for many, shortages come and go. Currently, we are moving into a period of oversupply of teachers, particularly in the primary phase, resulting in part from a decrease in the number of children of primary age. The workforce demographics are such, however, that over 50% of teachers will retire within the next 15 years, in addition to the normal wastage, auguring an increased demand and potentially a new period of shortage in the not-too-distant future. These peaks and troughs of teacher supply have opened up the market for the global migration of teachers. Barlin and Hallgarten (2002) argue that supply teaching now occupies a much more central role in filling vacancies and offers a more flexible choice for both teachers and schools and many overseas teachers are employed in this capacity particularly in London (Hutchings, Menter, Ross, and Thomson, 2003). Recruitment agencies are of course key players in the migration of teachers. A number of UKbased agencies have set up offices in other countries, such as Australia, New Zealand, and South Africa, specifically to recruit teachers. Many agencies have their own websites and brochures giving information on living expenses and accommodation, working conditions, the UK education system and Internet links to the useful and relevant sites. At one point, the Government itself embarked upon a strategy of direct recruitment to ameliorate the teacher supply crisis. In April 2002, the Teacher Recruitment and Retention Unit based at the Government Office for London set up an Overseas Trained Teachers Working Party to take part in a new pilot project designed to provide schools with a pool of OTTs who had been preselected by a panel representing the participating boroughs. In July 2003, a recruitment team travelled to Australia and a total of 38 teachers were recruited to a pool for September 2003, January and Easter 2004 (Government Office for London, 2003). The second stage of this pilot recruitment drive took place in January 2004 in Canada and a second pool of OTTs was created and placed in posts for Easter and for September 2004 (Government Office for London, 2004). This market in teacher supply allows for greater flexibility in addressing teacher shortages. However, in some cases it has led to abuse of the system with overseas teachers arriving in the UK to find no job available. This situation became possible when a temporary initiative was set up between 1 April 2002 and 31 December 2002 to enable teacher recruitment agencies to apply for work permits in light of the acute shortage of teachers in the UK. Some agencies have been criticised by schools and recruits as well as the UK and home governments (Curtis, 2003). The main criticisms concerned inadequate information on the cost of living, taxation, Qualified Teacher Status and differences between information received before and after arrival (Ochs, 2003). Some OTTs reported feeling pressured by their recruitment agency to change to a different contract and even location once arrived in the UK (Crace, 2003).
The recruitment market is currently self-regulated and concerns regarding rigour of the induction and quality assurance processes of recruitment agencies led to the Quality Mark being launched in July 2002, as a joint initiative between the Department for Education and Skills and the Recruitment and Employment Confederation (REC, 2002). It set minimum standards in recruitment practice: agencies or LEAs to be awarded a Quality Mark had to demonstrate that they met the required standards in recruitment, selection and performance management. Moreover, the Teacher Recruitment and Retention Unit, in collaboration with the Association of London Chief Education Officers and Association of London Government, facilitated the development of a pan-London recommended list of preferred recruitment agencies. This list of seven agencies was made available to schools in London on 3 December 2003 and is intended to enable headteachers to access agencies that endeavour to provide better trained teachers (Government Office for London, 2004).
1.3 Profile and location of overseas trained teachers

Motivation for migration The most relevant systematic study into the migration of teachers has been conducted by Commonwealth countries (Ochs, 2003). This survey aimed to quantify the total numbers in the teaching force, percentage of turnover in teachers over a three-year period and the numbers of teachers lost from the profession for particular reasons. Australia, the Bahamas, Barbados, Canada, Jamaica, Malaysia, New Zealand, Seychelles, St Lucia, Swaziland and Zambia all responded to the Commonwealth survey, but not all were able to provide all the necessary data. The Ochs (2003) study showed teachers migrating for a variety of reasons. From Australia and New Zealand, travel to Europe was a customary aspect of education in early adult life but, since the education system is common, migrants do not expect their experience in the UK to give them many career advantages. From Africa and the Caribbean, working in the UK offers access to higher education, the possibility of enhanced promotion prospects at home, as well as economic advantages. Country of origin It is difficult to state precisely where the OTTs working in the UK originate, as there are no official statistics relating to where teachers received their training and OTTs may be employed on either a work permit or a working holiday visa. The number of work permits issued to those where the job included teachers in 2001, 2002 and 2003 indicated that South Africa, Australia, New Zealand, Jamaica and Canada top the league (see Table 1).
Table 1: UK-approved work permits where job includes teacher (Source: Work Permits (UK), Home Office)
Country South Africa Australia New Zealand Jamaica Canada Zimbabwe India Nigeria Ghana Trinidad and Tobago Kenya Guyana
Population 43,309,000 19,138,000 3,855,400 2,576,000 30,007,094 12,627,000 1,008,937,000 113,862,000 19,306,000 1,294,000 30,669,000 761,000
Issued in 2001 2,010 1,011 609 381 348 194 130 60 63 43 39 8
Issued in 2002 2,542 1,520 887 530 513 325 317 90 123 43 77 21
Issued 2003 1,538 1,318 667 514 484 275 182 54 128 50 55 16
Total 6,090 3,849 2,163 1,425 1,345 794 629 204 314 136 171 45 3
The Ochs (2003) study confirmed that all countries surveyed generally reported loss of teachers over the three-year period and the highest reported turnover rate among those surveyed was found to be Australia. Number of overseas teachers The then Education Minister, Mr. Miliband, responding to a series of questions about OTTs working in UK schools in 2003, said Information on numbers of teachers with overseas qualifications is not available. (Hansard, 17 July 2003) Researchers specialising in teacher supply in London carried out a longitudinal project on teacher supply and retention in London involving six LEAs between 1998 and 2000, and 22 LEAs between 2000 and 2002, but their findings did not reveal any information regarding OTTs working in these LEAs (http://www.unl.ac.uk/ipse/tsarmis/reports.htm). As recently as 2002, HMI identified that only three of the 17 LEAs surveyed had good data about the numbers of OTTs working in their schools, even though six of the 17 were actively recruiting overseas (HMI, 2002). Further, the HMI report on the Recruitment and Retention of Teachers and Head Teachers (June 2002) surveyed 17 LEAs and noted that six (four London boroughs, one large metropolitan authority and one county authority) were actively pursuing the recruitment of OTTs. One inner-London borough recruited 87 teachers from South Africa, 20 from Jamaica and 15 from USA during 2001. Data is now, however, beginning to be collected more systematically. In 2002, for example, the Teacher Training Agency included an optional field on course type; i.e. undergraduate, postgraduate, OTT, etc, at registration for QTS skills tests (see section 1.6). Although no previous wide-scale data collection has been carried out in relation to quantifying the number of OTTs working in England, some information can be inferred from records of work permits issued and the numbers of unqualified teachers reported in the workforce statistics. Each year the DfES collates workforce statistics from LEAs on the survey form 618G in relation to qualification status. Thus far, data has not included specific information about the nationality of these teachers. In January 2004, the DfES annual survey identified 11,600 overseas trained teachers and Instructors without Qualified Teacher Status. By comparison, in January 1997, there were only 2,480 such teachers. For those teachers on Employment-Based Routes to QTS, including those on the Overseas Trained Teacher Programme (see later for an explanation of this programme), there were 6,000 identified on this route in January 2004 compared to 460 teachers in January 1997. Evidence such as the growth in the number of working holiday visas granted to teachers and publicised recruitment trips by supply agencies (often in collaboration with headteachers or local authority staff) suggests that much of the increase in the numbers of unqualified teachers working in maintained schools has been due to the growth in the number of OTTs. This interpretation seems reasonable. However, it is not conclusive. For example, the number of teachers returned by LEAs as without QTS will not include certain categories of overseas teachers working in maintained schools. EU nationals, for example, with qualifications not awarded in England are designated Overseas QTS, and, under the free movement of labour directives, are deemed to be Qualified Teachers in the UK. Data on the issue of UK work permits sheds only a limited amount of light on the situation. Many categories of potential recruits do not need work permits, including: all EU citizens; Commonwealth citizens with UK ancestry (or for certain Commonwealth countries working holiday visas); and partners and dependants of people who have work permits.
Location of overseas teachers in England OTTs in England might be expected to be working in London and the South East, as these areas have experienced the greatest teacher shortages and the 2003 National Labour Market Survey (DfES, 2003) gave clear indication that this was the case. For example, the distribution of teachers without QTS (including teachers on Employment-Based Routes to QTS and the Overseas Trained Teacher Programme) indicates that over 72.4% are employed in just three Government Office regions (London 37.1%; South East England 18.7%; East of England 16.6%). By contrast, only 2% of teachers without QTS are employed in schools in the whole of the North East Government Office region. This is the same percentage of teachers found to be without QTS in the London Borough of Tower Hamlets alone. The survey carried out by the NAHT (National Association of Head Teachers) in 2002 revealed out of the 10,454 primary teaching posts (5,199 in inner London and 5,254 in outer London) in 716 schools: 6% were unfilled, 10% filled by OTTs and a further 8% filled by teachers without QTS. Thirteen per cent of these OTTs were found to be in inner-London schools and 7% in outer London; in the inner-London borough of Hackney, 20% of teachers were from overseas.
1.4 Experiences of overseas trained teachers

A great deal of the information and anecdotal evidence about OTTs is derived from the media: Children back after teachers are found (BBC, 19 January 2001); African teachers rescue London schools (BBC, 2 February 2001); Overseas staff prop up London primaries (TES, 1 November 2002); Capital cost of supply teachers (BBC, 12 November 2002) and Rules eased for overseas teachers (BBC, 19 January 2001). Attention is also drawn to recruiting parties flying to distant parts of the world to fill last-minute vacancies: More teachers sought NYC, UK agencies coming to recruit again (Jamaican Gleaner, 11 January 2002); Head goes to Australia for staff (Daily Telegraph, 11 September 2003). A Special Assignment Programme Lessons Abroad, shown on South African television (SABC 3, 23 March 2004), revealed how many hard-working South African teachers reach the end of their tether in Londons inner-city schools. Not empowered to deal with lack of discipline and unable to form meaningful relationships with learners from deprived backgrounds who are aggressive and unmotivated, they find the cost of living higher than expected and the cultural divide wide. A number of research studies have reported that OTTs can find their experience demanding, lonely and difficult (Sutherland and Rees (1995), Mowbray (2001) and Ochs (2003)). The Commonwealth study (Ochs, 2003) gathered the views of OTTs experiences through focus groups. Recruits reported receiving information on Qualified Teacher Status, National Curriculum and assessment, housing, finance including tax, national insurance and council tax, but commented that what they received was inadequate. These OTTs also noted the lack of clarity with regard to official information on, for example, finance, income tax and Qualified Teacher Status (Ochs, 2003). One teacher from South Africa, for example, arrived with 100: No-one told me how far the money would stretch. (Ochs, 2003) Sutherland and Rees (1995) also identified the financial difficulties faced by teachers. Living in London and the South East is financially challenging for many public sector workers and may be additionally so for teachers who have no family support in the country and may even be trying to support a family at home, and may be paid as unqualified teachers. The Commonwealth study (Ochs, 2003) also noted that some OTTs felt that the demands of teaching in England improved their teaching, whilst others thought the restriction of conforming to the National Curriculum had a detrimental effect upon their standard of teaching in some respects. The Recruitment of Overseas Trained Teachers
5
Moreover, recruits referred to the differences between the experiences they were accustomed to and what they found in London (Ochs, 2003). For example, these exposed their shock by the lack of discipline in schools, with one OTT reporting having been hit three times. Many of the OTTs did not feel prepared or trained to handle the behaviour management issues simply because they did not exist at home (Ochs, 2003, p25). Further, Stuart, Cole, Birrell, Snow and Wilson (2003) in their study on minority ethnic and overseas student teachers in south-east England, commented on how a Polish teacher found pupil behaviour quite shockingat home a good teacher is one who can give knowledge; here it is one who controls well.
1.5 Effectiveness of overseas trained teachers

The requirement of teachers is to possess secure knowledge and understanding of the National Curriculum and assessment, primary and key stage 3 strategies, pedagogic strategies and classroom management, and to be competent in both spoken and written English. The Chief Inspector of Schools, using evidence from regular inspections of schools and from at least one special study, reported the employment of OTTs to be not entirely unproblematic: A third of LEAs surveyed during the year had been actively pursuing the recruitment of overseas teachers. In London in particular, the recruitment of overseas teachers has been vital to fill teacher vacancies. This has brought problems as well as solutions. Such teachers are not usually familiar with the National Curriculum or national strategies, and some have significant problems with classroom control. Those LEAs actively pursuing the recruitment of overseas trained teachers also provide good support for those schools unable to meet the training and induction needs of these teachers. Para 423 Annual Report 2001/02, Chief Inspector of Schools (OFSTED, 2002). The HMI survey of 17 LEAs (Recruitment and Retention of Teachers and Head Teachers, June 2002) found that LEAs actively pursing recruitment overseas provided good support to schools in respect of training and induction demands, but, nevertheless, lack of familiarity with the National Numeracy Strategy and National Literacy Strategy, and difficulties with classroom management and control were major problems for many OTTs. Lack of detailed records identifying OTTs means that it is difficult to judge overall the scale and scope of any problems, issues and instances of good practice. The headteacher of a West London school reported making a point of getting as many new recruits as possible to join the school at the end of the summer term, allowing them time to acclimatise and organise their living arrangements during the summer holiday (Craig, 2002).
1.6 Qualified Teacher Status

The Teacher Training Agency offers an Overseas Trained Teacher Programme (OTTP), leading to the award of QTS in England. OTTs must complete the programme within four years and they are required to have at least six weeks experience in an English school before they can be recommended (by their school or LEA) for assessment under the OTTP. There are two options available under the OTTP: assessment only, or training with assessment. The assessment necessitates evidence from classroom observations of the OTT, interviews with the OTT and other school staff, and also written evidence provided in a professional portfolio, which may include evidence from previous teaching posts both in England and overseas (TTA, 2003a). In addition, OTTs are also required to demonstrate their proficiency in numeracy, literacy and information and communications technology in their wider professional role by passing QTS skills tests. If an OTT has at least two years full-time teaching experience they can also apply for assessment against the QTS Standards and Induction Standards at the same time. The performance of OTTs is reported separately in these tests and insights into their relative performance can be gained. In 2002, OTTs comprised 2.1% of those taking the tests (TTA, 2003b) and, in terms of the number of attempts needed to pass, were slightly better than average at numeracy and slightly worse at literacy and ICT (see Table 2).
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Table 2: Mean number of attempts needed to pass the QTS Skills Tests
All candidates Overseas trained teachers
Num eracy 1.28 1.24
Literacy 1.25 1.27
ICT 1.11 1.13
The process of gaining Qualified Teacher Status is both complex and demanding for the school and the OTT. Mowbray (2001) notes that few recruits were actually expecting the process to be so difficult or indeed necessary at all. As recently as 2003, the Commonwealth Study found recruits were still given little, if any, guidance about the state of affairs with regard to QTS (Ochs, 2003 p27). Bubb (2003) has offered advice based on the experience of helping OTTs get QTS. She proposes an 18-step plan and recommends heads and teachers get expert advice on the 26 page-long application form before even starting to fill it in. Not only is the process of gaining QTS difficult, but it also commonly leaves OTTs feeling undervalued, offended and surprised at not being seen as qualified in England (Ochs, 2003; Sutherland and Rees, 1995) despite perhaps having years of experience in their home country. One account given by Ochs (2003) was of a qualified, mature Jamaican teacher with several years overseas teaching experience who was told when he arrived at a school in the UK that: According to our standards you are not a qualified teacher. I think it would best suit you if you seek a job as a classroom assistant.
1.7 Costs and benefits to source and recruiting countries

The moral dimension of the costs and benefits equation is never easily forgotten, as the recruitment of OTTs is depleting their home countries resources: UK behind South African brain drain (BBC, 16 February 2001); UK looting teachers from poor (BBC, 30 Aug 2001); UK poaching Jamaican teachers (BBC, 15 March 2002); Third World schools sucked dry (BBC, 28 March 2002). With respect to this matter, concern has been raised by a number of Caribbean countries. In May 2002, following large-scale recruitment of OTTs, the Minister for Education of Jamaica requested the assistance of the Commonwealth in addressing the problem of teacher recruitment in the Caribbean. Ministers of Education from eight Caribbean countries met to consider the impact that the recruitment of teachers by industrialised nations had on the education systems of developing countries. This culminated in the Savannah Accord in Barbados in July 2002 and the Commonwealth Secretariat was asked to develop a draft protocol for the recruitment of teachers (www.thecommonwealth.org). Protocol A called upon the governments of industrialised countries to insist that the agencies and businesses that handle teacher recruitment do so in an ethical manner, exercising the highest standards of human resource management practice. Protocol B provided a set of major commitments that should be made by developed nations that have recruited teachers from developing countries. The draft protocol was subsequently revised following the Edinburgh Conference in 2003 (15th Conference of Commonwealth Ministers of Education, 2003); another draft was presented to a meeting in Lesotho in February 2004; and the Commonwealth teacher recruitment protocol was adopted at a ministerial meeting in the UK on 1 September 2004 (see Appendix 31). This protocol aims to: Balance the rights of teachers to migrate internationally, on a temporary or permanent basis, in pursuit of a range of career possibilities, against the need to protect the integrity of national education systems, and to prevent the exploitation of the scarce human resources of poor countries. The Protocol also seeks to safeguard the rights of recruited teachers, and the conditions relating to their service in the recruiting country. (www.thecommonwealth.org) In addition to the development of the protocol, the Ochs (2003) study was commissioned by the Commonwealth Secretariat at the request of Ministers of Education of the Commonwealth Caribbean. The Recruitment of Overseas Trained Teachers
7
Amongst other issues, the study highlighted the positive aspects of mobility, such as the professional and possible career development that a period teaching abroad can provide and the enrichment value that OTTs can offer their countrys education system on return. In addition, many families derive economic aid from remittances from family members abroad. It has been suggested by others that the free mobility of labour may be economically advantageous in that even a marginal liberalisation of international labour laws would create gains for the worlds economy far greater than prospective gains from trade negotiations. (Stiglitz, 2002). Albeit any such gains from freer mobility of labour may seem one-sided or at best potential rather than actual. Mr Hindle, South African Deputy Director General in the Department of Education, cautions that in South Africa to a large extent many of the young professionals that are recruited tend to be single individuals and, therefore, very little of that income is remitted back to the source country. (HOC, March 2004) It should also be noted that in a number of countries from which the OTTs migrate, the teaching force is further challenged by debility and early death from AIDS adding to the loss of human capital in often vulnerable economies. The government of Barbados, a country increasingly targeted by recruitment agencies, has taken some steps to protect teachers in subject areas such as mathematics, science, geography and special education by means of not supporting requests from overseas recruiters in these areas. (Ochs, 2003) In contrast to Barbados with its small teaching force, South Africa has an institutional infrastructure to continue to provide a more than sufficient supply of teachers, but Kada Asmal, South African Minister for Education, notes that this is done at a huge cost (Asmal, 2004). Asmal further comments in his discussion of South Africas brain drain dilemma, that many of these teachers choose to return to South Africa, after a year or two in the UK, and most return as better teachers more experienced and usually more appreciative of the quality of the schools in South Africa. However, it is not only the developing countries that have expressed concern at the number of teachers leaving home. The New Zealand Ministry of Educations annual teacher supply survey in 2003 revealed that secondary schools are experiencing increased difficulties in staffing their schools as roll growth in that sector continues. To help meet the demand for more teachers, the Ministry of Education introduced a range of initiatives. These initiatives include international relocation grants of NZ$5,000 (around 2,000) to encourage New Zealand teachers overseas to return home and have also contracted three recruitment agencies to actively encourage New Zealand secondary teachers working in the United Kingdom to return home to teach ( New Zealand Ministry of Education, 2003); And theyre off (The Guardian, 28 January 2003). The costs and benefits analysis is by no means straightforward in the recruiting country either on top of the direct hiring costs there is the need to provide adequate support for teachers to enable them to achieve their professional potential. Identifying and responding to these needs can dramatically influence the overall balance between costs and benefits (Sutherland and Rees, 1995; Mowbray, 2001; Craig, 2002). The same is true of the teachers themselves. If they are well supported then their experience can be good and their contribution positive; but if support is poor then the challenges OTTs face in and out of school may overwhelm them and undermine their potential development trajectory (Sutherland and Rees, 1995; Ochs, 2003). The balance between costs and benefits is illustrated by the example of Margaret Craig (2002), a headteacher in a West London borough who found herself in May 2001 with 20 known teaching vacancies from a staff of 54. She joined an LEA team visiting Australia to recruit teachers. Craig points out that in times of staffing crisis there is no alternative to concentrating on recruitment and retention. The efforts made in the school to provide systematic and in-depth support for the OTTs was considerable and Craig needed to devote her continuing professional development programme disproportionately to the needs of the
8
new staff. However, the investment paid off and the year ended with a stable staff focused on student learning. In 2001, Mowbray drew attention to the hazards of using OTTs and described the situation awaiting teachers from abroad as a minefield. Mowbray concluded that many OTTs were seriously unprepared for the sheer mechanics and expense of living in Britain: the immigration and qualification systems were both very complicated. Benefits to schools from the use of OTTs could be considerable but schools had to make a serious investment in order to achieve them.
2. Methodology
2.1 Definitions and aims
For the purpose of this research study, the term overseas trained teacher (OTT) refers to teachers who were trained in either Commonwealth countries or non-EU countries. This is independent of whether they are working under the holiday visa scheme, employer-arranged work permits, or because they had a right of abode for other reasons. This definition excludes teachers on exchanges and teachers trained elsewhere in the UK, who have not received training in the National Curriculum for England and Wales. Also excluded are teachers who came from overseas with the intention of settling permanently in this country. For this reason responses from OTTs who entered the country prior to 2001 are not included in the sample reported upon in this study, as it was considered that these teachers had now sufficient experience of teaching in England that they did not fall within the compass of the study. The aims of the study were as follows: 1. To gather information on the national statistical trends in respect of OTTs employed in the UK, their biographical and professional profile, and their experience of gaining Qualified Teacher Status. To examine the mechanisms used to recruit OTTs, the quality of information and contractual provisions offered to them, and the educational, economic and social impact of their recruitment on their countries of origin. To explore the reasons why OTTs come to the UK, their experiences and their needs in respect of professional, social, financial, induction and training support. To report on the union affiliation of OTTs, and the support they receive and require.
2.
3. 4.
2.2 Quantitative sampling strategy, process and instruments

The research was primarily carried out by means of questionnaires sent to OTTs, headteachers and NASUWT Regional Officers and Local Association Secretaries during February and March 2004. Initially, particular LEAs that secondary data analysis indicated had high densities of OTTs were targeted. The data collected through this structured opportunity sample was augmented when discussions with policy makers enabled other LEAs to be identified. Secondary sampling conducted through NASUWT Local Association Secretaries ensured that some OTTs were picked up in areas that were relatively isolated from the density areas in the main sampling frame. LEAs: Eight LEAs were targeted initially with regard to concentration of OTTs as reported in the School Workforce Statistics (2003). As the data gathering progressed, further potential concentrations of OTTs were identified and a further seven LEAs were targeted (see section 2.4 for a list of participating LEAs). Headteachers: Headteacher questionnaires were sent out to all schools in the targeted LEAs. Completed questionnaires, in the Freepost envelope provided, were requested by 20 March 04. The questionnaire consisted of 28 questions that were a mix of both structured-choice and open-ended questions and focused on: numbers of overseas teachers; employment status; effectiveness and quality; and service to the school (see Appendix 1). Overseas trained teachers: Teacher questionnaires were included in the pack sent to headteachers (5 for each secondary and 3 for each primary school) with a covering letter that asked for them to be distributed to any non-EU teachers in the school.
10
The OTTs were also asked to return the completed questionnaire by the 20 March 04 deadline, and 100 was offered in a prize draw as an inducement to complete and return the questionnaire. The questionnaire consisted of 32 questions and was a mix of both structured-choice and open-ended questions (see Appendix 2). It focused on: recruitment; information; induction and further professional development; and professional and social experiences. Confidentiality was assured in respect of the information provided. The questionnaire also asked teachers to give details if they were willing to be interviewed. Local Association Secretaries: Questionnaires, to be completed and returned in the Freepost envelope provided, were sent out to the NASUWT Local Association Secretaries. An OTT questionnaire was also included in the pack, and a covering letter which asked the Secretary to distribute the OTT questionnaire to any non-EU trained teachers in their Local Association. The Local Association Secretaries questionnaire was a mix of both structure-choice and openended questions (see Appendix 3) and consisted of 23 questions which focused on: number of OTTs employed; the recruitment process; the effectiveness of OTTs; and problems encountered by them. Regional Officers: Questionnaires were sent out to the Regional Centres with a covering letter. The Regional Officer was asked to return the completed questionnaire in the Freepost envelope provided. The questionnaire (see Appendix 4) consisted of six open-ended questions that focused on issues and problems encountered by overseas teachers. Media advertisement: Articles were placed in NASUWTs Teaching Today and the New Zealand News UK explaining the project and asking if any non-EU OTTs would like to participate. A questionnaire was sent directly to the OTTs who responded and to other OTTs of their acquaintance. Overseas trained teacher programme: Data were also supplied by the TTA in respect of the OTTP.
2.3 Interview sample, process and schedules

Further in-depth interviews were carried out with a selected group of OTTs and an NASUWT Regional Officer. Interviews were also undertaken with the following key stakeholders: government departments, recruitment agencies and high commissions. An interview schedule was designed for each key stakeholder (Appendix 5) which focused on various issues in relation to OTTs including qualifications, induction processes, contractual issues, and the costs and benefits to both the countries of origin and individuals concerned. Overseas trained teachers OTTs who identified themselves as willing to participate in focus group interviews were contacted and a convenient time arranged. Two focus group interviews were arranged; both were in London and both lasted about one hour. The participating OTTs were assured of full confidentiality and made aware of their right to withdraw at anytime. The interviews were semi-structured allowing the stakeholders to supply rich data to inform the thematic analysis. Other key stakeholders Letters were sent to the following key stakeholders: Barbados high commission; Jamaican high commission; South African high commission; Australian high commission; New Zealand high commission; Commonwealth Secretariat; British Council; Department for Education and Skills; Commission for London Schools; Government Office for London; Employers Organisation for local government; General Teaching Council for England (GTCE); Office for The Recruitment of Overseas Trained Teachers
11
Standards in Education; Teacher Training Agency. Interviews were arranged with key stakeholders who responded positively to the invitation; they lasted approximately one hour and were tape-recorded where the interviewee agreed. The high commissions of Australia and New Zealand and the GTCE felt they had nothing to contribute to the investigation.
2.4 Participants
Overseas trained teachers The data were supplied by a structured opportunity sample of non-EU OTTs in the 15 targeted LEAs and a further 24 individual OTTs from 14 other LEAs. A total of 136 questionnaires were returned (see Table 3).
Table 3: Frequency of sample in each LEA *NASUWT Teaching Today Magazine ** New Zealand News UK Newspaper
Headteachers LEAs
Hounslow Tower Hamlets Waltham Forest Haringey Greenwich Newham Hackney Brent Lambeth Wokingham not specified Barnet Kensington and Chelsea Bromley Islington East Sussex
Sample
18 14 11 10 10 9 7 7 5 4 4 4* 4** 3 3 3
LEAs
Bexley Surrey Essex Kent Manchester Bury Cumbria Oxfordshire Hampshire Peterborough Warwickshire Wiltshire East Riding Poole Total sample
Sample
3 3* 2* 2** 1 1* 1* 1* 1* 1* 1* 1* 1* 1* 112 + *18 + ** 6
The data were supplied by an opportunity sample of headteachers in 15 local education authorities. A total of 277 questionnaires were returned from the 1,370 distributed (Table 4).
Table 4: Frequency of LEA and phase of schools
Name of LEA Not Known East Sussex Manchester Bromley Haringey Hounslow Waltham Forest Tower Hamlets Greenwich Newham Wokingham Hackney Lambeth Bexley Islington Brent Total Primary Phase 38 24 22 19 16 17 15 10 15 11 7 10 8 6 6 224 Phase of School Secondary Phase 6 7 1 3 2 Total Commun ity Sp ecial Schools and PRUs 6 44 38 24 22 20 19 18 17 16 13 11 10 9 8 8 277
1 1
2 2 1
2 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 12
5 1 1
1 1 28
13
12
NASUWT Local Association Secretaries and Regional Officers A total of 251 questionnaires were distributed to Local Association Secretaries and 44 responses were received. Data was supplied by four of the 10 Regional Officers. Overseas trained teachers Eight OTTs were interviewed in two focus groups. Other key stakeholders The following agreed to be interviewed: Barbados high commission; Jamaican high commission; South African high commission; Commonwealth Secretariat; British Council; Department for Education and Skills; Teacher Training Agency; one NASUWT Regional Officer; two recruitment agencies.
2.5 Analysis
The qualitative data on the questionnaires were first coded, then both quantitative and qualitative data were analysed using SPSS. Qualitative thematic analysis was carried out on the OTTs and key stakeholders interview data sets to identify common themes that emerged. Meaning is central to thematic analysis and the aim is to understand the content and complexity of those meanings and hence to explicate the participants versions of their feelings about OTTs experiences in the UK (see Appendix 6 for the procedure).
2.6 Limitations to the study

Lack of good quality data from LEAs, DfES or NASUWT, relating to the location of OTTs, made direct distribution of the OTT questionnaire impossible and it is acknowledged that in the distribution strategy adopted, the headteachers and Local Association Secretaries were gatekeepers.
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3. Profile of Overseas Trained Teachers

3.1 Biographical profile
Responses were received from 136 OTTs: 75% (n = 102) were female and 25% (n = 34) were male. Interestingly, there was a large range of ages with only 16% under 25; 40% between 26 and 30; 19% between 31 and 35; and 24% over 35 years (see Table 5). The greatest number of respondents originated from three countries: South Africa (27%), New Zealand (26%) and Australia (23%). With regard to ethnicity: 72% of OTTs were white; 9% were Asian; 8% were black, 5% were New Zealand Pakeha (white); 4% were mixed race; and 1% were Akan.
Table 5: OTTs country of origin and age (Source: OTTs survey data)
Country of Origin South Africa New Zealand Australia Canada America Other Caribbean Countries Africa Eastern Europe Total 21- 25 10 4 4 2 2 26-30 8 24 11 4 4 3 1 55
Age 31-35 9 1 8 1 3 2 2 26 36-40 6 2 4 1 1 40+ 3 4 5 1 3 2 1 19
Total 36 35 32 8 7 7 5 4 2 136
22
14
Only 32% of respondents were newly qualified, 40% had between 4 and 10 years experience and 27% had over 11 years. There was no obvious pattern in the distribution across the boroughs or in country of origin in relation to their amount of experience (see Table 6 and Appendix 7).
Table 6: Country of origin and experience of OTTs (Source: OTTs survey data)
Country of Origin not specified 1 1
Teachers experience newly qualified (0-3 years) 12 10 9 6 5 1 fairly experienced (4-10 years) 11 19 15 1 1 2 4 1 1 55 very experienced (11+ years) 12 5 8 1 1 4 1 3 1 36
Total
South Africa New Zealand Australia Canada America Other Caribbean Countries Africa Eastern Europe Total
43
36 35 32 8 7 7 5 4 2 136
OTTs resident in the country since 2001 were included in the analysis and Table 7 below shows the country of origin and the year they started teaching in the UK.
14
Table 7: Number of OTTs, country of origin and year started teaching in the UK (Source: OTTs survey data)
Country South Africa New Zealand Australia Canada America Other Caribbean Countries Africa Eastern Europe Total
Year Started Teaching in the UK 2001 2002 2003 2004* 13 18 5 10 12 12 1 5 9 7 11 2 3 3 4 3 5 1 1 3 2 3 1 1 36 1 54 34 12
Total 36 35 32 8 7 7 5 4 2 136
*data collected from January to March 2004
When the country of origin data is aggregated with respect to hemisphere, an interesting pattern emerged: the largest number of OTTs who started teaching in the month of January were from the southern hemisphere (n = 32), with only seven OTTs from the northern hemisphere. There was also a large peak of OTTs in September, with slightly more teachers from the southern hemisphere (n = 25) than the northern (n = 20). A smaller peak of southern hemisphere OTTs was also found in the month of April (n = 12) (see Figure 1). Interestingly, disaggregated data showed that in the year 2001, the traditional influx from the southern hemisphere in January did not occur.
Figure 1: Graph of number of OTTs from the northern and southern hemispheres and month started teaching in the UK from January 2001 March 2004 Number of Overseas Teachers (Source: OTTs survey data)
25
20
15 10
Month Started Teaching in the UK from 2001-2004
Among the OTTs surveyed almost two thirds (n = 89) were qualified to teach in the primary phase and one third (n = 47) in the secondary phase. There was little out-of-phase teaching: 94 OTTs were teaching in the primary phase and 42 in the secondary phase (see Appendix 8). For those teaching in secondary school, the most frequent subject specialism was English (n = 10), followed by PE (n = 7), science (n = 6) and mathematics (n = 5) (see Table 8).
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Table 8: Subject specialisms of OTTs teaching in secondary schools in UK (Source: OTTs survey data)
Subject English PE (or with other) Science Maths Geography Special Education Needs Music
Frequency 10 7 6 5 2 1 1
Subject MFL ICT (or with other) Design Technology Cross Curricular Behaviour Not Specified Total
Frequency 1 1 1 1 1 5 42
3.2 Geographic profile

Among the LEAs surveyed, the ones which had the greatest numbers of OTTs responding were Hounslow (13%, n = 18), Tower Hamlets (10%, n = 14) and Waltham Forest (8%, n = 11). Interestingly, these three LEAs also show a proportionally larger number of their OTTs from South Africa, New Zealand and Australia. Other LEAs with a sizeable number of OTTs who responded were Haringey (7%, n = 10) and Greenwich (7%, n = 10) (see Appendix 9). This distribution was substantiated by the headteachers survey, where among the LEAs surveyed those with the greatest numbers of schools employing OTTs were found to be Tower Hamlets, Waltham Forest, Hounslow and Haringey. Maps to show the distribution of schools across the LEAs can be found in Appendix 10. Interestingly, in both Greenwich and Manchester, there were proportionally more schools from the secondary phase (40%) than from the primary phase (60%). For all the other LEAs, the majority of schools were in the primary phase (see Table 9).
Table 9: LEAs and phase of school (Source: headteachers survey data)
Name of LEA Primary Tower Hamlets Waltham Forest Hounslow Haringey Newham Greenwich Bromley East Sussex Manchester Hackney Wokingham Lambeth Islington Brent Bexley Total 15 15 13 14 14 9 12 9 6 6 6 8 5 5 6 143 (79%)
Phase of School Secondary Commun ity Sp ecial Schools and PRUs 2 2 3 5 1 3 4 1 1 1 1 22 (12%) 6 (3%) 2
Total Not Known 1 2 18 (10%) 17 (9%) 17 (9%) 17 (9%) 15 (8%) 15 (8%) 14 (8%) 12 (7%) 10 (6%) 10 (6%) 8 (4%) 8 (4%) 7 (4%) 7 (4%) 7 (4%) 182 (100%)
1 1 1
1 1 1 1 1 11 (6%)
Amongst the 277 headteachers surveyed, analysis of the data revealed that 66% (n = 182) had employed one or more OTTs for fixed-period appointments in their schools since 2001. For those headteachers who indicated that they had employed OTTs: 79% (n = 143) were from the primary phase; 12% (n = 22) from the secondary phase; 3% (n = 6) from community special schools and PRUs; and 6% (n = 11) were unknown.
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Table 10: Number of OTTs employed in schools since 2001 (Source: headteachers survey data)
Year 2001/02 2002/03 2003/04 Total
Primary Schools 254 258 237 749
Secondary Schools 86 98 108 292
Commun ity Special and PRUs 4 12 11 27
Not Known 26 27 34 87
Total 370 395 390 1155
The headteachers surveyed revealed that, since 2001, they had employed a total of 1,155 OTTs (370 in 2001/02; 395 in 2002/03; and 390 in 2003/04: see Table 10). The headteachers surveyed were also asked to state if they had employed OTTs as daily or short-term supply since September 2003. It was found that out of the 277 headteachers over half responded in the affirmative. Table 11 shows the distribution of OTTs by country of origin across the three LEAs with the highest numbers of OTTs (see Appendix 11 for full table of LEAs and OTTs country of origin by year).
Table 11: OTTs by country and year for the 3 LEAs with the highest numbers of OTTs
Australia New Zealand South Africa Canada Caribbean Countries Africa Other Commwlth Countries 0 2 3 5 Eastern Europe USA Other Total
Hounslow 01/02 02/03 3/04 Total Tower Hamlets 01/02 02/03 03/04 Total Haringey 01/02 02/03 03/04 Total
12 16 17 45
11 12 8 31
11 16 18 45
0 1 1 2
2 2 2 6
2 1 1 4
4 3 3 10
1 1 2 4
0 0 0 0
43 54 55 152
13 14 18 45
13 12 13 38
11 8 8 27
9 9 7 25
0 1 2 3
0 1 0 1
0 0 0 0
0 0 0 0
1 2 2 5
0 0 0 0
47 47 50 144
12 16 17 45
7 10 12 29
8 10 16 34
6 5 4 15
0 0 0 0
0 0 0 0
1 1 3 5
0 0 0 0
0 1 1 2
1 2 3 6
35 45 56 136
(Source: headteachers survey data)
Analysis of the data from 44 Local Association Secretaries revealed that three quarters (n = 33) were aware of schools employing OTTs; 24 provided rough estimates of the number of OTTs they perceived to be employed in their Local Association. The Local Association Secretaries thought that there had been an increase in the number of OTTs employed each year (236 in 2001; 420 in 2002; and 670 in 2003). This gave a total of 1,326 OTTs employed in schools since September 2001, with 320 OTTs in primary schools, 884 in secondary schools and 122 in community special schools and PRUs. Local Association Secretaries (n = 33) were also asked for which subject specialism they perceived the OTTs were employed in secondary schools: mathematics (n = 14), science (n = 13) and modern foreign languages (n = 10) were the most frequently mentioned specialisms (see Appendix 12). Further, the Local Association Secretaries were also asked which country they thought these OTTs originated from in their Local Association, where Australia (n = 45), New Zealand (n = 32) and South Africa (n = 31) were the most frequently mentioned countries (see Appendix 12).
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3.3 Teacher status

Of the OTTs surveyed 15% (n = 21) had obtained UK QTS, and a further 26% (n = 35) were currently on the Overseas Trained Teacher Programme (OTTP) and working towards UK QTS. This meant that nearly three out of five of the teachers, although qualified in their own country, neither had UK QTS nor were currently working towards acquiring it. The total without QTS up to January 2004 (at the time immediately prior to the study) was still 68. The breakdown of these OTTs professional status in the UK and their years of experience is revealed in Table 12 below.
Table 12: Teachers experience and professional status in the UK
Professional Status in the UK Not Specified (n = 2) 1 0 1 Teachers Experience Newly qualified (just qualified and 1-3 yrs) (n = 43) 29 (67%) 9 (22%) 5 (12%) Fairly experienced (4-10 yrs) (n = 55) 33 (60%) 15 (27%) 7 (13%) experienced (11+ yrs) (n = 36) 17 (47%) 11 (31%) 8 (22%) Total
Without QTS On OTT Prog ramme with UK QTS
80 35 21
(Source: OTTs survey data)
The issue of OTTs status on arrival as unqualified, with its associated lower remuneration irrespective of training and experience, was of concern to all stakeholders interviewed. One high commission reported that their teachers felt dishonoured: Our teachers felt humiliatedsome of them were teaching 15 to 20 years and were regarded as first-class teacherssuddenly they came herefound that they were unqualified teachers, and were not offered to be paid commensurate rates with their previous posts at home and their status was regarded as less than qualified. The onerous nature of the assessment process that OTTs had to undergo to obtain QTS was also a bone of contention: currently managed by the TTA directly, OTTs have to be recommended for the OTT programme by their schools. This was seen as a potential conflict of interest, since, even apart from the commitment of time and effort required on the part of the school, OTTs successful completion of the programme had financial implications for the school. This led one high commission to suggest some teachers felt schools put obstacles in the way. One recruitment agency also indicated schools unwillingness to encourage OTTs to obtain QTS: the schools see it [doing QTS] as an impositionthe cost I think, as in time, not just in the teachers time, but in the schools time and them doing the mentoring and so on, but also in allowing teachers to have time out to do things; they wont do it and they ought to One recruitment agency claimed that some OTTs did not embark upon the programme as they felt it slighted their own professionalism and was an insult to their training and qualifications. The British Council accepted that for quality assurance purposes OTTs did need to meet QTS standards and referred to the possibility of accelerated programmes adding but the schools got to play. The Commonwealth Secretariat noted that the importance placed on QTS had varied over time: when there is a strong need, the qualifications tend to be of less concern, but some of the teachers, that we were involved in interviewing through our research, indicated that in 2000 it was as if they were long-lost relatives and well take you on any terms and well concede all sorts of things to you; but, like, now supply and demand are pretty much neck and neck, they are suddenly hearing not being QTS and that sort of thing.
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A high commission felt that UK NARIC (National Academic Recognition Information Centre for the United Kingdom) who validated overseas qualifications for the TTA was not in touch with OTTs qualifications. One recruitment agency felt that OTTs should not be classed as unqualified: I think that the Government has got it wrong in regarding these people as unqualified they are not unqualified teachers, they are teachers holding overseas teaching qualifications, they are a different group of people; we dont recruit unqualified teachers, but everybody that we send into a school is statistically listed as being unqualified The need for greater recognition of OTTs qualifications was highlighted by both recruitment agencies. One recruitment agency noted that being assessed for QTS should be made easier as well as more transparent with regard to access to the necessary information and evidence sources. The other recruitment agency thought that schools should have a professional responsibility to ensure that OTTs were assessed for UK QTS as soon as possible. The British Council also was keen to ensure that OTTs were assessed for QTS as expeditiously as possible, to ensure that they were paid on the qualified teacher scale. Further, they suggested a mapping of training standards in Commonwealth countries in order that it is clear which areas, if any, an OTT from a particular country needs to be further trained in or assessed on, in order to gain UK QTS. The British Council also thought that the TTA and GTCE should take steps to collaborate on the issue of the OTT programme: I think that its a helpful way forward to have a kind of mapping so that its clear that if youre Barbadian you might be missing A, B and C, if youre Jamaican you might be missing D and E and what the training programmes are that can be put in placeif we are going to continue to recruit teachers from overseassomewhere along the line the TTA, and GTCE have got to get together and theres got to be an agreement that this is the way forward.
3.4 Data on Overseas Trained Teacher Programme

Analysis of the data supplied by the TTA in relation to the OTTP revealed that since January 2001 a total of 2,709 OTTs had presented themselves for UK QTS. Table 13 below shows that the number of OTTs on the OTTP almost doubled in 2002, and a further increase occurred in 2003. Interestingly, the number of OTTs who had applied for assessment between January and March 2004 was nearly as many as those who had applied in the whole of 2001. Disaggregated by gender, 72% (n = 1,953) were female and 28% (n = 756) male. Interestingly, for each of the countries of origin, there were more female OTTs than males, with the exception of Ghana (n = 26) whereby 73% (n = 19) were male and 27% (n = 7) were female. Further, the total cohort also showed a large age range with only 2% (n = 60) under 25; 37% (n = 1,007) between 26 and 30; 25% (n = 683) between 31 and 35; and a further with 35% (n = 958) over 35 years. These findings are similar to the age ranges for those OTTs who responded to the survey.
Year 2001 2002 2003 2004* Total Number of OTTs 481 734 1,067 427 2,709
Table 13: Number of OTTs assessed for UK QTS from January 2001 to March 2004 (Source: OTTP data)
The largest group on the OTTP from one particular country was found to be from South Africa with a total of 519 OTTs applying for QTS. Australia was found to be the second largest group with a total of 275 OTTs, and New Zealand the third with 158 OTTs applying for QTS since January 2001. Table 14 shows an overall increase in the number of OTTs starting the OTT Programme in 2002, a decrease in 2003 and an increase in 2004 (from January to March). The Recruitment of Overseas Trained Teachers
19
Table 14: Country of origin and year started OTTP
Country Not Specified South Africa Australia New Zealand Other2 Africa Canada Other Commonwealth Countries America Eastern Europe Caribbean C ountries Other Total
2001 103 150 87 39 22 11 19 10 18 7 4 11 481
2002 50 230 118 79 57 43 43 34 26 24 20 10 734
2003 888 64 25 20 16 14 7 10 3 11 7 2 1,067
2004* 186 75 45 20 18 26 13 8 8 7 16 5 427
Total 1,227 519 275 158 113 94 82 62 55 49 47 28 2,709
(Source: OTTP data)
Maps to show the distribution of OTTs on the Programme can be found in Appendix 13. The areas that had the greatest number of OTTs were in London (n = 1,717), where 278 were in East London (including the LEAs of Hackney, Waltham Forest, Tower Hamlets, and Newham); 223 in North London (including the LEAs of Haringey, Islington and Barnet); 123 in South West London; and 119 in South East London. These data further corroborate the LEAs surveyed in the research as six of these seven most densely populated LEAs were chosen. Table 15 reveals that overall there were more OTTs assessed for the secondary phase (57%) than for the primary phase (41%). There were proportionally more OTTs assessed for the secondary phase than for the primary phase from the Caribbean countries, Africa, Eastern Europe and other Commonwealth countries. For the countries of Australia, New Zealand, South Africa and Canada, fairly equal numbers of OTTs were assessed for the two phases. Further, the most frequent subject specialisms being assessed overall from January 2001 to March 2004 were found to be primary no specialism (24%, n = 649); English (18%, n = 485); mathematics (13%, n = 356); and science (13%, n = 345) (see Appendix 14). The majority of these OTTs (62%) overall applied for QTS with induction assessment and 38% applied for QTS assessment only. Since 2002, there has been an increase each year in those applying for assessment with induction assessment (see Appendix 14).
Table 15: OTTs country of origin and teaching phase assessed (Source: OTTP data)
Country of Origin Not Specified Australia New Zealand South Africa Canada Caribbean C ountries Africa America Eastern Europe Other Commonwealth Countries Other Other2 Total
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Primary Phase 485 124 82 249 37 9 15 23 16 21 9 48 1,118
Secondary Phase 717 148 74 259 44 38 78 29 33 41 18 63 1,542
Stages 2 and 3 25 3 2 11 1 1 3
Total 1,227 275 158 519 82 47 94 55 49 62 28 113 2,709
1 2 49
The TTA explained that a consultation had taken place which recommended that the OTTP should be reviewed and devolved to Designated Recommending Bodies (DRBs) and to try and reduce some of the burdens on schools. The TTA recognised the need for change, but they did not intend to make any fundamental changes to the programme. The TTA also indicated that their administration unit would have a role in monitoring the DRBs and would continue to offer training: Well monitor itat the moment, the admin, they check out all the applications that come inwed want that to continuethey would probably for a short time sample applications and qualificationsand help DRBs. We already offer training to DRBs in terms of assessment, so we would continue to do that With regard to evaluation of the OTTP, the TTA viewed the success criteria of the programme purely in terms of the number of failures and withdrawals: We dont do an evaluationwe look at the success rate in terms of people withdrawing or people failing and the success rate is quite highif theyre going to fail their assessment then the school or the recommending body willsay look its not working out, they should withdraw from the programme; but generally with OTTs theyre more experienced anyway so its not a huge problem. The TTA also revealed that it did not intend to consult with OTTs who were currently on the programme or any OTTs who had already completed the programme as part of its review process. The TTA felt that the OTTP was a small part of recruitment to ITT, and explained their current quandary in relation to the excess number of NQTs and increase in applications for the OTTP. However, the TTA acknowledged the valuable role of OTTs in the teacher workforce: In terms of the bigger picture, its quite a small part of what we do and in terms of recruitment to ITT, its not the agencys (TTA) main priority because in many cases, although we know a lot of OTTs fill gaps and they are very important to certain schools, at the momenttheres surplus NQTs especially in primary, so were kind of in a difficult positionthe numbers, the demand for the OTTP is increasing, but the actual vacancies in schools is going down, so whether we want to do more to, so whether its the right time to strengthen the programme and to do more to push it, its a difficult one.
3.5 Professional affiliation

Amongst the OTTs surveyed, 56% were not a member of a professional association in the UK; the affiliations of those that were are recorded in Figure 2 below. Table 16 shows that there was a lower frequency of union membership in the primary phase than the secondary phase. Of those OTTs with union membership, 11% (n = 15) had asked their unions for support in relation to: pay (n = 2); contractual issues (n = 3); constructive dismissal (n = 1); financial help (n = 1); bullying (n = 1); incidents with students (n = 3); and general advice (n = 3) (see appendix 15 for specific reasons). Nine of those who sought help were satisfied with the support offered.
Figure 2: Percentage of OTTs union membership (Source: OTTs survey data)
A TL 1% NUT 26%
Table 16: Union membership and teaching phase (Source: OTTs survey data)
Union
Phase Teaching in the UK 3-11 11-18 17 5 1 23 (55% of

sec ondary OTTs)
Total
No Union 56% NA SUWT 16%
NASUWT NUT ATL Total
5 31 1 37 (39% of
p rim ary OTTs)
22 36 2 60 (44% of
all OTTs)
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Sixty per cent of those OTTs with union membership identified, in additional comments, seven areas in which they would like further support or information. These included: qualification status; training; information on professional associations; rights and responsibilities (see Appendix 16 for full details). A third of these OTTs would like more support in relation to understanding the status of their qualifications. For example, two OTTs would have liked support in the recognition of their overseas experience; three OTTs would like the union to enable QTS to be simpler and nine OTTs would also like support in arranging help to achieve QTS. A further 14 OTTs reported that they would like their union to provide more training, with workshops on issues like the National Curriculum and its implementation. Eight OTTs also thought that more information on the professional associations themselves should be made available and wanted more OTT representation both within the union itself and in schools. Eight OTTs with union affiliation also felt that they would like their union to provide more information on teacher issues, such as pay scales, and rights and responsibilities. Seven OTTs wanted more information on issues such as accommodation and national insurance. Finally, one OTT suggested that their union could hold social events so they could meet other OTTs.
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4. Recruitment of Overseas Trained Teachers

4.1 Recruitment practices, length of service and type of contract
The 136 OTT respondents were asked how they were recruited to work in this country. The largest group was hired by teacher recruitment agencies and, for the purposes of reporting agencies, they were classified into the more frequently mentioned agencies (by four or more OTTs) TimePlan, Capita, Masterlock, Select, Protocol, Dream (n = 62, 46%) and those mentioned by three or fewer OTTs (n = 37, 27%). Eighteen OTTs (13%) were recruited by a school and five (6%) were recruited by an LEA. Finally, some 8% (n = 11) were recruited by means including direct application to a school by the OTT (see Figure 3).
Les s Freq. Ag ency 27% Sch ool 1 3% L EA 6% Other 8%
Figure 3: Percentage of OTTs recruited by each organisation (Source: OTTs survey data)
More Fre q. Agen cy 4 6%
Over half (55%, n = 75) of the OTTs were recruited for a particular position in a named school, 40% (n = 55) were recruited for short-term supply work and the remaining 4% (n = 6) were all recruited for work within a particular LEA, but not in a named school (see Figure 4). Amongst the OTTs currently working in the UK, 40% had a permanent contract compared with 27% on an annual contract, 18% were on a supply contract and 13% on a term contract. Only one OTT said that they currently had no contract. These values suggest that a percentage of those OTTs who identified themselves as working as supply teachers were, in fact, contracted to work for a period of between a term and a year, probably in a single school. It is not possible from this data to identify how many teachers were working as daily supply teachers at the time of the survey (although this was possible from the headteachers data).
N o Co ntr act 1% Su pply Con tr act 18%
Figure 4: Percentage of OTTs and type of contract (Source: OTTs survey data)
Permanen t Contra ct 4 0% Term Co ntr act 13%
Ann ual Contrac t 27%
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Of those 182 headteachers who recruited OTTs for fixed-term contracts, a total of 134 recruited OTTs in 2001/02; 140 in 2002/03; and 138 in 2003/04. Over half of these headteachers recruited in all three years, nearly a quarter recruited for two years and a similar amount for one year. These headteachers recruited OTTs to their schools by a variety of means. Over three quarters used a recruitment agency (85%, n = 155), 13 headteachers had hired OTTs through their own efforts and 10 had OTTs recruited by an LEA. Only four headteachers recruited by other means. The most frequent length of time that OTTs had been employed by these headteachers was eight terms (n = 37), followed by four terms (n = 31) and 12 terms (n = 31). Table 17 below outlines the reasons why the headteachers recruited OTTs.
Table 17: Headteachers reasons for recruiting OTTs (Source: headteachers survey data)
Reason for Recruiting OTTs No UK teachers available Better trained Good to have an international staff mix Cheaper than UK trained teachers No UK teachers available and good to have international staff mix No UK teachers available and better trained than UK teachers No UK teachers available, better trained than UK teachers and good to have a international staff mix Better trained than UK teachers and good to have an international staff mix Other
2001 99 (74%) 2 (1%) 8 (6%) 8 (6%) 6 (4%)
2002 98 (70%) 2 (1%) 6 (4%) 2 (1%) 13 (9%) 6 (4%) 1 (1%)
2003 87 (63%) 4 (3%) 10 (7%) 1 (1%) 10 (7%) 6 (4%) 1 (1%) 1 (1%) 16 (12%)
11 (8%)
12 (9%)
Amongst the headteachers surveyed, 79% (n = 143) stated that OTTs had completed their fixed-term contracts and 19% (n = 35) indicated that 41 OTTs had not. These headteachers noted reasons for non-completion of contracts including: family and personal reasons; ability; inappropriate choice of school; and other (see Appendix 17). Firstly, in the area of family and personal reasons (n = 19), just under half (n = 9) of the OTTs did not complete their contracts due to family reasons including homesickness (n = 4). Secondly, on OTTs ability in UK schools (n = 14), the most common issues were found to be: poor class management skills (n = 4); incompetence (n = 3); and unable to reach the required standard within the school (n = 3). The third area for non-completion of contracts was OTTs school choice (n = 5), where four moved to other schools and one moved out of London. Finally, on other issues (n = 3), one OTT left to take up a non-teaching job; one departed due to maternity leave and childcare issues; and one OTT had difficulty in gaining QTS. The headteachers surveyed were also asked to state if they had employed OTTs as daily or short-term supply since September 2003. It was found that out of the 277 headteachers over half responded that they had (53%). Interestingly, three quarters of those schools that employed OTTs for fixed-period appointments also employed OTTs as daily or short-term supply teachers. Further, for those schools (n = 95) that had not employed OTTs for fixed period appointments, 13% were found to have employed OTTs as daily or short-term supply teachers. Almost all of the headteachers (97%) revealed that overseas daily or short-term supply teachers had been sent by a recruitment agency. The headteachers noted a total of 36 different recruitment agencies, where Protocol (26%), Capita (18%), TimePlan (16%), Select (15%) and International Teachers Network (12%) were found to be the most frequently mentioned agencies. It was also found that five per cent of these headteachers specifically asked the recruitment agency for an OTT for daily support work; three specified that it was because OTTs had good pedagogy and teaching skills. Further, seven per cent of headteachers also specifically requested OTTs for short-term contracts. Interestingly, one headteacher commented that their school sometimes specifically asked for an OTT for a particular subject, for example physical
24
education. Of those 93% headteachers who did not, 2% commented that they would prefer a UK-trained teacher.
4.2 Information provided on recruitment

The OTTs surveyed were asked to rate the amount and quality of information that was provided to them when they were first recruited in the following seven areas: employment status in the UK; position/job; social conditions; discipline in school; pay/salary; working conditions; and standard of living. The box plots (Figure 5) reveal the distribution of responses given by the OTTs and reveal that they felt the quality and amount of information provided was variable. The majority of OTTs felt that the amount and quality of information provided was good or adequate in the following areas: employment status (74%), position/job in school (69%), pay/salary (65%), and working conditions (65%). However, they felt that the quality and amount of information provided about the local social conditions were less satisfactory; over a third (35%) thought it was poor, and 40% adequate. Respondents reported information provided about discipline in schools was very varied: 32% felt it was poor, 40% thought it was adequate, and only 24% thought it was good. Likewise for information about the standard of living; 29% felt that it was poor, 44% thought it was adequate, and 23% felt that it was good.
Figure 5: Box plots of amount and quality of information provided when first recruited in the areas of: employment status in the UK, position/job, social conditions, discipline in school, pay/salary, working conditions and standard of living (Source: OTTs survey data) Where: 1 = poor 2 = adequate 3 = good 4 = very good
UK
Em
Po po ly m
sit io n
So /Jo b
cia l
Co
en
nd
Di sc ip lin e iti on s
Pa in
y/ Sa
la r
W or ki ng
St an Co nd
da
rd
tS
ta tu s
Sc ho
of
ol
iti on
Li vi ng
Seventy-six OTTs reported that they would have liked additional information in respect of: practical employment issues (pensions, national insurance and tax); school practices and policies; UK education system (National Curriculum); teacher status and qualifications; information on jobs; living in the UK (accommodation); UK services (National Health Service, banks and unions); and other issues (support and honest information) (see Appendix 18).
4.3 Accuracy of information on point of recruitment

The OTTs surveyed were asked to rate the accuracy of the information supplied at the point of recruitment in the following eight areas: employment status in the UK; position/job; social conditions; pupil discipline; educational standards; pay/salary; working conditions; and standard of living. The box plots (Figure 6) reveal the distribution of the responses given. Overall, the responses were fairly similar, with the exception of the information on local social conditions and pupil discipline, where 26% and 28% respectively thought that the accuracy of the information supplied was poor. The Recruitment of Overseas Trained Teachers
25
Figure 6: Box plots of accuracy of information provided when first recruited in the areas of: employment status in the UK, position/job, social conditions, pupil discipline, pay/salary, working conditions and standard of living (source: OTTs survey data) Where: 1 = poor 2 = adequate 3 = good 4 = very good
When the OTTs were grouped by recruitment strategy, the box plots (Figure 7) showed a range of responses in the accuracy of the information provided in the areas of working conditions and standard of living. The OTTs recruited by LEA and Other revealed that the information provided to them on working conditions was less accurate than the information provided to those recruited by a school. Further, those recruited by the more frequently mentioned agencies showed that there were more OTTs who felt that the information provided was less accurate than in those recruited by the less frequently mentioned agency.
Figure 7: Box plots of accuracy of information by recruiter (Source: OTTs survey data) Where: 1 = poor 2 = adequate 3 = good 4 = very good
Accuracy of information provided on working conditions
Accuracy of information provided on standard of living
Working Conditions
Standard of Living
2.5 2.0 1.5 1.0 .5
2.5 2.0 1.5 1.0 .5
Organisation which reruited the Overseas Teacher
Strong positive correlations between the amount and quality of information and the accuracy of the information provided in the areas of: pay/salary (r = .72, p < .001); standard of living (r = .65, p < .001); and working conditions (r = .64, p < .001). This showed that the greater the amount and quality of information, the more accurate the OTTs found the information. Further, moderate positive correlations were also revealed in the areas of: employment status (r = .50, p < .001); position/job (r = .55, p < .001); social conditions of the area (r = .51, p < .001); and discipline in the school (r = .57, p < .001). These correlations show the relationship between these variables, although to a lesser degree.
26
4.4 Global recruitment strategies

A thematic analysis of the interviews with key stakeholders revealed a number of significant issues with regard to recruitment strategies. One of the key causes of concern was the activities of the recruitment agencies. The practices of recruiters varied; one agency visited overseas universities: Theres a huge amount of preparatory work, we visit 40-odd universities a yearwe dont interview, its pure background work, talking to them The main agenda for these visits was to recruit OTTs for the forthcoming academic year: we recruit for a September start, but also top up supply through the yearwe employ people who are ex-heads to manage our overseas recruitment99% we see in person, and usually we interview overseas, and traditionally weve taken headteachers with us, to help us with that recruitment and its quite an in-depth process. The agency recruited more teachers in the primary phase than the secondary and focused on a fixed-term one-year contract. They were seeking in particular an international educator, a person: who wants to broaden their experiences by teaching overseasone of the things that I think is very widely unreported is the growth of the international teacherwere looking not just at qualifications, but realism on their part, people who are resilient. The recruits included some: quite senior peoplepeople who had been heads of departmentspeople mid-career, which is again very different from the young Australian backpacker. The other agency interviewed, however, claimed they were no longer actively recruiting overseas: and have no plans to do so; at one point we were going to do overseas recruitment missions, butwe encountered some resistance in schools to overseas teachersand also because there was a turnaround in the demandwe pulled the lot of them This did not stop OTTs applying to the agency either over the Internet from their home country or through OTTs who were already in the UK: in some cases the teachers themselves werent so much being recruited as volunteering because for various political reasons where they were, they wanted to get out of it. The recruitment agencies were sensitive to claims from some developing countries that they were misleading OTTs and plundering human resources. Although there was a lack of good information in the countries themselves regarding recruitment, one high commission was unable to estimate the current demand. Another reported that the number of teachers leaving their country was still increasing despite the problems some of their predecessors had experienced in the UK: the number keeps growingmany people are still interested simply because they are not aware of the problems that have happened already to others. The British Councils perception, however, was that the number of OTTs was decreasing. Both recruitment agencies confirmed there had been a huge influx of OTTs especially in 2001/02, but that currently the numbers were decreasing. One agency suggested that this was because headteachers were using classroom assistants as temporary cover because of financial constraints.
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One recruitment agency also expressed disappointment at the way private recruitment companies, such as themselves, were viewed by the Government: I think that if organisations like us had not existed, we would be in terminal crisis in education, I really, really believe thatI do believe that ourselves and the other bigger players have made a huge difference in the teaching force here It was generally felt by the high commissions that the migration of teachers should be viewed as an issue for the Commonwealth as a whole, and not just as a problem for individual countries. The blame for the aggressive recruitment drives were laid largely at the feet of the agencies: The agencies, they have been responsible for recruiting a large number of Caribbean teachersthe recruitment is very haphazard, it depends very much on what the situation is in other countriesBefore the competitive nature of teacher employment was introduced into the system, all recruitment was done by the LEA. Then suddenly we had private agencies getting into the market and taking out our teachers. The lack of regulation of the agencies was a cause for concern for high commissions: theres no set rule of how people come into the country the recruitment agencies just went to a hotel, put adverts in newspapers, didnt tell the Government, and recruited teachers overseas. It was totally disrespectful to the country it ought not to be allowed to happen, without somebody having some control over where they go, why they are doing it and what they do with the teachers once they are recruited. The British Council representative also depicted somewhat of a free-for-all: it wasnt just the agencies that were recruiting, it was the [LEA] recruitment strategy managers themselves who shopped around, and there was a fair bit of uncoordinated planning. In contrast, the DfES also confirmed LEAs involvement in running supply operations, but felt that they were responding in an organised way to the teacher shortages by recruiting OTTs who had a positive impact on the school workforce. One high commission spoke positively about discussions with one recruitment agency that seemed sensitive to the countrys views, and wanted to improve its practices: but, as you know, business is something else, you cant say Ill police these people and ensure that happens, and companies come and gosome people who had a better understanding of what the Government wants, they were more responsible. The Commonwealth Secretariat spoke very positively about the Savannah Accord and adopted: a very clear positionit is the human right of every professional teacherto seek their employment where they wish, to move from one country to the other, and no minister would ever seek to prevent that, and its clearly expressed in the revised draft document (Savannah Accord Protocol). By the same token, the ministers recognise that they have a right to safeguard their systems, whether it be education or health One high commission thought that the draft protocol had informed recruitment agencies practices, but felt that some recruiting countries, including Britain, had not been very helpful:
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You cannot really stop them, we train them up, if they want to go, hopefully they will come back to us with wider experience later onif our resource is a human being then we have to see that as an export of knowledge, so to speak, and hope that you get your remittances All the key stakeholders offered a variety of suggestions for ways forward in the recruitment of OTTs. All three high commissions proposed some form of managed labour market: What we want is a much more managed labour market, particularly if youre recruiting teachers from developing countries which would have spent x number of pounds training those teachersand you are suddenly bringing them out of that system, and not replacing them with anybodyhow we can manage so both countries benefit from the recruitment exerciseit ought to be possibleto develop a systemto manage at least some of their teachers coming out and ensuring that whilst they are here, they will be benefiting from what is on offer here, which can then be fed back into the education system there. One high commission suggested a solution centred on sabbatical leave: If this was a simple government-to-government solution I would say give teachers a bit of experience, and send them to the UK, and then after some time they come back, and they will fill in the post of those who are coming out of the system into the UK system. It works, because if you say no, we want experienced teachers in the UK, fine, we can get those experienced teachers for 2, 3 or 5 years out of the system into the UK, but the gaps that they will leave will be filled by those teachers who are unemployed, and by the time the more experienced ones come back, we can fill them in elsewhere and on a rotation basis. Finally, the third high commission suggested a joint training programme: if the other countries looking for teachers want to train our teachers, bringing them over while theyre in training, a combination of training there and here could work. It would, to some extent, minimise the amount of difficulty even the very experienced teachers have when they come here, not having the exposure to the British education system. For another high commission the issues of regulating, monitoring and controlling the behaviour and practices of recruitment agencies were also key. Further, the British Council was pleased that the Savannah Accord had brought teacher recruitment practices up the agenda. The Commonwealth Secretariat also valued the development: The proposed protocol should recognise that there is value in teacher exchange between the Commonwealth countries and some focus should be placed on the benefits of such exchanges or periods of secondmentsThe new draft speaks to bilateral arrangements between source and recruitment countries, and we hope and perceive that out of that may come creative responses to the situation where exchanges or bursaries or even assistance of training teachers in the source country, so as to supply the recruiting country, will emerge.
4.5 Impact on source country

Discussions with the high commissions on the impact to the source country revealed very diverse contexts and issues; one described a situation in his country of high unemployment, particularly amongst professionals: about 40% of the peopleare unemployed, and part of that 40% is caused by things like this, people being offered lucrative jobs overseasafter a while it doesnt workthey come back, and they find it very difficult to find jobsthey can only go to private schools The Recruitment of Overseas Trained Teachers
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and there are not manythey cant get back into the state systemits only one exit, you cant go out and come back, unless there are special circumstancesIts very tragic, because someone who is experienced, who has been to the UK, taught for 3, 4, 5 years, this person is back with all this knowledge and this person cant find a private school. A second high commission also admitted that many newly qualified teachers were unemployed and that their recruitment had little impact on the current teaching force. A third high commission, however, felt that the teacher recruitment had a serious impact on his countrys education system; but thought that the long-term effects for teacher professional development were positive: there has always been teacher mobility in the Commonwealth, but not in such large numbers and in such a short amount of timein the short term it has impact on key subject areas, like sciencein the long term there are benefits because teachers do improve their professional training. The DfES was sensitive to charges that the UK was asset-stripping developing countries and views such as those expressed by one organisation in its analysis of the situation: At the moment were not recompensing the countrywere stripping them of the people they most need to be the leaders in education in their countries, which makes it even worsethen when you get to this end, were not treating them as if they are the brightest and best of those countries and were not supporting them, which has a doubly negative effectfirstly, weve taken them out of their environmentsecondly, very often we damage their confidence, and as a result when they go back, theyre less effective than they would have been had they stayed The British Council was clear that many countries did not wish to prevent teachers working overseas, but would value some acknowledgement: even the countries that are most aggrieved dont actually want not to allow free movement of people, they just want a level of recognition. The Commonwealth Secretariat raised the issue that remittances in relation to teacher recruitment was unclear, but felt that overall there was considerable capital loss: The issue of remittances is not really resolvedwhen a country invests in training and developing a teacher and when that teacher is taken, there is considerable capital loss.
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5. Experiences of Overseas Trained Teachers

5.1 Induction and further professional development
The OTTs surveyed (n = 136) were asked to rate the support that they received, when they first arrived in the UK, in the following five areas: professional expectations; pedagogic skills; curriculum knowledge; housing needs; and financial advice. The distribution of responses is revealed in the box plots (Figure 8) and shows they felt that the support they received was better in some areas than in others. Thirty-seven per cent felt the support received for professional expectations was good and 32% felt it was adequate. A third thought that the support received on pedagogic skills was good and 40% thought it was adequate. Similarly, for curriculum knowledge only 21% thought it was good, whereas 47% thought it only adequate. In contrast, 42% felt the support in housing needs and financial advice was poor and 37% and 40% respectively thought support on housing and financial advice to be adequate.
Figure 8: Box plots of support received when first arrived in the areas of: professional expectations, pedagogic skills, curriculum knowledge, housing needs and financial advice (Source: OTTs survey data) Where: 1 = poor 2 = adequate 3 = good 4 = very good
There was variation amongst the three LEAs with the most number of OTTs working in their schools (Hounslow, Tower Hamlets and Waltham Forest). The OTTs in one of the LEAs felt that the support received for professional expectations was much better than those in the other two and the OTTs generally felt the same in relation to the support received for pedagogic skills and curriculum knowledge. However, for support on housing needs and financial advice, a much greater range in these responses was revealed for both LEAs. Indeed, in one of the LEAs no OTT felt that the support that they received in relation to these areas was very good (Figure 9).
(See third graph and key over on page 46.)
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Figure 9: Box plots of support received when first arrived in the areas of: professional expectations, pedagogic skills, curriculum knowledge, housing needs and financial advice for the three LEAs (Source: OTTs survey data) Where: 1 = poor 2 = adequate 3 = good 4 = very good
Of the OTTs surveyed, 93% had been involved in professional development activities whilst teaching in the UK. In one of the 15 LEAs, none of the OTTs reported being involved in any activities. For those OTTs involved in activities, the most common was found to be training days, with 91% having attended these. Further, 79% were found to have participated in courses, conferences or workshops and 62% have observed their colleagues. However, only 56% have had a professional development review and 50% ICT training. Further, 13% noted that they had also attended other professional development activities, including behaviour management training (n = 2), SATs courses (n = 3) and gifted and talented courses (n = 1).
5.2 Teaching in the UK

Decision to teach in the UK One hundred and thirty-five OTT respondents gave reasons for their decision to teach in the UK, and these included: desire to work/live in UK; professional opportunities; and life experience (see Appendix 19). Eighteen per cent of the OTTs wanted to work/live in the UK, with over half of these indicating that the pay/salary conditions was their motive; eight OTTs specifically wanted to live in London; one OTT felt that the UK was safer than his/her home country and another claimed to be interested in the culture. Fifteen per cent of OTTs gave professional opportunities as their reason, including professional development opportunities and greater availability of jobs than in their home country. Two thirds claimed life experience as their motivation; 58 noted a desire to travel; 55 wanted an experience; six needed a change of environment and for a further 14, there were family reasons. Most challenging Amongst those OTTs surveyed, 130 commented on what they found most challenging about teaching in the UK and seven themes emerged: students/pupils; teaching in the UK; National Curriculum and assessment; school; working/living in the UK; education system; and parents (see Appendix 20). Nearly 70% felt that the students were most challenging, over half of these remarking upon the lack of discipline and ensuing behaviour management problems. A further 27% of responses fell into the teaching in the UK theme and included excessive paperwork, onerous workload and different teaching methods. A quarter of OTTs remarked upon their lack of familiarity with the National Curriculum and assessment system and, in particular, how rigid they found it. School-related issues were cited by 15% of OTTs, with limited resources being the most common. Thirteen per cent felt that working/living in the UK was most challenging, and in particular low pay, long working hours and travel times. The education system was cited by 7% of OTTs as being the most challenging aspect of working in the UK; examples such as learning abbreviations and how and when to do things were mentioned. Finally, 3% of OTTs
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felt that lack of support and respect towards teachers and educational values were most challenging for them. Most rewarding Responses from 125 OTTs on the most rewarding aspect of teaching in the UK revealed six themes: students; teaching experience; teacher development; UK issues; new and cultural experiences; and school (see Appendix 21). Thirty-one per cent of OTTs found the students the most rewarding aspect of teaching and 27% felt that UK issues were the most rewarding, where 15 OTTs noted the salary, nine commented on the opportunity to travel, and six highlighted the school holidays. A quarter of OTTs thought that teacher development was the most rewarding aspect; 14 noted professional development and nine OTTs found it most rewarding to learn new teaching methods. There were also 22% of OTTs who felt gaining teaching experience the most rewarding aspect, where nine OTTs highlighted the value in experiencing a different teaching system. Over 20% of OTTs also thought that aspects of the school they were teaching in, where 11 OTTs reported that the resources available to them and 12 OTTs noted the excellent support of the staff and the headteacher were the most rewarding. Finally, 19% of OTTs highlighted that new and cultural experiences were the most rewarding about teaching in the UK, with 11 OTTs noting cultural experience the most. Advice to others considering teaching All the OTT respondents offered advice to others considering teaching in the UK and these were categorised broadly as: personal thoughts and attributes (35%); practical advice before arriving (12%); practical advice upon arrival (30%); and advice on schools, teaching and pedagogy (23%) (see Appendix 22). Personal thoughts by over a third of OTTs included comments such as: go for it, its great experience and its hard work. Practical advice before arriving in the UK included comments such as: get information on teaching in the UK, find out the full range of educational opportunities in London and have money in the bank. Practical advice once arrived in the UK included: read up on the curriculum and do the OTTP immediately. Finally, advice in respect of schools, teaching and pedagogy included: research school first (n = 9), and be prepared to deal with discipline and classroom management (n = 4).
5.3 Problems encountered

The OTTs surveyed were asked if they had sought any help from others whilst working in the UK in the following six areas: legal/contractual matters; social or emotional support; professional expertise; financial management; discrimination; and other problems. The 33 Local Association Secretaries and the Regional Officers were also asked if they had been approached by OTTs about problems they had encountered in these areas. Legal/contractual matters In the area of legal/contractual matters, 13% or 17 of the OTTs had sought help, 11 of these specified reasons that included: contractual; practical employment; school; and property. In relation to contractual issues, three teachers had required help with contracts, where two had been ended prematurely and one had been changed. On practical employment issues, two OTTs needed help with national insurance, tax and pensions; one wanted help with applying for a work permit; and another over pay after obtaining QTS. Legal issues in relation to school included problems resulting from an OTT refusing to take a school journey with a student after an incident; one for constructive dismissal; and one about the unprofessional behaviour of a headteacher. Finally, one OTT required legal help in relation to buying a property (see Appendix 23). The Recruitment of Overseas Trained Teachers
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Nearly 70% of the Local Association Secretaries reported that they had been approached by OTTs in relation to five areas: pay; QTS; discipline and behaviour; renewal of contract; and general contractual matters. For pay issues, these included disputes over pay scales subsequent to the award of UK QTS and nine cases in respect of QTS related to recognition of overseas qualification and enrolment onto the OTTP. Local Association Secretaries also reported contact with OTTs on discipline and behaviour issues (n = 3) and in particular with problems in the classroom. Advice was also given in the matter of renewal of contracts (n = 6), where some OTTs wanted to break their contracts (n = 3) and some had not been renewed (n = 2). Local Association Secretaries had also been approached in relation to general contractual matters (n = 9), such as terms and conditions of contracts (n = 1) and problems with short-term contracts (n = 1) (see Appendix 24). Two Regional Officers reported that they had been contacted by OTTs in relation to legal/contractual matters: in one case a New Zealand teacher wanted to stay one year more than their work permit allowed; another was an unfair dismissal case of a Black African teacher without UK QTS, employed by a school on a fixed-term contract and replaced when the contract ended. In respect of this latter case, the OTT had not understood the terms of the contract. The case was settled and the teacher received compensation. Social/emotional support It was found that 13% of the OTTs had received social/emotional support during their stay, 10% of whom specified the reasons, which included: three for stress; one for depression; four as a result of problems in school; two for problems with their own children; two for transitionrelated problems; and one after being mugged (see Appendix 23). A quarter of the Local Association Secretaries reported they had been approached by OTTs for social/emotional support in relation to: living in the UK; racial issues; and school issues such as settling in, feeling isolated and coping with a different culture. One Local Association Secretary had been approached by two OTTs with racial problems. Finally, social/emotional support was also sought by two OTTs in relation to school issues, when one was bullied by senior managers and another had a problem with a pupil (see Appendix 24). Financial management OTT responses indicated that 10% had sought help in relation to financial management: half being help for practical employment issues and the rest in relation to living in the UK issues (see Appendix 23). On the matter of financial management, 28% of Local Association Secretaries reported that they had been approached by an OTT. Reasons for being approached included problems with cost of accommodation (n = 4) and arrangements to bring over family (n = 1) (see Appendix 24). Professional expertise Interestingly, just over half of those OTTs surveyed (n = 72) responded that they had sought professional expertise and 53 specified their reasons which included help on the UK education system (n = 105); professional development and qualifications (n = 4); and school issues (n = 4). In relation to the UK education system, they sought support on planning (n = 34); curriculum (n = 35); assessment (n = 28); the UK system (n = 7); and completing documentation (n = 1). In relation to professional development and qualifications, two had sought help in respect of the OTTP and QTS (see Appendix 23). Over half of the Local Association Secretaries had been approached by OTTs on the issue of professional expertise. Four main areas were: workload (n = 7); planning and teaching (n = 5); pupil behaviour and discipline issues (n = 4); and professional competence where, in one example noted, an OTT was the subject of a capability procedure (see Appendix 24).
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Two Regional Officers had also been approached by OTTs, one in relation to professional expertise in 2002/03 and one with regard to competence matters in 2003/04. In 2002/03 one Regional Officer noted that they were approached by a female American OTT with an issue on QTS and pay scales. The Regional Officer reported that the problem occurred when the OTT encountered a delay in receiving UK QTS. The problem was fully resolved after 2 to 3 months and with a positive outcome: The secondary school gave her a one-year contract with the agreement that she followed the OTT Programme. Lack of knowledge of bureaucratic process by teachers, school, and to some extent LEA and university, led to delays in her being registered for the Programme. As a result, delay in her achieving QTS and moving onto qualified teacher scale. Issue complicated by cultural differences feisty, argumentative New Yorker trying to clarify her situation with a taciturn headteacher! Situation fully resolved after 2/3 months. QTS confirmed and teacher given permanent contract. The second Regional Officer reported that they had been approached by an OTT in 2003/04 in relation to competence matters. The Regional Officer noted that it was an ongoing competency procedure case involving a teacher from Russia. Other problems Amongst those OTTs surveyed, 35% (n = 48) also highlighted that they had encountered other practical problems since working and living in the UK, including: accommodation, such as lack of affordable housing (n = 9); living in the UK, such as getting a doctor/dentist and credit (n = 9); jobs in the UK (n = 2); practical employment issues such as national insurance problems (n = 9); school problems/issues such as lack of management support (n = 6); difficulties obtaining bank accounts (n = 11); approval of overseas qualifications for the OTTP (n = 5); and visa issues (n = 1) (see Appendix 23). A quarter of Local Association Secretaries also noted that they had been approached by an OTT. Reasons for being approached included issues of racism, sexism and cultural diversity (n = 1); general housing problems (n = 1); racial discrimination by students with senior management failing to support the OTT (n = 1); and bullying by management (n = 1) (see Appendix 24). Discrimination Amongst those OTTs surveyed, it was found that 20% (n = 27) had encountered discrimination whilst living and working in the UK. There were seven areas of discrimination encountered by these OTTs, which included: racial (n = 4); nationality (n = 2); and gender discrimination (n = 1). Nine OTTs also reported that they felt they were not treated the same as their UK colleagues, and two OTTs felt that students showed them less respect as they were from overseas. There were also four OTTs who felt discriminated against by the school and one OTT also noted that they were paid less than other teachers as they were from overseas (see Appendix 23). Just over half of these teachers reported the discrimination: five contacted their union/professional association; nine reported it to their school management; and five informed their recruitment agency. One teacher also reported it to a contact in their LEA and one to a senior colleague in the school. Two OTTs claimed that they were satisfied with the support and response received from their union. One of these teachers, who had experienced racism from his head, reported that he had: received nearly 1,000 compensation, but found the whole experience very humiliating The Recruitment of Overseas Trained Teachers
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Five out of nine OTTs who reported cases to their school management were also satisfied with the response. One OTT who reported racist remarks by parents and students was satisfied that: it was dealt with very well. Conversely, one OTT who perceived that they were not treated the same as UK teachers was not satisfied with the response from the school management. In addition, all five OTTs who informed their recruitment agency expressed their dissatisfaction with their response. An OTT who reported being undermined by negative remarks from the school staff added that they were: recognised as more professional since leaving the agency and now employed by an LEA. One Regional Officer had dealt with a case of racial discrimination in which a Zimbabwean OTT was employed through an agency to work in a school. The OTT felt that they were being racially discriminated against in school and approached the Regional Officer after a number of incidents including once when they had been asked not to teach a lesson but to clean the staffroom. The OTTs contract was with the agency and not the school. However, the case was settled before a tribunal and the OTT received 8,000 in compensation. Current trends The 33 Local Association Secretaries who were aware of OTTs working in schools in their Local Association were asked what they thought the current trend in relation to the number of reported cases was (see Appendix 25). Out of the 22 Local Association Secretaries who commented on this, just under half felt that the problems were increasing, and one observed: The problems will worsen as all teachers come under more and more pressure the time and commitment to support OTTs will just not be possible. Nearly a quarter of Local Association Secretaries thought that the problems were currently decreasing, one observing: [The area] has had a high turnover of staff. Overseas teachers have prevented major problems in schools. Turnover is slowing and overseas teachers will bear the brunt of any teacher loss Only one Local Association Secretary felt that there were currently no problems: No real evidence base lack of contact may be said to equate to no real problems. Three thought that the levels of problems were currently the same and a further three did not know the current levels of problems.
5.4 Support structures

In relation to support structures, all three high commissions and the British Council felt concerned that OTTs were not provided enough accurate, specific and detailed information at the point of recruitment. The British Council suggested that the main cause for concern was not just increased movement: One country is particularly aggrieved and disturbed, because the issue is not simply the stripping of teachers, its actually the betrayal of teachers, and the extent to which you can make a UK salary look extremely attractive in comparison to their countrys salary, and what they dont say is what it will cost you to buy a room, a flat. One high commission also felt that the recruitment agencies were economical with the truth in order to entice teachers to the UK:
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youll find recruitment agencies going to our country and telling the people a completely different story from what they are going to getthey will put on the table a number of good offers, which are never going to materialise once they get to the UKBetween 2001 and now Ive had roughly 20-25 cases. Another high commission also reported problems including: accommodation; status of families; types of leave of absence; working conditions; pay; national insurance; tax; and obtaining visas for families. It was also felt that OTTs had not, in particular, understood supply contracts: because on supply where there is work one day, then not the next day and then they could be out of work and the teachers didnt realise that was the contract. One agency, who offered to set up lodgings for OTTs, admitted the difficulty of arranging appropriate accommodation: different expectations and lack of comprehension of the cost of living: we are very aware that youve got that group who have an entirely different set of needswhereas a backpacker might be happy to be in a shared house with your own room, they want a house; to rent a house in London it will be about 2,000 dependingthey cant possibly conceive that the money that they are going to command is not going to cover thatso they would then go into accommodation, which they would not find appropriate, and then there are more problems because they are not settled at homeI think also sittingin oneof the countries, the salaries look incredibleyou can send all the lists in the world about living expenses for the week, but I dont think they recognise it and sothey go in at a lower level, still expect to be able to support the family and wont have the money to send back, so I think thats an enormous issue, and is my greatest concern. The other recruitment agency offered some practical support but not accommodation: We do an initial meet-and-greet where we will deal with practical things like bank accountsmedical facilitieswhere they should be looking for somewhere to live, we dont usually find them places, because thats part of the resilience factor, if you cant find yourself somewhere to live youre going to find it pretty hard to manage a classroom. The British Council reported information received from professional associations that OTTs did not realise what the schools they were recruited for would be like: they were not told about the schools to which they were comingI had that from the teaching unions out there, that it was not made very clear that they would be coming to some of the most difficult schools in London. One recruitment agency commented on the difficulties in communicating such information: its the sort of thing that you need to say several times for it really to get into their consciousness and on preparing OTTs to work in UK schools: it seems to me that the biggest issue is that education overseas in many cases is regarded in such a different light to the UK, and the expectations of a teachers role is so different, when they get here, what they were expecting just isnt the reality and thats the real challenge: how you actually prepare people for thatyou can say lets have more familiarisation coursesthey can certainly get themselves up to speed on things like the National Curriculumunderstanding the structure of the school andof the school day, but what they havent got is actual experience of being in an English school
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The issue of shared African-Caribbean heritage was also raised by the British Council, a high commission and one agency; it was felt that headteachers assumed this group would find it easy to manage African-Caribbean pupils, which was not the case, as the British Council reported: A serious issue was the assumption that because you share, and in some cases two or three generations back, a similar heritage means that the African-Caribbean teachers can cope with young African-Caribbean Londoners, and the Caribbean teachers were just appalled, and totally out of their depthsThe teacher doesnt want to admit that they are out of their depth, the senior management doesnt want to insult this apparently experienced teacher and so you get this mismatch, and as a result there were some quite serious difficulties and there was a sense thatbut you must understand because you are also from the Caribbean. One agency also perceived there was a general misconception that supply teaching would be easy: I think theres a huge misconception about supply teachingpeople forget that its an extremely hard joband if youve got no experience of the English system and youve got perhaps different expectations of pupil behaviour, youre going to have a really hard timeI think heads perhaps at one point saw overseas teachers as an answer to their prayers and I think now are more nervous of recruiting an overseas teacher. I think some have had really good experiences, but most have had really bad experiences. One high commission noted the lack of induction that OTTs received and the surprise that the OTTs experienced at the cultural differences: Now imagine a teacher arriving, spend half a day being told what schools are like and sent to a school only to find that kids are running all over the placethese teachers who are accustomed to seeing kids sitting down and listening and learningand cant manage that and the shock of itits two different cultural experiences The British Council felt that some LEAs were more responsive than others in providing induction: Some LEAs just thought, stick them in a class and theyll do fine, otherstook the trouble to try to get together a very comprehensive package of training and supportAt the point where problems were huge, we had local authorities knocking on our doorWhat we did do, was to work with a number of local authoritiesin terms of induction arrangements and support arrangementsWe talked about the different roles that people within schools need to haveI think that some of them used it and some of them didnt Both recruitment agencies offered induction programmes to OTTs on the National Curriculum and the education system, and also ran evening and weekend courses on issues such as behaviour management. Although one of the agencies admitted that attendance was not good. As an example of good practice one recruitment agency worked in conjunction with an LEA: the LEAset up an in-service training programme, which it ran every Saturday morning, leading to QTS, so they were supported materially by us, and the LEA provided the resources to give them good in-service trainingit worked extraordinarily well However, the necessity for continued support throughout the year was noted by a number of stakeholders. The British Council sensed that this was not always well understood:
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a lot of the LEAs thought that if they gave them lots of support in September that was all they needed and didnt recognise that actually they were going to need even more support in November and that was when the trough hit Continuous monitoring systems, including exit interviews, to ensure both OTT and school were satisfied was an area in which one recruitment agency admitted a weakness. Stakeholders also highlighted the issue of schools preparedness to support OTTs: almost all teachers will get themselves into some sort of muddle at some timeand there are schools who willsay get rid of this person, and its not that theyre a bad teacherif it was a British teacher they would be counselled and supported and they would move on, I think that overseas teachers can be treated as second-class citizens in our schools The recruitment agencies also emphasised that in addition to professional support, OTTs needed a range of pastoral support mechanisms throughout their stay, such as advice about accommodation, travelling and finances; all of which could, if left unresolved, impact upon the OTTs ability to perform well in the classroom. They also stressed the issue of social isolation; one agency ran social meetings. One high commission also identified this as an issue: Those with a strong support system here find it easierI think that those with family support in UK survive better The DfES mentioned the similarity between the teacher training courses in Australia and New Zealand and the UK system. One of the recruitment agencies thought that Australian teachers were viewed more positively than other OTTs, a perception confirmed by the British Council: weve had from schools information thatthat group (Australians) is highly effectivethey understand the requirements of a curriculum such as oursWeve not had any feedback that theres been particular problems with this groupTheyre a good deal, heads love them, the agencies love them, everybody laughs all the way to the bank. Interestingly, two high commissions also noted the distinctions made between Australian teachers and those from the Caribbean countries. One high commission felt that this was an issue of racial discrimination and even perceived that Australian teachers were paid more: There is a serious issue about racial discrimination about whos a good teacher. Why is it that Australian teachers are regarded as better teachers than black teachers?They also dont get paid as much as Australian teachers even though they may be more experienced. The British Council felt that there was a need for information presented to OTTs, via a website or a pamphlet, to be accurate, precise and related directly to issues they would encounter. In addition, a recruitment agency suggested a video link with a classroom in the UK: to do a video link, where they can actually live observe a class, becauseif you take a video youre going to take the bestor even if you decide to take something which shows a flavour of some of the difficulties, its not the same as seeing something live This recruitment agency also felt that a key issue for them was the preparation of schools to receive OTTs, and not just how the OTTs themselves were prepared. The DfES representative expressed the concern of the Government regarding the need of the Savannah Group to develop a protocol, but nevertheless stressed the need for greater collaboration and involvement between the schools, LEAs and recruitment agencies.
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6. Employing Overseas Trained Teachers

6.1 Attitudes and perceptions about recruitment
Those headteachers (n = 195) who had employed OTTs on fixed-term and/or on supply and short-term appointments, responded to a series of general statements in relation to the recruitment of OTTs. The box plots show the range in responses for each of the 12 statements (see Figure 10). Just over half of these headteachers agreed with the statement that OTTs were only employed in schools because there were not enough UK-trained teachers. A clear majority of headteachers (83%) also agreed that OTTs provided a valuable service in filling the gaps in schools. However, in relation to the statement that some subjects could not be sustained without the use of OTTs, half of the headteachers (49%) felt neutral about this; 28% agreed; and 23% disagreed. Three-quarters of the headteachers agreed that OTTs add value to the school community, and only a small minority (3%) disagreed. However, only 8% felt that OTTs were more professional than newly trained UK teachers, where 37% of headteachers disagreed and over half (55%) were neutral. The box plots reveal the large range of responses to the statement that OTTs are only in the UK as part of a working holiday. Just over 40% of headteachers were unsure if OTTs were only in the UK as part of a working holiday, and around one third either disagreed (31%) or agreed (29%). Over a half of the headteachers disagreed that OTTs were more likely to face discrimination than UK teachers, and 36% were neutral. Around one-third of headteachers agreed that OTTs made more demands on schools than UK trained teachers, and nearly half were undecided. Twenty per cent of headteachers agreed that OTTs were surprised about the poor state of UK schooling and 32% disagreed. Nearly 90% of headteachers agreed that OTTs benefited from working in UK schools, and none of the headteachers disagreed with this statement. Two-thirds of the headteachers thought that the recruitment agencies had been responsible for the growth in numbers of OTTs, and just less than 30% were undecided. However, just less than half of the headteachers agreed that recruitment agencies did a professional job and 46% were undecided.
Figure 10: Box plots for the 12 statements (Source: headteachers survey data) Where: 1 = Disagree 2 = Neutral 3 = Agree
The Local Association Secretaries (n = 44) were also asked for their views on a series of general statements in relation to the recruitment of OTTs. The box plots reveal the range in responses for each of the 13 statements (see Figure 11 overleaf).
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Over 60% of the Local Association Secretaries agreed with the statement that OTTs were only employed in schools because there were not enough UK trained teachers and 55% also agreed that OTTs provided a valuable service in filling the gaps in schools. Just over half (52%) agreed that OTTs added value to the school community; however, 46% were undecided about this statement. With regard to the statement that some subjects could not be sustained without the use of OTTs, nearly half were undecided, 36% agreed and 16% disagreed. Just over half of the Local Association Secretaries disagreed with the statement that OTTs were more professional than newly trained UK teachers and 46% were undecided. Over 40% of the Local Association Secretaries agreed that OTTs were surprised about the poor state of UK schooling, 46% were neutral and only 14% disagreed. Over half of the Local Association Secretaries also agreed that OTTs benefited from working in UK schools, 46% were undecided, and none disagreed. In relation to the statement that OTTs were only in the UK as part of a working holiday, just over half of the Local Association Secretaries were undecided, around a third disagreed and just over a quarter agreed. Interestingly, the box plots revealed the large range of responses in relation to the statement that OTTs were more likely to face discrimination and harassment than UK trained teachers. Nearly half of the Local Association Secretaries (46%) agreed with this statement, just over a quarter (27%) disagreed and just over a quarter (27%) were neutral. Further, 43% agreed that OTTs make more demands on schools than UK trained teachers, and the same percentage were undecided. Moreover, in relation to the statement that school practices with regard to OTTs were fair, over two-thirds of the Local Association Secretaries were undecided, only 23% agreed and 9% disagreed. Nearly 60% of Local Association Secretaries believed that the recruitment agencies had been responsible for the growth in numbers of OTTs, and over one-third were undecided. However, only 7% agreed and 7% disagreed that these recruitment agencies did a professional job, and the majority were neutral (59%).
Figure 11: Box plots for the 13 statements (Source: Local Association Secretaries survey data) Where: 1 = Disagree 2 = Neutral 3 = Agree
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6.2 Perceived skill levels

The headteachers surveyed (n = 182) who employed OTTs on fixed-term contracts rated OTTs against UK trained teachers on the following four areas: curricular knowledge, subject knowledge, pedagogic skills and classroom management. Nearly three-quarters perceived OTTs subject knowledge to be the same as UK trained teachers. Similarly, 65% of headteachers also believed that OTTs pedagogic skills were the same, however, 21% felt that they were with better. Fifty four per cent of headteachers felt that OTTs curriculum knowledge was the same as UK trained teachers, although 37% believed that they were worse. Finally, for classroom management, 58% of headteachers felt that the OTTs were the same as the UK trained teachers, and 23% believed that they were worse. The 148 headteachers who had recruited OTTs on supply and short-term contracts also rated overseas supply teachers on their knowledge and skills against UK trained teachers. Fifty seven per cent of the headteachers felt that overseas supply teachers were the same as UK trained teachers in relation to their curriculum knowledge; 64% in relation to subject knowledge; 58% in relation to pedagogic skills; and 55% in relation to classroom management. Around a quarter of the headteachers also felt that overseas supply teachers were worse than UK trained teachers in these areas (33%; 24%; 21%; and 20% respectively). However, 14% of headteachers felt that overseas supply teachers pedagogic skills were better than UK trained teachers and 17% also thought that they were better in their classroom management than UK trained teachers. The headteachers (n = 182) who had employed OTTs on fixed-term contracts were asked to state if they felt that certain countries produced better teachers than were produced in this country. A third of headteachers thought that teachers from Australia were better, followed by New Zealand (29%), South Africa (7%) and Canada (7%). Interestingly, 12% of headteachers believed that there was not a country that produced better teachers than were produced in this country and 11% did not know (see Figure 12).
Figure 12: Graph to show countries which seem to produce better teachers than this country (Source: headteachers survey data)
The Local Association Secretaries surveyed (n = 44) were asked to rate the OTTs in general against UK trained teachers in four areas: curricular knowledge, subject knowledge, pedagogic skills and classroom management. The box plots revealed the range in responses for each of the four areas (see Figure 13). Thirty-two per cent of Local Association Secretaries believed that OTTs curriculum knowledge was the same as UK teachers and 36% believed classroom management was the same. In
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comparison, just under 60% of the Local Association Secretaries thought that OTTs subject knowledge was the same as UK trained teachers and half thought pedagogic skills were the same. Interestingly, only 16% of Local Association Secretaries perceived that OTTs were worse than UK teachers for subject knowledge and 21% for pedagogic skills. However, 41% of Local Association Secretaries believed that OTTs classroom management was worse, and 36% felt that curriculum knowledge was worse. Around one quarter of the Local Association Secretaries felt that they were unable to rate the OTTs against UK-trained teachers in the areas of: curriculum knowledge (30%); pedagogic skills (27%); subject knowledge (23%) and classroom management (23%). Only one Local Association Secretary perceived that OTTs were better than UK trained teachers for curricular knowledge, subject knowledge and pedagogic skills. Further, no Local Association Secretaries felt that OTTs were better than UK trained teachers in relation to classroom management.
Figure 13: Box plots of OTTs rated against UKtrained teachers in the areas of: curriculum knowledge; subject knowledge; pedagogic skills and classroom management (Source: Local Association Secretaries survey data) Where: 1 = Not able to rate them 2 = Worse than UK trained teachers 3 = The same as UK trained teachers 4 = Better than UK trained teachers
The 33 Local Association Secretaries were also asked their views on the preparation of OTTs to work in schools (see Appendix 26). Out of the 25 Local Association Secretaries who commented on this, 56% (n = 14) felt that there was a lack of preparation of OTTs to work in schools with one Local Association Secretary commenting: Very poor like NQTs there should be a full, informed and frank induction period. Only 8% (n = 2) felt that the OTTs were prepared well to work in school, where one Local Association Secretary also commented on a programme set up in their area: A planned programme of introduction is available for new staff centrally organised. Further, 8% (n = 2) also felt that OTTs preparation to work in school varied, where one Local Association Secretary commented: Varies very much from school to school and agency to agency. Often many promises made but unfulfilled.
6.3 Cost and benefits

A range of responses given by headteachers (n = 182) in relation to problems encountered with employing OTTs was revealed in nine different areas (see Figure 14). On the issue of work permits, over half (59%) of the headteachers stated that they never had problems, with only 21% noting occasional problems. Over a third of headteachers also reported that they never had problems with OTTs in relation to subject knowledge (37%), discipline issues (45%) and pedagogic skills (47%), although, just under a third reported that they occasionally had problems with these areas (29%, 24%, and 27%, respectively). However, the box plots revealed that responses from headteachers in relation to problems with knowledge of the National Curriculum were more varied. Over a third (37%) of headteachers occasionally had problems, a quarter reported that they frequently had problems, 19% never had problems and 18% rarely had problems. The Recruitment of Overseas Trained Teachers
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Figure 14: Box plots of problems with employing OTTs in the areas of: work permits; subject knowledge; discipline issues; knowledge of National Curriculum; pedagogic skills; ability to relate to staff, pupils and parents; and ability to settle down in the UK (Source: headteachers survey data)
Where: 1 = Never 2 = Rarely 3 = Occasionally 4 = Frequently
Over half of the headteachers also noted that they had never experienced any problems with OTTs ability to relate to staff (64%); pupils (57%); or parents (54%), and further, around one quarter reported that they rarely had problems (25%; 25%, and 28% respectively). Similarly, in relation to OTTs ability to settle down in the UK, over half (56%) of the headteachers had never experienced any problems; nearly a third (29%) had rarely experienced any problems and 12% experienced problems occasionally. The headteachers surveyed (n = 182) commented on the advantages of recruiting OTTs into schools and revealed four areas: practical employment issues; OTTs contribution in teaching; OTTs qualities; and OTTs contribution to the school and UK education system (see Appendix 27). Nearly half of these comments made by headteachers (45%) concerned OTTs contribution to school and the UK education system, where 17% believed that the cultural and ethnic diversity made to staff by employing OTTs was an advantage. However, 13% of headteachers felt that there was no advantage in employing OTTs. Other common advantages in this area included: a wider perspective to the curriculum and teaching strategies (8%); OTTs had new ideas (8%); and OTTs overall contribution to school (10%). In the second area, OTTs qualities, nearly one-third of headteachers (29%) believed that this was an advantage, where 6% of headteachers noted three different qualities about OTTs which they found particularly advantageous: motivation; hardworking; and usually more positive. Practical employment issues were the most advantageous for 20% of headteachers, with OTTs being able to fill gaps (12%) being the most common. Further, 8% believed that OTTs enable full staffing; and 3% felt that OTTs were advantageous in filling shortage subjects. Finally 12% of headteachers felt that the contribution OTTs made to teaching overall was an advantage. Eight per cent of headteachers thought that OTTs were well trained and a further 2% also noted three other particular areas that they felt were advantageous: very experienced; professional; and had good subject knowledge. The headteachers surveyed (n = 182) highlighted the disadvantages of recruiting OTTs into schools (see Appendix 28). Four themes were revealed, namely: practical employment issues; OTTs contribution in teaching; school and community issues; and OTTs behaviour and length of stay. Firstly, just over a third of headteachers believed that OTTs contribution to teaching was disadvantageous, where 66 headteachers felt that OTTs lacked specific UK knowledge. Some headteachers also felt that issues such as classroom management (n = 12), planning (n = 3) and language (n = 2) were also disadvantages in relation to OTTs contributions to teaching.
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Just over one-third (37%) of headteachers also thought that practical employment issues were a disadvantage when employing OTTs. The most common issues in this area were found to be: induction requirement for OTTs (n = 18); and OTTs qualification status (n = 13). Interestingly, 36 headteachers stated that there was no drawback in employing OTTs. The third area related to school and community issues (17%), where 31 headteachers commented on school issues, such as OTTs lack of long term commitments to the school (n = 12) and 7 headteachers commented on community issues which included OTTs difficulty in adapting to the different culture (n = 3). Finally, 9% of headteachers felt that OTTs behaviour and length of stay were disadvantages, and related to issues such as leave and holidays (n = 10) and returning home (n = 8). Amongst the headteachers surveyed, 174 gave their views on the recruitment of OTTs as a staffing resource for schools in England (see Appendix 29). Over half these headteachers (55%) felt that employing OTTs was a good option, and gave comments such as: very good to have a steady turnover of motivated teachers and fill vital role provides schools with teachers. Further, 9% noted that the recruitment of OTTs was good as a short-term solution, stating: fine as interim but not forever and short-term answer, but need to ensure training enough UK teachers. Interestingly, only 6% of headteachers viewed the recruitment of OTTs as a necessary option, where one headteacher commented that OTTs have kept the school afloat. A further 6% of headteachers also noted that the recruitment of OTTs was not their first option when recruiting new members of staff. Five headteachers highlighted that they would rather have a pool of UK trained teachers and only 3% believed that it may be advantageous for the UK, but they were concerned for these teachers home countries. Six headteachers also noted that there was great variability in OTTs and that some found it difficult teaching in the UK. Interestingly, four headteachers believed that some OTTs from particular countries fit in better, for example one headteacher commented: Australian teachers seem to fit in best. There were also three headteachers who felt that OTTs needed training before entering the system and a further five headteachers who commented that it was not ideal to recruit teachers from overseas. The 33 Local Association Secretaries were also asked what their view was of the recruitment of OTTs to work in schools (see Appendix 30). Out of the 25 Local Association Secretaries who commented on this, 40% (n = 10) felt that it was necessary to recruit teachers from overseas into schools, with one Local Association Secretary commenting, Last resort, should not be taken away from homeland, children/schools, and another also noting that it is: A desperation measure. Further, 16% (n = 4) of the Local Association Secretaries also felt that it was an acceptable strategy, where one Local Association Secretary commented: If they can do the job and prevent other teachers having to cover classes or children being sent home then so be it. However, one Local Association Secretary felt it was an unacceptable strategy: What was happening to some of our members was modern-day slavery. There have been some improvements. We do not want to see people exploited. Twelve per cent (n = 3) of the Local Association Secretaries also felt that it was beneficial to schools, however, 8% (n = 2) also noted that recruiting teachers from overseas caused extra work for schools: Members find that overseas teachers need support in many areas in school no time or money is invested by the school. Far too ad hoc and goodwill. In contrast, one Local Association Secretary felt that the recruitment of OTTs had little impact on the schools in their areas as this recruitment was at a minimum level. Finally, 16% (n = 4) reported that in their local association there was no particular view of the recruitment of OTTs to work in schools: No strong views either way numbers at present are limited.
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7. Discussion
7.1 Discussion of findings
1. Three-quarters of the 136 OTTs in our sample originated from the three southern hemisphere countries (South Africa, Australia and New Zealand) in almost equal numbers. About half of the remainder originated from North America and the other half from various other areas such as Africa and Commonwealth Caribbean states. Similar to the gender spilt of the UK teaching force, 75% of OTTs were female and 25% male. Contrary to the common perception of OTTs as being recruited straight from training (e.g. House of Commons, 2004), the age profile of the sample shows that 16% were under 25, 40% between 26 and 30, a further 19% between 31 and 35, and the remaining 25% were over 35. This profile was further evidenced by the fact that OTTs also had much greater teaching expertise than was generally perceived: just over 30% had less than 4 years, whereas over 25% had over 11 years teaching experience. Further, 65% of OTTs were primary trained and 35% secondary; there was little out-of-phase teaching. Interestingly, not only was primary not a shortage area but in the secondary phase English and PE, neither of which were shortage subjects, were the most common subject specialisms, followed by science and maths. For those assessed on the OTTP, 24% were primary and the most common secondary specialisms were English (18%), maths (13%) and science (13%). 2. Of the eight LEAs targeted initially, and the further seven sampled in a later tranche, the ones with the highest density of OTTs were Hounslow, Tower Hamlets and Waltham Forest, Haringey, Greenwich and Newham. Data from the headteachers confirms this distribution: of the 277 schools that responded, 182 had employed 1,155 OTTs between them since September 2001. Thus, our OTTs were largely located in inner-city London schools, although outlying clusters, such as the one in Greenwich, were located. This is in line with the school workforce data (2003), however, the data are not easy to disaggregate given that overseas trained teachers are included in two groups: Overseas Trained Teachers and Instructors without Qualified Teacher Status and Teachers on Employment-Based Routes to QTS including those on the Overseas Trained Teacher Programme. This data also does not include specific information about the nationality of these teachers. Further data on the issue of UK work permits provides only a limited amount of information, since many potential recruits do not need work permits, including: all EU citizens; Commonwealth citizens with UK ancestry (or for certain Commonwealth countries working holiday visas); and partners and dependants of people who have work permits. 3. Of the OTTs in the sample, 75% were recruited by agencies, nearly 50% of which comprised just six agencies (TimePlan, Capita, Masterlock, Select, Protocol and Dream); schools and LEAs recruited just over 20%. Just over half of the OTTs were recruited for work in particular schools and 40% for supply work. Overall, 40% had permanent contracts compared with 27% who were on an annual contract; these figures suggest that a percentage of teachers working as supply teachers were in fact contracted to work for a period of at least a term, probably in a single school. The average stay of OTTs overall was found to be seven terms. Around three-quarters of headteachers claimed they recruited OTTs because there were no UK teachers available at the time. 4. The information received by OTTs at the point of recruitment was rated: good or adequate in respect of employment status (74%), post/job (69%) and pay and working conditions (65%); but less satisfactory in respect of social conditions where over a third thought it was poor (35%). With regard to discipline and standard of living, the quality of the information was regarded as very variable. Retrospective analysis of the accuracy of the information by OTTs showed that they thought it was good or adequate in all categories except social conditions, where 26% deemed it poor, and discipline where nearly 30% thought the accuracy of the information had been poor. Additional
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information that OTTs would have found useful included school-related information (50% of OTTs that responded), practical employment issues such as pensions, national insurance and tax (36% of OTTs that responded) and the UK education system (24% of OTTs that responded). 5. The induction support OTTs received was rated adequate or good in respect of pedagogic skills by 83%; and professional expectations and curriculum knowledge by nearly 70%. Less well thought of and rated adequate or poor by about 80% were housing needs and financial advice. It was clear from teachers and other stakeholders that continued support from schools was needed throughout the first year and such support was found to be inconsistent across the sample. The support needed was not just, or perhaps even centrally, about professional and pedagogic issues but about practical things and life skills in a foreign country. 6. Nearly 60% of the OTTs in the sample had the status and salary of unqualified teachers, and were not working towards QTS, despite their overseas qualifications and the fact that 67% had over 4 years experience as teachers. Only 15% of OTTs had QTS and a further 26% were currently working towards being assessed on the OTTP. The assessment process itself was considered by the OTTs, and most of the other stakeholders, to be timeconsuming, onerous and demeaning. The British Council also raised the issue of the similarity of many of the teacher training programmes in Commonwealth countries, and suggested that in order to facilitate assessment, a mapping of equivalences could be undertaken by the TTA in order to identify areas, if any, in which particular countries may be lacking in respect of UK QTS. It was also reported that information about obtaining QTS was not widely publicised; OTTs had to be recommended by their school for the programme, which would involve the school in giving considerable extra time and effort, and ultimately have financial implications. The OTTP is currently under review and it is planned to devolve it to DRBs. This review may help decrease the burden to schools, but since the TTA neither intends to evaluate the programme nor make any fundamental changes the issues surrounding UK QTS may continue to exist. The prospects for significant change seem even further depressed since GTCE, the regulating body for teachers, do not apparently see this as an area in which they have a meaningful contribution to make in respect of policy or practice; when they were asked to participate in our research they felt unable to assist. 7. Amongst the OTTs surveyed, 44% were members of professional associations in the UK. The pattern of affiliation was significantly different in primary and secondary in that there was a lower frequency of union membership in the primary phase. Thirty nine per cent of primary OTTs were members of a union as opposed to 55% of secondary OTTs. Within these two phases there were again significant differences: in primary 14% were members of NASUWT, whereas 84% were members of the NUT; in the secondary phase 74% were members of NASUWT, and 22% were members of the NUT. Less than half of the 10 Regional Officers and less than 20% of 251 NASUWT Local Association Secretaries responded to the questionnaire and of the latter 75% reported an awareness of OTTs in their area. The data provided by Local Association Secretaries with regard to their perceptions of the phase and subject specialisms of OTTs in their area appeared at variance with the OTT and headteacher survey data and the OTTP data. 8. The problems encountered by OTTs were categorised as professional (53%), practical/social or emotional (48%), legal/contractual (13%), financial management (10%) and discrimination (20%). Examples of professional issues reported by OTTs focused centrally around the UK education system (planning, assessment, curriculum, workload and discipline issues). Over half of the NASUWT Local Association Secretaries who responded had been approached by OTTs about professional issues. Social/practical/emotional issues reported by OTTs included stress, depression, transition to the UK and practical issues The Recruitment of Overseas Trained Teachers
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centred largely around accommodation. living in the UK, getting a bank account, etc. Over a quarter of Local Association Secretaries who responded reported that they had been approached by OTTs in relation to these issues. Legal and contractual problems encountered by OTTs included ending and changing contracts, and legal issues in relation to contracts and work permits. Over half of the NASUWT Local Association Secretaries had been approached by OTTs about legal and contractual matters mainly in respect of issues relating to QTS status and general contractual matters. Twenty-seven OTTs (20%) claimed to have encountered discrimination, of these nine felt they were not treated the same as UK teachers, a further four felt they were discriminated against by school staff, and six claimed racial discrimination. Only one NASUWT Local Association Secretary reported an episode of discrimination that had been brought to their attention. Overall, 40% of the Local Association Secretaries who responded thought problems experienced by OTTs were increasing and 25% thought they were decreasing. 9. The headteachers thought that OTTs were the same as UK trained teachers in respect of: subject knowledge (74% of heads); pedagogic skills (65%); classroom management (58%) and curriculum knowledge (54%). Twenty one per cent of headteachers thought that OTTs pedagogic skills were better than those of UK trained teachers, however, 37% thought curriculum knowledge, and 23% thought classroom management, were worse than UK trained teachers. It has to be remembered that OTTs in the main were teaching in challenging schools in which UK teachers were unwilling to work and their competence in classroom management skills should be read in this context. 10. The impact of recruitment was varied in its effects on source countries. In some, the migration to the UK did not affect the teacher workforce markedly, whereas in others overall loss of teachers to the UK, America and other destinations had a serious impact upon the education systems. This was not only with respect to the well-reported depletion of human resources in developing nations but also with respect to teacher workforce in developed countries. The impact of teacher recruitment also varied over the time of the study. The overall numbers of OTTs remained fairly static over the three-year period. The recruitment pattern from the southern hemisphere was maintained but in 2001 the traditional peak of Australian teachers seemingly did not materialise and there was a simultaneous influx of teachers from Commonwealth countries. This caused concern and ultimately led to the formulation of the Savannah Accord and the development of a draft protocol. The Commonwealth Teacher Recruitment Protocol was subsequently revised and adopted at a ministerial meeting in the UK on 1 September 2004. This Protocol aims to: Balance the rights of teachers to migrate internationally, on a temporary or permanent basis, in pursuit of a range of career possibilities, against the need to protect the integrity of national education systems, and to prevent the exploitation of the scarce human resources of poor countries. The Protocol also seeks to safeguard the rights of recruited teachers, and the conditions relating to their service in the recruiting country. (www.thecommonwealth.org) Whilst the Protocol was initially drawn up as a result of issues which arose in the Commonwealth countries, not all OTTs originate from these countries and the Protocol should therefore be widened to include all countries, due to the nature and increase in teacher migration and the proposed General Agreement on Trades and Services. The DfES representative agreed that the recruitment organisations, governments, LEAs and other key stakeholders should be working together in OTT recruitment practices. All non-governmental stakeholders (high commissions, British Council, and Commonwealth Secretariat) called for a more managed approach to OTT recruitment. Suggestions included: sabbatical leave from country of origin, and joint teacher training venture. Both the OTTs and the key stakeholders also noted the disparity between information that OTTs received
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when recruited and the reality of working and living in the UK, where the key stakeholders noted a need for more meaningful information. One recruitment agency proposed that a live link with a class would give OTTs a real idea about classrooms in England.
7.2 Further research

To more fully understand the recruitment and needs of OTTs, this study requires further elaboration in a number of ways. Firstly, this research base would be strengthened by a large scale national survey providing more comprehensive and accurate data on the OTTs currently working and living in the UK. Secondly, in relation to OTTs experiences of living and working in the UK the present study elicited interesting findings and further in-depth case studies could be carried out in order to fully explore these areas and strengthen the current findings. Further, the study revealed that the traditional concept of the young backpacker coming to the UK to travel and teach was frequently not the case and therefore the reasons why experienced OTTs also come to the UK and the impact this has on their home countries might also usefully be further investigated. The study also revealed that OTTs were employed in non-shortage subject areas and sometimes in LEAs which did not necessarily have a teacher recruitment problem. Further research exploring schools reasons for the employment of OTTs might usefully be undertaken in order to fully explore why headteachers recruit OTTs, whether they may prefer to employ OTTs rather than NQTs and how they utilise OTTs with many years of experience. Union representatives views could also be considered with regard to how they balance their commitment to both NQTs and OTTs. Fourthly, given that the OTTP is being devolved to DRBs, OTTs experiences in the process of gaining UK QTS and the uniformity of assessment across the DRBs warrants investigation, particularly in relation to how DRBs manage OTT isolates, where the DRBs themselves may have had little or no experience with such teachers. Finally, the study revealed that OTTs have a number of different union affiliations. Further indepth research could be carried out in order to fully understand the reasons why and how OTTs make their choice of union and to find out what OTTs think their union in the UK should be specifically doing for them. In addition, an exploration into their union affiliations in their home country would perhaps also help to facilitate the development of alliances with professional associations to develop reciprocal arrangements for membership.
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8. Recommendations
NASUWT should lobby the Government and other stakeholders with a view to: 1. Ensuring that more comprehensive and detailed data is collected about OTTs; for example, the present umbrella category of OTT and instructors on form 618G should be disaggregated, as should the work permit data, to distinguish between school teachers and others. Ensuring that the data is subsequently used to inform the strategic planning of the workforce; exploring why, for example, a large percentage of OTTs recruited were in non-shortage areas, the highest numbers being recorded for primary and secondary English. 2. Recognising the instability of the current free market in teacher supply and seeking to ameliorate the effects upon the countries of origin from which OTTs are drawn. The DfES and others should be proactive in managing recruitment by, for example, negotiating contracts with traditional source countries to supply, or even train, teachers for schools in England. This is of particular importance for countries such as those in the Caribbean, where the teachers leaving make up a substantial minority of the teaching force. 3. Acknowledging the strategically significant position recruiting organisations (recruitment agencies, LEAs, headteachers) hold. A regulative body of key stakeholders should be convened to monitor the implementation of an Ethical Code of Conduct in accordance with the Commonwealth Teacher Recruitment Protocol. Thus guaranteeing that recruiting organisations provide both prospective recruits minimum standards of information relating specifically to their particular contexts and contracts, and source and recruiting country with full data regarding recruitment. Further, the GTCE, as the teachers regulative body, should be encouraged to be proactive in respect of these matters. 4. Ensuring that OTTs, upon their arrival in the country, are provided with an induction package targeted to their individual needs, and receive continued support with regard to professional, social and emotional issues. 5. Keeping under close review the management and monitoring of the OTTP, particularly in view of the proposed devolution of the programme to DRBs. The TTA in its current review of the programme should consider making the process leading to overseas QTS both easier to negotiate and more responsive to individual histories. Consideration should, for example, be given to: raising the awareness of newly arrived OTTs about the qualification; simplifying documentation; allowing OTTs themselves to apply for the programme; and fast-tracking OTTs with considerable experience and/or seniority in their country of origin. 6. Exploring the possibility of mapping, against QTS standards, the equivalence of teacher training programmes, through an organisation such as NARIC. This would be particularly beneficial for countries which traditionally supply high numbers of OTTs, in order to identify areas of similarity and difference so that the current lengthy assessment processes, related to the programme, could be simplified. NASUWT National Executive should consider the following: 7. Compiling a more detailed and comprehensive database of its members in order that it can identify particular groups, collect information in respect of them, and, where necessary, target services and support more effectively. 8. Reviewing its professional development programmes for staff and lay activists in respect of awareness of OTTs. Whether in areas of high density or relative isolation of OTTs, NASUWT Representatives should be alerted to the needs and the issues they confront, such as, for example, the racial discrimination reported by 20% of the sample surveyed.
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9. Reviewing its organisational structures with a view to facilitating access and encouraging enrolment of OTTs. This would be particularly useful in respect of the website where, for example, pages should be developed specifically for members from overseas, offering information and support and the facility to contact each other through discussion forums. It would also be valuable to have a free access area for prospective recruits to visit before or at the point of recruitment. 10. Reviewing its policies in the light of the recent increase in the migration of teachers in the global context and the proposed General Agreement on Trades and Services. It should consider making strategic alliances with international bodies and professional associations, such as Education International, to develop reciprocal arrangements for membership and transfer of information to meet the needs of the international teacher labour market.
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References
Anderson, O. [2002, January 11] More teachers sought NYC, UK agencies coming to recruit again [9 paragraphs] Jamaican Gleaner [Online]. Available: http://www.jamaica-gleaner.com/ gleaner/20020111/lead/lead1.html [accessed 2004, February, 24] Asmal, K. (2004, April 19) South Africas brain drain dilemma [19 paragraphs] BBC News [Online]. Available: http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/world/africa/3629657.stm [accessed 2004, April 20] Baker, M. (2001, January 13) Truth about teacher shortages [36 paragraphs] BBC News [Online]. Available: http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/education/features/mike_baker/1114515.stm Baker, M. (2002, March 15) UK poaching Jamaican teachers [27 paragraphs] BBC News [Online]. Available: http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/education/features/1871706.stm Barlin, D. and Hallgarten, J. (2002) Supply teachers: symptom of the problem or part of the solution? Management in Education 16 (1) pp. 18-21 Beckett, F. (2003, January 28) And theyre off [19 paragraphs] The Guardian [Online]. Available: http://education.guardian.co.uk/teachershortage/story/0,7348,883383,00.html [accessed 2004, February 24] Britten, N. (2003, September, 11) Head goes to Australia for staff The Daily Telegraph pp. 4 Bubb, S. (2003) Helping Overseas Teachers get QTS Managing Schools Today Feb/Mar 2003 pp. 40-44 Crace, J. (2002, January, 28) My family in Africa send me money to get by [17 paragraphs] The Guardian [Online]. Available: http://education.guardian.co.uk/teachershortage/story/0,7348,883390,00.html [accessed 2004, February 24] Craig, M. (2002) Far and Wide Managing Schools Today Nov/Dec pp. 54-59 Curtis, P. (2003, October 29) Overseas ministers demand action over recruitment [15 paragraphs] The Guardian [Online]. Available: http://education.guardian.co.uk/schools/story/0,5500,1073512,00.html [accessed February 23] Dean, C. (2002, November, 1) Overseas staff prop up London primaries [14 paragraphs] Times Educational Supplement [Online]. Available:
http://www.tes.co.uk/search/search_display.asp?section=Archive&sub_section=News+%26+opinion&id=371315& Type=0 [accessed 2003, March 22]
Department for Education and Skills (DfES) (2003) Statistics of Education: School Workforce in England 2003 Edition, London: TSO Eason, G. (2002, April 1) Plunder of worlds teachers denounced [28 paragraphs] BBC News [Online]. Available: http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/education/1905414.stm Government Office for London (2004) Teacher Recruitment and Retention Unit Newsletter March 2004, London: GOL Government Office for London (2003) Teacher Recruitment and Retention Unit Newsletter October 2003, London: GOL Hansard (2003, July 17) Houses of Commons. Written Answers to Questions. Volume No. 409 Part No. 431Column 496W. Available:
http://www.publications.parliament.uk/pa/cm200203/cmhansrd/vo030717/index/30717-x.htm
HMI (2002) Recruitment and Retention of Teachers and Head Teachers: Strategies adopted by LEAs (London, Crown Copyright)
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House of Commons (HOC) (2004, March 9) Minutes of evidence taken before International Development Committee Migration and Development [Online]. Available:
http://www.parliament.the-stationery-office.co.uk/pa/cm200304/cmselect/cmintdev/uc79-vii/uc7902.htm
[accessed 2004, March 3] Hutchings, M., Menter, I., Ross, A. and Thomson, D. (2003) Teacher supply and retention in London: key findings and implications from a study carried out in six boroughs in 1998-9. In I. Menter, M. Hutchings and A. Ross (eds) The Crisis in Teacher Supply: Research and Strategies for Retention, Stoke-on-Trent: Trentham Kato, K. (2001) Cultural aspects of classroom effectiveness: overseas educated teachers in Australian classrooms Journal of Australian Federation of Modern Language Teachers 36 (2) 30-38 Le Metais J. (1989) Foreign Colours Education 15 September 1989 pp. 231-232 Lombar, A.M. (2004, March 23) Special Assignment Lessons Abroad [Television Broadcast] South Africa: South Africa Broadcasting Corporation Mowbray, C. (2001) Governments overseas aid Junior Education December pp. 12-13 National Association of Head Teachers (2003) NAHT Survey Shows Depth of Staffing Crisis in London Schools [Online]. Available: http://www.naht.org.uk/news/web_news_view.asp?ID=1166 National Foundation for Education Research (NFER) (2001) Annual survey of trends in Education: Teacher recruitment and retention [Online] Available:
http://www.nfer.ac.uk/research/documents/Recruit.pdf
New Zealand Ministry of Education (2003) Monitoring Teacher Supply 2003 [Online]. Available: http://www.minedu.govt.nz/index.cfm?layout=document&documentid=8074&data=l [accessed: 2004, February 25] No Name (2001, January 19) Children back after teachers are found [13 paragraphs]. BBC News [Online]. Available: http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/education/1124732.stm No Name (2001, January 19) Rules eased for overseas teachers [28 paragraphs]. BBC News [Online]. Available: http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/education/1126652.stm No Name (2001, February 2) African teachers rescue London schools [28 paragraphs] BBC News [Online]. Available: http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/education/1144758.stm No Name (2002, March 15) Concern for overseas teachers in the UK [14 paragraphs] BBC News [Online]. Available: http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/education/1874820.stm No Name (2002, November 12) Capital cost of supply teachers [27 paragraphs] BBC News [Online]. Available: http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/education/2451023.stm No Name (2003, September 9) Rising teacher numbers disputed [17 paragraphs] BBC News [Online]. Available: http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/education/3094054.stm No Name (2001, March 13) Teacher agencies struggle to fill gaps [16 paragraphs] BBC News [Online]. Available: http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/education/1218668.stm No Name (2002, October 30) Teacher shortage in capitals schools [18 paragraphs] BBC News [Online]. Available: http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/education/2375097.stm No Name (2001, August 30) UK Looting teachers from poor [16 paragraphs] BBC News [Online]. Available: http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/education/1517524.stm No Name (2001, February 16) UK behind South African brain drain [9 paragraphs] BBC News [Online]. Available: http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/world/africa/1173620.stm
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Ochs, K. (2003) A Summary of Teaching at Risk Teacher Mobility and Loss in Commonwealth Member States Commonwealth Secretariat: A study commissioned by the Commonwealth Secretariat Education Section OFSTED (2002) Annual Report of Her Majestys Chief Inspector of Schools: Standards and Quality in Education 2001/2002 Teacher training, development and supply [Online]. Available: http://www.ofsted.gov.uk/publications/index.cfm?fuseaction=pubs.summary&id=3201 Protocol for the Recruitment of Commonwealth Teachers (2004) [Online]. Available:
http://www.thecommonwealth.org/Templates/STPDInternal.asp?NodeID=36544 [accessed: 2004 January 20]
Recruitment and Employment Confederation (2002) Quality Mark: Supporting quality supply teaching [Online]. Available: http://www.rec.uk.com/press-centre/qm.htm Sellgren, K. (2002, March 28) Third World schools sucked dry [19 paragraphs] BBC News [Online]. Available: http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/education/1898800.stm Stuart, J., Cole, M., Birrell, G., Snow, D. and Wilson, V. (2003) Minority Ethnic and Overseas Student Teachers in South-East England: An exploratory study [Online]. Available:
http://www.sussex.ac.uk/usie/rc/final_rep_tta.pdf
Sutherland, H. and Rees, S. (1995) Wasted lives? Access to the profession for Overseas Trained Teachers Adult Learning September 1995 Teacher Training Agency (2003a) How to qualify as a teacher in England A guide for Overseas Trained Teachers, London: TTA Teacher Training Agency (2003b) QTS skills tests in numeracy, literacy and information technology report on national results data (Academic Year 2001/2), London: TTA Wilson, J. and Sarre, W. (1993) Overseas teachers and assistants Babel 28 (3) 20-25
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Glossary
ATL DfES DRB GTCE HMI HOC ICT LEA MFL NARIC NAHT NASUWT NFER NLS NQT NNS NUT OFSTED OTT OTTP QTS PRU REC SATs TTA
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Association of Teachers and Lecturers Department for Education and Skills Designated Recommending Body General Teaching Council for England Her Majestys Inspectors House of Commons Information and Communications Technology Local Education Authority Modern Foreign Language National Academic Recognition Information Centre (United Kingdom) National Association of Head Teachers National Association of Schoolmasters Union of Women Teachers National Foundation of Educational Research National Literacy Strategy Newly Qualified Teacher National Numeracy Strategy National Union of Teachers Office for Standards in Education Overseas Trained Teacher Overseas Trained Teacher Programme Qualified Teacher Status Pupil Referral Unit Recruitment and Employment Confederation National Key Stage Tests formally known as Standard Assessment Tasks Teacher Training Agency The Recruitment of Overseas Trained Teachers
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APPENDICES
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59
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Are you an overseas trained teacher? Have you been trained in a non-EU country? Do you intend to return 'home'?
If you answer yes to these three questions, we need your views.
Teaching is becoming a more international profession. Many teachers are now spending at least a part of their career outside of their own country. A team of researchers at the University of Manchester has been commissioned by NASUWT to carry out research into the recruitment and needs of overseas trained teachers.
We are interested in your views on the information that was provided to you when you first came to the UK. We are also interested in your current experiences as a teacher and your views on the support provided to you since starting work in this country.
We will of course ensure your complete anonymity and the confidentiality of any information that you provide. We will also be carrying out interviews, and if you would be willing to participate please give your contact details at the end of the questionnaire, indicating that you wish to be interviewed. All completed questionnaires received by 20 March will be put into a prize draw and the winner will receive a 100 voucher. Whether you wish to provide your details or not we would be grateful if you could return the completed questionnaire before 20 March 2004 in the freepost envelope provided.
Thank you for taking the time to fill out the questionnaire.
Return to: Olwen McNamara, Humanities Building, University of Manchester, FREEPOST NAT12243, Manchester, M13 1ZG.
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63
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Appendix 5: Interview Schedules

a) Key Stakeholders - Interview Schedule 1. Why do you think that teachers from come to the UK? 2. In which areas of the UK do you believe most teachers trained in are currently teaching in the UK? 3. How many teachers from do you think came to the UK this academic year? 4. Have you been involved in any casework issues arising from concerns by teachers from who have worked in this country? 5. What is the main source of recruitment? By agency, etc.? 6. In your opinion, do you think that the ethical guidelines set out in the protocol/codes of practise, developed in response to the Savannah Accord will improve the standards and quality of the recruitment process? 7. Where do you think these teachers receive most of their support? What kinds of support do you think that they receive? What other kinds of support do you think they should be receiving? 8. How easy is it for a teacher from to fit in to teaching in the UK? 9. How easy is it for a teacher from to adapt to living in the UK? 10. What is the short-term and long-term impact on your country's education system? (Does it benefit the educational, social and economic development of ?) 11. What do you think is the current trend of movement of teachers from to the UK?
b) NASUWT Regional Officer - Interview Schedule 1. Do you know how many members who joined this academic year are OTTs? 2. What is your view of the recruitment of OTTs to work in schools? 3. What is your view of the preparation of OTTs to work in schools? 4. Could you explain the procedure, if a member comes to see you with a problem. 5. What kinds of issues do you advise OTTs on, in general? Are these different to issues you advise UK TTs on? 6. Could you explain about the cases you have dealt with? 7. What do you think is the current trend of problems with OTTs? 8. Do you think overall, OTTs are satisfied with the information and support you provide them? 9. What other support and information do you think that OTTs specifically require? 10. What improvements do you think could be made to enable OTTs to receive full and satisfactory support from NASUWT?
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c) Recruitment Agencies - Interview Schedule Recruitment: Which areas of the world do you recruit teachers from? Why? How many teachers have you recruited so far in this academic year? Would you say that you have recruited more or less than this time last year? What is your recruitment process? (local people in different countries, send out people) Are the recruits from overseas placed in any particular specific subject specialisms? Which ones? Which areas do they go to in the UK? Why? How do the new recruits from overseas obtain a work permit? Are these mostly working holiday visas? Have you had any difficulties with teachers coming in and wanting to change schools re work permits?
Information, Induction and Support: What kinds of information do you provide before recruitment to your potential new recruits? (on area, national curriculum, on school, living in the UK, financial issues, housing issues, discipline issues in schools, working conditions, employment status.) In what format is this information provided? (training day, booklets, in interview) When new recruits from overseas arrive to the UK, what information do you give them in their initial induction? Do you provide any ongoing support to your recruits? What kinds of support do you provide? (training programmes, advice, teaching resources, etc)
Issues and Needs: What kinds of issues do recruits from overseas seek your advice on? (financial, contractual, discrimination, etc) What do you think are the main needs of new recruits from overseas? (social/emotional support, financial management, professional expertise, understanding of area, discipline, working conditions, etc)
Adaptation: How well do you think that teachers from overseas are able to acclimatise to teaching and living in the UK? Do you think that some recruits fit in better in some schools than others? Why is that? (Depending on where from, expectations, better discipline, other OTTs, greater support in school etc.) Do you think that some schools are easier to fit in than in other schools? Why is that? Do you find that most recruits complete their contracts? If not, why not?
Monitoring, Feedback and Responsibility: What monitoring processes or quality assurance procedures do you have in place, if any? What kind of feedback do you receive from the schools/LEA that you place your recruits into? The Recruitment of Overseas Trained Teachers
69
Where does your responsibility to new recruits from overseas end? (Do you find, recruit and receive one-off payment, 10% cut of wages and responsible for length of contract?)
Future Trends: What do you think are the current and future trends in relation to the recruitment of teachers from overseas? (Are you still recruiting successfully?)
d) Teachers Focus Groups Interview Schedule Introductions Where are you from? Where do you teach? What subject/s do you teach? How long you have been here? How were you recruited? What kinds of contracts are you on? What is you professional status? (With/without UK QTS?) What information did you receive when you were recruited? (Info on pay, position, discipline in school, working conditions, standard of living etc.) Did you have an induction? How accurate was the information you received? Did you receive any support in relation to curriculum knowledge, discipline, housing needs, professional expectations? What other things would you have liked to have received when you were recruited (support and information)? Have you tried to get on the OTTP? Easy/difficult, problems? Was it useful? What did you learn? What training have you been involved in? (Ongoing support?) Have you encountered any problems since working in the UK? How similar is teaching in the UK to your prior expectations? Are you enjoying your experience? Anything else you would like to say about working and living in the UK?
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Appendix 6: Qualitative Thematic Analysis

Qualitative thematic analysis was carried out on the interview data set. Meaning is central to thematic analysis and the aim is to understand the content and complexity of those meanings and hence to explicate the teachers versions of their feelings about their experiences as a teacher in the UK. This type of analysis is a way of identifying the themes that emerge from interview data and allows for common themes to be explored from the qualitative interview data. The following procedure was carried out in order that the key themes and subordinate themes could be developed. 1. The first transcription was read several times and anything interesting or significant about what the teachers were saying was noted on the right-hand margin. The transcripts were read a number of times to ensure that no potentially important themes had been missed. Some of these comments were in vivo, i.e. the works were taken from the interview text itself, so that the comments offered a true representation of what the student said. 2. The left margin was used to note potential arising themes, i.e. key words that capture the intuitive essence of what is written emerging from the comments on the right-hand margin. 3. The emerging themes were listed on a separate sheet of paper and the connections between them were explored. These themes were then placed on file cards and then transferred onto the computer. They were also marked on the text so that they were easily traceable back to the file cards and vice versa. 4. The same procedure was carried out for the next transcription, until all transcriptions had been analysed. The themes expanded as each transcript was explored. 5. Once all the file cards had been completed they were sorted into groups in order that these subordinate themes fit into the appropriate key theme. These key themes and subordinate themes describe the essence of the data.
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Appendix 7: LEAs and OTTs Experience
LEA not specified Hounslow Tower Hamlets Waltham Forest Haringey Greenwich Newham Hackney Brent Lambeth not specified Wokingham Kensington and Chelsea Barnet Islington Bexley East Sussex Bromley Surrey Essex Kent Manchester Wiltsh ire Poole Peterborough Cumbria Oxfordshire Warwickshire East Riding Bury Hampshire Total
Table %
Tea chers experience newly experienced (just qualified and 1-3 years) 6 6 4 1 1 3 3 1 4 3 2 1 2 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 2
1.5
Total experienced (11+ years) 6 4 2 4 3 2 2 18 14 11 10 10 9 7 7 5 4 4 4 4 3 3 3 3 3 2 2 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 136

100.0
fairly experienced (4-10 years) 6 8 3 5 5 3 2 4 1 1 2 2 2 1 2 2 2 1
2 1
2 1 1
43
31.6
55
40.4
1 36
26.5
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Appendix 8: Subject Specialisms Trained to Teach and Teaching in the UK

a) Subject Specialism Trained to Teach
Subject English and Drama (or with other) PE (or with other) Science (or with other) Maths (or with other) Art and Design (or with other) Design Technology (or with other) Music Geography (or with other) MFL ICT (or with other) Cross-curricular Missing Total
b) Subject Specialism Teaching in the UK
Subject English and Drama PE (or with other) Science Maths Geography (or with other) Design Technology Music MFL ICT (or with other) Special Education Needs Cross-curricular Behaviour Missing Total
Frequency 9 8 8 6 2 1 1 1 1 1 1 3 42
Per cent 21.4 19.0 19.0 14.3 4.8 2.4 2.4 2.4 2.4 2.4 2.4 7.1 100.0
Frequency 10 7 6 5 2 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 5 42
Per cent 23.8 16.7 14.3 11.9 4.8 2.4 2.4 2.4 2.4 2.4 2.4 2.4 11.9 100.0
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Appendix 9: Nationality Groups and LEA
LEA Hounslow Tower Hamlets Waltham Forest Haringey Greenwich Newham Hackney Brent Lambeth Not specified Wokingham Kensington and Chelsea Barnet Islington Bexley East Sussex Bromley Surrey Essex Kent Manchester Wiltshire Poole Peterborough Cumbria Oxfordshire Warwickshire East Riding Bury Hampshire Total
Australia 8 3 2 2 2 3 2 2 1 1
New Zealand 2 7 2 3 1 2 1 2 1 4
South Africa 6 1 6 3 2 3 3 1 1 2 2
Canada
Caribbean Countries
Africa
America 1
Eastern Europe
Other 1
Total 18 14 11
1 1 1 3 1 2 1 1
2 1 1 2
10 10 9 7 7
1 1 1
5 4 4 4
1 1 2
1 1 3
1 1 1
4 3 3 3 3 3
3 3 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 32 35 36 8 5 4 7 2 7 1
2 2 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 136
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Appendix 10: Maps to Show Location of Schools who have Employed OTTs
a) London Area and the South
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b) London
76
c) Manchester
77
Appendix 11: Number of Overseas Teachers for each Country and Year and LEA
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Appendix 12: Local Association Secretaries Perceptions of OTTs Subject Specialisms for which they are Employed in Schools
Subject Specialism Maths Science Modern Foreign Languages English Physical Education Design Technology Art Religious Education Business Humanities Drama ICT
Frequency 14 13 10 9 4 4 2 2 1 1 1 1
Local Association Secretaries Perceptions of OTTs Country of Origin

Year Australia New Zealand 7 13 12 32 South Africa 8 10 13 31 Canada Caribbean Countries 3 4 9 17 Africa Other Comwealth Countries 2 4 7 13 USA Eastern Europe 4 5 8 17 Other Total
2001/02 2002/03 2003/04 Total
10 18 17 45
4 4 9 17
2 9 10 21
2 4 5 11
1 0 1 2
43 71 93 207
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Appendix 13: Maps to Show the Number of OTTs on the OTTP (Jan 2001-March 2004)
a) Across the UK
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b) Distribution of OTTs on OTTP in London (Jan 2001-March 2004)
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Appendix 14: OTTP Assessment Type and Year from January 2001 to March 2004
Assessment Type Assessment Only 2001 2002 2003 2004 Total 267 320 321 127 1,035 Assessment with Induction Assessment 214 414 746 300 1,674
Total
481 734 1,067 427 2,709
Subject Specialisms assessed on OTTP from January 2001 to March 2004

Subject Primary - No Specialism English Mathematics Science Design & Technology Other Physical Education ICT Music Modern Languages Geography History Advanced Early Years Art Business Studies Drama (including Dance) Religious Education Humanities Psychology Citizenship Media Studies Economics Social Science/Studies PSHE Total 2001 11 108 82 59 19 59 22 18 16 13 10 16 14 11 7 4 10 1 2002 57 198 102 111 33 47 35 22 20 18 17 15 30 8 5 8 5 1 2003 413 136 130 124 41 5 39 32 22 26 26 18 9 12 17 7 2 3 2 2 2004 168 43 42 51 19 15 16 11 9 11 8 10 11 4 6 1 1 1 Total 649 485 356 345 112 111 111 88 69 66 64 57 44 38 35 33 28 5 4 3 2 2 1 1 2,709
1 1 734 1 1,067 427
481
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Appendix 15: Reason for Asking Union for Support
(Numbers are frequency mentioned by OTTs) Pay Issues Incidents with Students advice and support for an incident with student
1
Constructive Dismissal constructive dismissal re: racial abuse and social exclusion 1
Contractual Issues ending contract
General Advice advice on tuition fees for daughters university 1 advice on insurance claim bicycle stolen from within 1 school
Financial Help
Bullying
re: pay - to get paid to scale 1
financial help to beef up resources for accommodation

1
bullying 1
when got QTS lea offered 800 more as M3 when entitled to 1 M6
hit by bin thrown by student, incident logged, wanted to know rights on refusing journey with 1 student had to teach a boy who beat daughter up - head did nothing 1
re: contract was temp now perm, and also advice on workload
leave issue 1
at nonmaintained school not eligible for key worker housing 1
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Appendix 16: Other Support those OTTs with Union Affiliation would like their Union to Provide
(Numbers are frequency mentioned by OTTs) Teacher Qualification Status Support in arranging and help in achieving QTS 9 Make getting QTS much simpler 3 Training Information on Unions Pamphlets through agencies on unions 1
5
Workshops on curriculum and how to implement Workshops on how to do paperwork

1
Information on Teacher Issues Rights and responsibilities of teachers 4
General Information
Overseas Teachers Representation Guidance on Have stronger accommodation voice within and housing 5 school to get senior management to listen to union 1 Information on national insurance 1 Special section devoted to support and representation of overseas teachers 2 More genuine support 1
Social Events Social gatherings to meet other overseas teachers 1
To know who they all are 3
Pay scales
Get system to recognise overseas teacher experience 2
Course on legislation of protecting self 1 More training 1
Advice on schools
Info on pension schemes 1
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Appendix 17: Headteachers Reasons for OTTs Non-completion of Contracts
Family and Personal Reasons Family Reasons 9
Personal Reasons Home sickness
Went to different country Decided to return home
OTTs ability in UK OTTs school schools choice Weak subject Left London knowledge and discipline issues 1 Incompetent 3 Moved to other school Unable to reach required standard 3 within school Underdeveloped class management 4 skills Couldnt cope with strain of challenging 1 pupils Couldnt cope with discipline issues in 2 school
Other
1
Took up non-teaching 1 job Maternity leave and child care issues Difficulty in gaining QTS
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Appendix 18:
Practical Employment Issues School day routine 5 1 Behaviour planning 4 Key dates 8 Instruction 1 1 Social contacts 5 1 Information about school 5 1 Information about area/location (any soc/econ probs, good areas(not London)) 3 Basic school policies1 School conditions Position of school within league table 1 Appraisal procedure 1 1 3 1 Discipline 1 Expectations for planning 2 5 Recognition of postgraduate degree Possible expenses to expect/actual cost of living 1 1 5 Teacher Status Travel costs Unions 4 5 2 1 Further training Travelling in London Banks 4 Time can work as supply 1 1 Honest information 8 3 OTT programme and QTS 5 Detailed job description Accommodation NHS Support 3
UK Education Issues
School Issues
Teacher Status and Qualifications
Information on Jobs
Living in UK issues
UK Services
Other issues
National Insurance
Special Needs System
Tax
Education System
Financial Advice
National Curriculum
2 Any information 1
Pensions
Ofsted
Availability of Jobs 1 Real opportunities available (i.e. low income areas) 1
Pay Rates/ Pay Scales
Sats
Rights and Responsibilities
Literacy and Numeracy Strategies
Working Conditions
Rules and Methodology for Teaching Certain Subjects 1
Other Information OTTs would have found Useful
Extra paperwork
(Numbers are frequency mentioned by OTTs)
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Appendix 19: Reasons for Deciding to Teach in the UK
Want to Work/Live in UK
Better standard of living 4 Safer in UK than in home country 1 Live in London 8 Culture 1 Salary 23
Professional Opportunities
Professional development Availability of jobs in UK Hard to find jobs in home country Opportunities Better prospects 17 5 4 3 1
Life Experience
Change of environment Experience Travel Family reasons Meet new people 6 55 58 14 1
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Practical Employment Issues School day routine 5 1 Behaviour planning 4 Key dates 8 Instruction 1 1 Social contacts 5 1 Information about school 5 1 Information about area/location (any soc/econ probs, good areas(not London)) 3 Basic school policies1 School conditions Position of school within league table 1 Appraisal procedure 1 1 3 1 Discipline 1 Expectations for planning 2 5 Recognition of postgraduate degree Possible expenses to expect/actual cost of living 1 1 5 Teacher Status Travel costs Unions 4 5 2 1 4 Further training Travelling in London Banks Time can work as supply 1 1 Honest information 8 3 OTT programme and QTS 5 Detailed job description Accommodation NHS Support 3
UK Education Issues
School Issues
Teacher Status and Qualifications
Information on Jobs
Living in UK issues
UK Services
Other issues
Appendix 20:
National Insurance
Special Needs System
Tax
Education System
Financial Advice
National Curriculum
2 Any information 1
Pensions
Ofsted
Availability of Jobs 1 Real opportunities available (i.e. low income areas) 1
Pay Rates/ Pay Scales
Sats
Rights and Responsibilities
Literacy and Numeracy Strategies
Working Conditions
Rules and Methodology for Teaching Certain Subjects 1
Most Challenging Issues about Teaching in the UK
Extra paperwork
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Appendix 21: Most Rewarding Issues about Teaching in the UK
Students
Teaching Experience Experience a different teaching system9 People and children working with 6 Sharing culture and background experiences with students 4 Variety of work
3
Teacher Development Professional development 14 Learning new methods 9 Training opportunities
Issues about UK The salary

15
Students development 21 The students

7
New and Cultural Experiences Cultural experience 11 Cultural diversity
School
Travelling
Excellent support of staff and headteacher 12 Resources 11
Seeing children from challenging backgrounds succeed 4 Children's enthusiasm 2 Students feeling successful 2
Holidays
4
New experience
3
Facilities
Being challenged
3
UK gateway to Europe 2 Cheap travel to Europe 2
Variety of students 1 Smaller number of pupils 1
Working with children from different backgrounds 3 Helping children achieve 1 Range of exam courses 1 Range of teaching topics 1 High standard of education 1
Learning how to deal with difficult students

1
Meeting others from around world 3 Learning about different cultures

2
ICT availability 1
Acknowledgement of ability not taken for granted 1
Tutorial/p astoral role 1 ESL development 1
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Appendix 22: OTTs Advice to Others Considering Teaching in the UK
Personal Thoughts and Attributes must be committed go for it experience is great think carefully
5 6 5 4
Practical advice before arriving in the UK have teaching experience
understand diff from home 2 choose agencies wisely 1 get info on re teaching in UK and understand what to expect 4 get well informed 1
it's hard work be flexible Be open-minded don't judge on 1st few days
6 4 2 2
be prepared for a challenge but rewarding work 4 will get easier 2
cur is similar to Australia 1 find out full range of educational opportunities in London 2 come with someone can get lonely 1 pack warm clothes 1 have money in bank 2
Practical advice once arrived in the UK ask for a mentor to help out with any arising issues 2 read up on the curriculum 10 ask others for advice 7 know what expected of you especially if supply, don't get taken advantage of 1 do OTT programme immediately 4 workout pay issues 1 calculate living costs to UK pay 3 make sure you can be paid at QTS status if possible 1 sign contract prior to working with school 1 if staying more than 2 yrs join pension 1 understand contract 1
Advice on schools, Teaching and Pedagogy find out what group you're teaching and how school works 3 research school first 9 find a good school 3 be well informed of discipline, social conditions and living in London 1 make careful choice of school 3 talk to teachers who know class 1 specific info re structure of discipline procedures in school 1 don't just take any school 1 join more than 1 agency if supply 1 be prepared to deal with discipline and classroom management 4 class management tough 1 get induction period in school 1 establish routines and behaviour management immediately 1 be prepared lots paperwork 1
be tough
chance to develop professional 2 be strong 1 Need a lot of patience 1
if come over as family need to get info about childcare 1 get bank account before go 1 pay is not indic ative of experience 1 be aware of commitment to get QTS 1 secure work before coming over 1
be prepared for everything pay is rubbish don't teach in London
2 1 2
don't expect it to be like you've been told 3 don't do it 3 if not paid for experience - don't bother 1 lower your expectations 1
join union 1 be a class assistant 1st to see how things work 1 do a term of supply to get familiar with schools as can vary 8 do supply - better money, less responsibility 1 find agency to get you a job, then find your own school 2 do supply until more aware of cur and assessment 1 do a trial before signing to make sure like school first 1 try to get a permanent job in a good area 1 try short working holiday 1st if lack of respect/discipline too much, go 1 do not take a job until get here see where it is 1
don't expect too much motivation from kids 1 practice A-level material 1 be prepared - have folder w, worksheets etc for all levels bring favourite resources
1 1
refresh yourself on behaviour support and classroom didactics2 be prepared for longer school days and no time to go over things 1 students can be very rude 1
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Appendix 23: OTTs Reasons for Seeking Help

a) For Legal/Contractual Matters
Contractual Issues Problem with head ending teachers contract
1
Practical Employment Issues Confusion re national insurance, pension , amount of tax etc 1 Applying for permit
1
Contract was on temp now on perm 1 Ending contract

1
Offered a rubbish salary after getting UK QTS 1
Legal Issues in relation to School Legality of refusing to take school journey with a student after an incident 1 Constructive dismissal racial abuse and violence from staff 1 General professionalism and behaviour of headteacher 1
Property Buying a property

1
b) For Social/Emotional Support

Stress Had to see doctor for stress, asked lea for support got none 1 Problems in School Support from senior colleagues
1
Support for Child For son 1
Depression People at church helped when depressed and disillusioned with agency 1
Mugging After mugging

1
Transition to UK Transition period 1
Counseling due to stress 1 Relaxation and stress management

1
Grief counselling for child death in class 1 Bullying 1
Help with childminding

1
Social
As a result of student's abusive behaviour 1
c) For Financial Management

Practical Employment Issues Pensions 4 Tax 1
Living in the UK Issues High Cost of Living Childrens University Fees Mortgage Banking Arrangements Investments
1 1 1 1 1
92
d) For Profession Expertise

UK Education System
Planning - needed help from colleague for planning for diff yr groups6 - team planning meetings1 - help with planning27 Curriculum - help with curriculum33 - help with foundation stage curriculum1 - help with geography curriculum as given co-ordinator responsibility and have no knowledge1 Assessment - help with assessment27 - help with setting coursework1 UK System - help with how system works7 help with how to complete all documents 1
Professional Development and Qualifications

Professional Development Courses - school based professional development course1 - professional development1 OTT Programme and QTS - help with OTT programme1 - QTS1
School Issues
Help with General School Issues 1
Help with Discipline Problems 1
Workload - union advice on workload1 - help with workload requirements1
e) For Other Problems Encountered Whilst Living and Working in the UK

Accommodati on Difficulty with finding appropriate and affordable housing 7 Difficulty in getting mortgage and buying house
2
Living in UK Getting a doctor 2
Jobs i n UK Lack of work
Practical Employment Issues Pension opt 1 out
School Problems/Issues Lack of support from management 4 Work load

1
Bank Problems Difficulties in getting bank account 10 Difficulties in getting financial assistance 1
Qualifications Getting qualification approved for OTT programme 2 Getting QTS in SEN school 1 Perceived that OTT treated differently (even if UK QTS) 2
Visa Issues Difficulti es with visa for visit to EU 1
Standard and c ost of living

3
Lack of appropriate work 1
Overtaxing, on wrong tax code 2 Difficulties getting national insurance number 4 Extending 6 month working holiday visa 1 Agency late paying wage 1
Lack of UK credit history 3 Problems with Social Security Office 1
Level of professionalism with st udents and staff 1
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f) Discrimination Encountered by OTTs

Racial Discrimination
Nationality discrimination
Gender discrimination
Perception that not treated same as UK teachers
Less of Respect from Students
Pay
School Discrimination
racial comments 1
discrimination about teacher's nationality 1
gender discrimination 1
racism from head, ma de life very difficult 1
agency would not take CV as only want South African, New Zealand, Australian and American teachers 1
Overseas trained teachers not sent on professional development courses to same extent as UK teachers 3 not counted as good as English colleagues, treated as unqualified 4
students show less respect than to UK teachers 1
pay relating to qualifications and number of years teaching 1
students believing overseas trained teacher was not trained in UK so unable handle them 1
racial abuse and violence from a male staff, gave derogator y 1 remarks racist remarks made by students and parents 1
lack of acknowledgement of professional skills/training that can contribute to 2 school
Overseas trained teachers more highly skilled than 1st head - head felt threatened 1 undermined and negative remarks by staff when overseas trained teacher was supply teacher 1 harassed by head of department 1
low results blamed on overseas trained teacher as mitigating circum stances

1
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Appendix 24: Local Association Secretaries Reasons why Approached by OTTs

a) For Legal/Contractual Matters
(Numbers are frequency mentioned by Local Association Secretaries)
Pay issues (02) - pay, promised QTS rates 2 (2/03) OTT got QTS was still being paid on wrong scale 1 salary assessment 1 QTS issues (03) GTC questioned QTS 7yrs after starting job 1 (03) QTS enrolment issues 3 grumbles re: age 1 Discipline and behaviour issues problems with classroom behaviour and dis cipline 3 Renewal of contracts (02) 1yr contract not renewed wanted comp 1 yr contract ended, not warned wouldn't be renewed 1 wanted to break contract 3 General contractual matters (03, 04) work permits 1 contractual matters 2
problems with recognition of overseas teacher qualification 4
competence procedure 1
problems with shortterm contracts, unaware of procedures 1 use of fixed-term contracts 1
UK term dates not coinciding with NZ term dates 1 (03) terms and conditions 1 problems with agency with salaries and conditions of service 1 Aus OTT felt contract unfair 1
b) For Social/Emotional Support

Living in UK settling in, homesickness 2 coping with different culture 1 coping with UK, winter in Britain (particularly Africans) 1 feel isolated 2 Racial Issues (03) racial problems from neighbours 1 (03) landlord refused to do work on house as foreign 1 School issues bullied by senior managers 1 problem with a pupil 1
c) For Professional Expertise

Planning and teaching planning - particularly short-term 1 Workload curriculum overlo ad, lack of support 1 Pupil behaviour and discipline issues behaviour problems with UK secondary school pupils 1 Overseas teachers competence capability procedure invoked by school re: prof expertise 1
needed assistance to develop planning 2 some issues over what expected to do as unqualified teachers 1 class delivery 1
teaching styles, workload meetings 1 (03) high workload compared with UK trained 1 problems with heavy workload 4
pupil behaviour, National Curriculum, pupil reluctance 1 SA OTT discipline issues with, student wanted union to take parents to court 1 behaviour management 1
one re: comp of OTT by head of dept resolved in school 1 knowledge of National Curriculum and assessment inadequate 1
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d) For Financial Management

accommodation costs problems 4 costs at home 1 arranging to bring family 1 family came over without funds 1 banking 1 tax 1
e) For Other Problems

behaviour management 1 teacher found to be international terrorist - agency not checked 1 some diff getting onto OTT prog - some schools slow at doing 1 travel to and from UK, issues with, being here 1 racial discrim by stus, smt failure to support professionally 1 two issues of racism, sexism + cultural diversity 1 general housing problems 1 bullying by management 1 not given QTS although been awarded it and been paid on scale 1
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Appendix 25: Local Association Secretaries Views on Current Trend of Levels of Problems
Problems increasing
problems increasing seen by management as second class, stop gaps 1 increasing supply as only source in highcost area 1 reports in media seem to indicate increasing use 1 getting worse 1
Problems decreasing
turnover slowing, OTTs will bear brunt of any teacher loss 1 LEA now not using as many, especially from SA 1 seems to be better but shortages have reduced 1 the more that come, fewer problems as expertise built on 1 more teachers recruited to solve short-term problem 1
Problems the same

about the same 1
No problems
no real evidence base lack of contact may equate to no problems 1
Unknown
no trend in this area 1
steady/low - have few OTTs but not an in ner city area 1 same each year, area does not attract high numbers 1
varies from school to school 1 unknown 1
problems will worsen - as all teach come under more press 1 increasing 1 big problem with recruitment and retention - short in spec subs + head level 1 more problems for all teachers 1 short of supply teachers - OTT fill gap 1 OTTs not given factual info, then picked up as casework 1
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Appendix 26: Local Association Secretaries Views on the Preparation of OTTs to Work in Schools
Lack of preparation seems that they get no special before or after arriving 1 minimal, most work done within school, LEA tries but too many 1 Prepared planned programme of intro is available for new staff, centrally organised 1 2 known were fine, ot her in spec school v worrying 1 Varies varies from school to school and agency to agency 1 none - as none of teachers specifically recruited from overseas 1 Unknown little information so don't know 1 Mixed feelings mixed feelings 1
not discussed at LEA or Assoc level - minimal recruitment levels 1 limited experience no view 1 not known 2
very limited, find it hard to cope with, culture 1 insufficient 2 nil 1 v ill prepared - when problems arise little backup 1 not adequate 1 too little, had to learn on the job, extra pressure on our teachers 1 v poor - like NQTs, should be a full informed + frank induction 1 poor - but own school does support, care + help them 1 poor 2 poor - LEA runs short course but doesn't include school visits 1 poor - thrown in at the deep end 1
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Appendix 27: Headteachers - Advantages of Employing OTTs

(Numbers are frequency mentioned by headteachers)
Practical employment issues for schools Availability to fill in gaps

22
Overseas teachers contribution to teaching Well trained

14
Overseas teachers qualities Motivated Hardworking

10
Overseas teachers contribution to school and UK Education system Cultural and ethnic diversity of staff No advantage
30 23
Enable full staffing Fill shortage subjects
15 5
Very experienced Professional
4 4
10
Usually more positive

10
Can often start immediately 3 Useful in filling shortterm vacancies pending permanent appointments 2 Available at odd recruitment times 1 Avoids time consuming search for UK teachers 1 Stay longer than UK staff Ease of recruitment
1 1
Subject knowledge
Commitment High quality
8 7
Able to teach full curriculum with specialisms 2 Some good practitioners 1 Good work ethic Pedagogic skills
1 1
Bring wider perspective to curriculum and teaching strategies 15 Give different cultural experiences to pupils 15 New ideas 14
Enthusiasm Willing to do extra Take initiative
7 7 5
Good to have experience of different methods 5 Variety of approach 3 Want quality where ever training occurred 3 Good for pupils 2 Make effective contribution to school 2 Dont mind working in inner city school 1 Add value 1 Good support for literacy development 1
Ease of termination of appointment if inappropriate 1 Useful international link 1 May pick up a wonderful teacher 1 No pension costs 1 Salary (unqualified scale)
1
Strong behaviour management skills 1 Effective literacy skills

1
Willing to update inline with UK 3 Competent 2
Independent Flexibility Open mindedness Confident Broader outlook
2 2 2 1 1
Have a good trial before being put on salary payroll 1 Having someone qualified in class 1
Up for a challenge
Resilient 1 Some have good qualities 1 Well travelled 1 Positive role model (in multi-cultural school) 1
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Appendix 28: Headteachers - Disadvantages of Employing OTTs

(Numbers are frequency mentioned by headteachers)
OTTs behaviour and length of stay Leave and Holidays : Need leave - want to visit home 4 Want extended holidays 5 Need leave during term for family issues 1
Otts contribution to teaching UK Knowledge: Lack of knowledge of curriculum/strategies 58 Unable to adapt to planning a curriculum round pupils learning style 1 Subject knowledge 3 Lack of knowledge specific to UK 1 Lack of special needs training 1 Unable to achieve to same standards as UK trained 1 teachers Lack of methods in supporting cultural needs of pupils 1 Classroom management: Behaviour expectations 8 Difficulties with class management 3 Some have strong accents (lead to probs in class management) 1 Planning: No idea about formal planning 1 Organisation 2
School and community issues School Issues: Long term commitments to institution 12 Lack of continuous staff development 1 Instability will they stay and train in UK system 1 Continuity issues for pupils after end of contract 4 Massive drain on middle manager 1 Not long-term investment for 1 school Settling in period very short 1 Turnover 1 Not trained in British approach 1 Lack of inner city experience 1 Level of support 7 Community Issues: Unaware of community issues 1 Difficulties in adapting to different culture 3 Problems with accommodation 1 Dont really know culture 1 Lack of knowledge of London 1
Practical employment issues Induction: Need induction on curriculum 10 Need good induction 6 Constant induction required 2
Returning Home: Likely to return home Homesick Can return home unexpectedly
4 3 1
Teacher Qualification Status: Paid on unqualified scale 1 Getting QTS 12
Commitment to school: Dont want to commit to whole year 1 Move on after 2-3 terms1 Length of time they can stay 1
Language: Sometimes language 1 Teaching phonics compensating for difference in accents 1 Training: Limited training 2
Costs: Costs 2 Cost of retraining 1 Induction costs then they go 1 Agency fees 1 Money required for them to get QTS 1 Funding to support training 2 Work Permits: Work permits 4 Obtaining work permit extensions 1 Contracts: Short contracts 1 Short-term contract make curriculum coordination difficult 2 Having to secure a post before visa granted 1 No drawback 36
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Appendix 29: Headteachers - View of OTTs as Staffing Resources

Good option: good ok very good to have steady turnover of motivated teachers fill vital role - provides school with teachers should be encouraged if chosen well - invaluable worthwhile investing time on good to fill gaps, need lots of support if coming on perm co effective gives them good experience and supports UK shortage an asset very willing to have them useful - added layer enrichment if bring skills and pedagogy availability for short-term contracts, fill shortages have been lucky with teachers sent valuable resource fantastic when it goes right good as long as OTTs commit to sch + stu for duration of con a solution if well trained important to have some OTT in workforce fine - as long as they are aware of Nat Cur and follow it no prob if have good subject knowledge and class management v impressed, well prepared, energetic fine as long as standards maintained good idea if from similar culture reflect multicultural nature of the community unlikely to change - so may as well make the best of them Necessary option: unfortunate necessity, only stay for short time, have to re-recr they are needed essential - as not enough UK-trained staff available kept school afloat, attitude + commitment to job is an asset inner city schools could not survive without them Not first option, rather have UK teachers: would rather have a pool of UK-trained teachers need to want to be in UK, to know committed positive, so long as they're not denying uk teachers job opportunities should train own, not pinch from other countries train own teachers, pay them well to retain them Good for short term solution: fine as interim but not forever only temporary, liable to leave at quite short notice ok for shrt-trm, v good teachers, seldom want management resp a stop gap measure, however, OTTs have made a significant contribution v useful at present, but should not be a long-term strategy useful in the short term shrt-trm answer, need to ensure training enough uk teachers only a temp stopgap, doesn't solve prob of teacher shortage temporary The Recruitment of Overseas Trained Teachers
101
good stopgap - sad dont stay and dev a role within sch dev good shrt-trm as additional teacher, not for SATS years tho good resource, but struggle to carry out all requirements Good for UK but concern for home countries: good for UK, concern for own home where may be fewer teachers providing prof dev opp but also depleting resources overseas acceptable if standards maintained, concern re: influence in home c Disappointing that have to recruit from other countries: pity that need to recruit in other countries Good for UK staff: provide current staff with fresh viewpoints positive influence, good attitude to teamwork, limits growth of middle manager OTTs find it difficult: many come for working holiday dont realise demands of job need a lot of support to gain QTS and dealing with, behaviour issues have to deal with classroom management issues with OTTs languages could be problem yet at same time lots of strengths poor our NC is v complex, OTTs cant be expected to meet high stand OTTs from particular countries fit in better in UK: Aus teachers seem to fit in best Aus and NZ more able to match needs fit in well if training similar to UK teachers from SA, NZ and Aus well trained, a lot to offer Teachers variability: the teachers vary depending where from depends on adaptability of individual to fit in want good teachers rather have good OTT than below average UK one Good for school: usually energetic, good pedagogy very keen and willing, contribute a lot to life of school OTTs need training: if school put on training prog - will become an asset to school need be trained before entering sys, as can be cheap labour good staff if given adequate induction and support Caution on number employed in each school: schools should maintain a similar ratio as NQTs are welcome but number employed in school should be restricted as training issue Not ideal: not idea under current arrangements, need financial sup to induct mixed complex issue should have agreed contracts schools can do long-term plans Only if done from choice: only if done from choice rather than necessity positive as added extra, shld not be nec to keep sch open
102
Appendix 30:
Local Association Secretaries Views on the Recruitment of OTTs to Work in Schools

(Numbers are frequency mentioned by Local Association Secretaries) Necessary Beneficial Acceptable strategy Extra work required from school OTTs need support in school no time or money invested by schools 1 adds to workload and pressures on middle managers 1 Little impact Unacceptable strategy No particular view no strong views either way 1
a necessary evil, adds to diversity 1
cheap for school in deficit budget 1
many cases help fill the gaps but often more problems than benefits 1 good move if aid shortage, but workload in prob sol huge 1
positive if it does job but brings other issues 1
beneficial 1
recruited as a stopgap measure 1 they were filling vacancies vacant for over 18 months 1 schools would have been in major problem without OTT recruitment 1 they are needed to fill gap 2 a desperation measure 1 last resort, shouldnt be taken away from homeland schools 1
if can do job + prevent others having to cover or children being sent home then so be it 1 recruitment acceptable except problems with NC, assess + discipline 1 area not actively recruited from spec countries agreed policy 1 no problem 1
recruitment minimum + has little impact on schools in area 1
what was happening was modernday slavery, some improvements 1
neutral 1
ambivalent 1
mixed feelings 1
103
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Appendix 31: COMMONWEALTH TEACHER RECRUITMENT PROTOCOL ADOPTED BY MINISTERS OF EDUCATION AT STOKE ROCHFORD HALL CONFERENCE CENTRE, LINCOLNSHIRE, UNITED KINGDOM 1 SEPTEMBER 2004
TABLE OF CONTENTS
1. Definitions 2. Introduction: background and purpose of the protocol 3. Rights and responsibilities of recruiting countries 4. Rights and responsibilities of source countries 5. Rights and responsibilities of the recruited teacher 6. Monitoring and evaluation 7. Future action Appendices
105
1. Definitions Recruited teacher: a teacher who is recruited for service in a country other than his/ her own. Recruiting country: the country that is seeking to recruit, or succeeds in recruiting, teachers from other countries. Recruiting business/agency: a business/agency that recruits teachers in one country (source country) for service in another (recruiting country). Source country: the country from which teachers are recruited for service abroad. Organised recruitment: a systematic targeted recruitment programme of teachers from another country. Clearance certificates: a document from the appropriate authority of the source country which states that the recruited teacher has given the required notice and has complied with the terms and conditions of his/her contract of employment. 2. Introduction 2.1 Background 2.1.1 For some time now a number of Commonwealth member countries have been deeply concerned at the loss of scarce professionals as a result of targeted recruitment programmes, a problem that has caused particular difficulties for small states. Such concerns, affecting the health and education sectors among others, have been voiced at Ministerial meetings and, in the case of health, have resulted in the Commonwealth Code of Practice for the International Recruitment of Health Workers, endorsed by Ministers of Health in May 2003. 2.1.2 Ministers are conscious of the potential opportunities for countries that are available through a structured and well-managed programme of teacher exchanges and of trade in skills. It is acknowledged that recruited teacher mobility has great value. It can benefit individual teachers in their professional development as well as strengthen and enrich education systems. 2.1.3 However, the recruitment of teachers must not be to the detriment of national education systems. 2.1.4 In May 2002, following large-scale recruitment of teachers from Barbados, Guyana, Jamaica and Trinidad and Tobago, the Minister of Education of Jamaica requested the assistance of the Commonwealth in addressing the problem of teacher recruitment in the Caribbean. Caribbean Education Ministers agreed the Savannah Accord in Barbados in July 2002 and, among other things, asked the Commonwealth Secretariat to develop a draft Protocol for the recruitment of teachers. The draft prepared by the Secretariat was reviewed at a subsequent meeting of six Ministers of Education of Small States (The Gambia, Mauritius, Namibia, St. Lucia, Samoa, Seychelles) who met in the Seychelles in March 2003. That meeting recommended that the revised version of the draft Protocol on Teacher Recruitment should be tabled at the Conference of Commonwealth Education Ministers scheduled in October 2003. 2.1.5 Ministers of Education at the 15th Conference of Commonwealth Education Ministers held in Edinburgh, Scotland, from 27-30 October 2003, discussed the critical issues of international teacher recruitment and viewed it as one of the most urgent issues to be addressed in closing the gap. They affirmed the unique value of the Commonwealth, recognising that it is ideally placed to share expertise, resources and best practices in education as a vital component of attaining the individual and collective goals for their countries and they established a Working Group on Teacher Recruitment under the chairmanship of Deputy Secretary-General Winston Cox.
106
2.1.6 The Working Group was asked to have a clear focus on the organised recruitment of teachers in the Commonwealth, taking into consideration, where relevant, the related issues of teacher mobility, retention and development. The brief of the Working Group is to: develop appropriate and ethical codes of conduct; report to all Ministers by the end of April 2004; and finalise the document with a Ministerial group by September 2004. 2.2 The Working Group 2.2.1 The countries represented at official level on the Working Group are Barbados, India, Jamaica, Lesotho, Mauritius, Nigeria, Papua New Guinea, St. Lucia, Seychelles, South Africa, United Kingdom, and Zambia. 2.2.2 The following Commonwealth Civil Society and professional organisations are permanent observers of the group: the Commonwealth Teachers Grouping, The Commonwealth Consortium for Education and the Centre for Comparative Education Research, University of Nottingham. 2.2.3 At the first meeting of the Working Group in Maseru, Lesotho on 23 to 24 February 2004 the Terms of Reference were finalised and members were brought up to date on recent developments that had taken place to improve teacher retention and recruitment practice, an initial draft document was prepared for circulation.
2.3 Purpose of the Protocol 2.3.1 This Protocol aims to balance the rights of teachers to migrate internationally, on a temporary or permanent basis, against the need to protect the integrity of national education systems, and to prevent the exploitation of the scarce human resources of poor countries. The Protocol also seeks to safeguard the rights of recruited teachers and the conditions relating to their service in the recruiting country. 2.3.2 In doing so, the Protocol seeks to promote the positive benefits which international teacher migration can bring and to facilitate the sharing of the common wealth of human resources that reside within the Commonwealth. 2.3.3 This document is similar in terms of purpose, content and status to the Commonwealth Code of Practice for health professionals. It holds moral authority on the matters it addresses. Within the context of the Commonwealth principles of co-operation and consensus, and within the framework of relevant international and other agreements, governments will subscribe to the Protocol and implement it, maintaining the integrity of their national education systems. 2.3.4 Although this Protocol does not hold any legal authority all the member countries are encouraged to develop such regulations and legislation that are necessary to meet the commitments of this Protocol. 3. Rights and Responsibilities of Recruiting Countries 3.1 It is the responsibility of the authorities in recruiting countries to manage domestic teacher supply and demand in a manner that limits the need for resort to organised recruitment in order to meet the normal demand for teachers. At the same time the right of any country to recruit teachers from wherever these may be obtained is recognised. It is recognised that the organised recruitment of teachers may be detrimental to the education systems of source countries, and to the costly human resource investments they have made in teacher education. Recruiting and source countries should agree on mutually acceptable measures to mitigate any harmful impact of such recruitment. The Recruitment of Overseas Trained Teachers
107
3.2
Where requested by source countries, recruiting and source countries shall enter into bilateral discussions and make every effort to reach an agreement which will provide for such measures. Consideration will be given to forms of assistance such as technical support for institutional strengthening, specific programmes for recruited teachers, and capacity building to increase the output of trained teachers in source countries. Acceptable Recruiting Processes 3.3 Recruiting countries shall make every effort to ensure that departure of recruited teachers is avoided during the course of the academic year of the source country, to prevent the disruption of teaching programmes. A recruiting country shall provide to a source country all relevant information regarding the status of teachers recruited. This information should also be made available, without prejudice, to the Commonwealth Secretariat for monitoring purposes. Where such information is not available, Commonwealth countries are encouraged to develop mechanisms for this purpose. Where required by source countries, recruiting countries shall make every effort to obtain a clearance certificate from a source country prior to any contract of employment being signed, and this shall not be unreasonably withheld. A recruiting country should ensure the establishment of a complaints mechanism and procedure in regard to recruitment to be made known to the teacher at the start of the process. The government of any country which makes use of the services of a recruiting agency, directly or otherwise, shall develop and maintain a quality assurance system to ensure adherence to this Protocol and fair labour practices. The recruiting countries should ensure compliance. Where agencies do not adhere, they will be removed from the list of approved agencies.
3.4
3.5
3.6
3.7
THE QUALITY MARK

The Quality Mark is an initiative begun in 2002 to improve the standards of supply teachers for both supply teachers and the schools that use them. The Quality Mark sets the minimum standards for agencies and local education authorities (LEAs) to reach in such areas as the way they recruit and interview supply teachers, the way they check and manage their supply teachers and the way they stay at the forefront of changes in the teaching sector. The main objectives of the Quality Mark are: to recognise private sector supply agencies and LEAs who are able to demonstrate that they meet standards of good practice in recruiting, managing and providing supply teachers for schools; to enable schools and temporary teachers to feel confident about the quality of the agencies and LEAs with which they are dealing; to raise the standards and status of supply teaching; and to recognise the contributions made by supply teachers, agencies and LEAs in supporting schools.
3.8
The recruiting agency has an obligation to contact the intended source country in advance, and notify it of the agency's intentions. Recruiting countries will inform recruiting agencies of this obligation. Recruiting countries should inform source countries of any organised recruitment of teachers. Prior agreement should be reached between the recruitment agency and the government of the source country, regarding means of recruitment, numbers, and adherence to the labour laws of the source country. Recruitment should be free from The Recruitment of Overseas Trained Teachers
3.9
108
unfair discrimination and from any dishonest or misleading information, especially in regard to gender exploitation. Employment Conditions for Recruited Teachers 3.10 Wherever appointed, recruited teachers shall enjoy employment conditions not less than those of nationals of similar status and occupying similar positions. The recruiting countries should also provide dedicated programmes to enable such teachers to achieve fully qualified status in accordance with any domestic requirements of the recruiting country. The recruited teacher is bound and subject to rules of national labour law and is also governed by any legislation or administrative rules relating to permission to work and suitability to work with children in the recruiting country. 3.11 Further, where a complaints mechanism and procedure in relation to teachers contracts of employment does not already exist in national legislation or administrative provision, one should be established for the purpose. The recruiting agency shall inform recruited teachers of the names and contact details of all teachers unions in recruiting countries. 3.12 Recruited teachers should be employed by a school or education authority. Only schools and education authorities should obtain work permits to enable the employment of recruited teachers. 3.13 A recruiting country shall ensure that the newly recruited teachers are provided with adequate orientation and induction programmes, including cultural adjustment programmes, with a focus on the school and its environment. 3.14 As a targeted and responsive mode of reciprocation, bilateral agreements will provide for specific professional development opportunities or experiences for recruited teachers, who are about to return to the country of origin after a fixed term. 4. Rights and Responsibilities of Source Countries 4.1 It is the responsibility of source countries to manage teacher supply and demand within the country, and in the context of organised recruitment. The country should have effective strategies to improve the attractiveness of teaching as a profession, and to ensure the recruitment and retention of qualified teachers in areas of strategic importance. Source countries should be advised of the necessity to establish policy frameworks which set out clear guidelines as to categories of teachers whose recruitment they will not support, in order to protect their most scarce resources. Any country has the right to be informed of any organised recruitment of its teachers by or on behalf of other countries. There will be some circumstances in which a country may not be able to support the release of its teachers. If a country decides to refuse any organised recruitment, the recruiting country should be informed of such a decision. In these circumstances, at the request of the recruiting country, bilateral discussions should be held through which both countries should endeavour to reach agreement on recruitment. If agreement cannot be reached, countries have the right to determine their own position in regard to the organised recruitment of teachers.
EDUCATION POLICY
Barbados has established a policy framework which indicates the categories of teachers who will not be granted leave if recruited. These include persons who have received specialist training, persons teaching in areas where skills are in short supply and persons who have returned from similar leave or secondments within a given period. The Recruitment of Overseas Trained Teachers
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4.2 4.3
The source country shall endeavour to respond to requests for approval to recruit within 30 days. The source country should include within its terms and conditions of service for teachers, if not already in place, provisions that relate to release of teachers under international exchange and organised teacher recruitment arrangements, and to their re-integration into the source-country education system on their return from abroad. The recruited teacher has the right to transparency and full information regarding the contract of appointment. The minimum required information (see Appendix 1) includes information regarding complaints procedures. Recruited teachers are in turn expected to show transparency in all dealings with their current and prospective employers, and to give adequate notice of resignation or requests for leave. Teachers also have a responsibility to inform themselves regarding all terms and conditions of current and future contracts of employment, and to comply with these. The Commonwealth Secretariat should monitor the status of organised recruitment of teachers, including numbers, recruitment practices and effects, and evaluate the application of this Protocol, including the impact on developing countries, and report to Conferences of Commonwealth of Education Ministers. Education Ministers should undertake a regular review of the operation of the Protocol commencing at the 16th CCEM. The review should be informed by effective monitoring undertaken by education ministries in consultation with all stakeholders including the teachers unions and co-ordinated across the different regions of the Commonwealth. Appendices 2, 3 and 4 illustrate obligations contained in international instruments for information purposes. Appendix 5 refers to the Dakar framework adopted by the World Education Forum 2000.
5. Rights and Responsibilities of the Recruited Teacher 5.1
5.2
6. Monitoring and Evaluation 6.1
6.2
6.3
7. Future Action 7.1 Consistent with the terms of this Protocol, Ministers commit to establishing a working group to identify how teachers across the Commonwealth can have greater access to teaching in other Commonwealth countries as a significant continuing professional development activity. The working group should include appropriate permanent observers from professional organisations and civil society. Education Ministers request the Secretariat to establish a working group to develop systems and criteria to assess equivalences of teacher qualifications and of professional registration status, where applicable, across the Commonwealth. In order to fully understand the scale of teacher mobility within the Commonwealth, it is suggested that a comprehensive study of such teacher flows is undertaken. This should include both organised teacher recruitment and the more informal modes of teacher migration. This study would complement and develop the work which has been completed by the Commonwealth Secretariat and is currently being undertaken by the University of Nottingham. The Commonwealth shall, in collaboration with international organisations such as such as the ILO and UNESCO, seek to promote this Protocol as an international standard of best practice in organised teacher recruitment.
7.2
7.3
7.4
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APPENDICES APPENDIX 1
Minimum information to be provided in the course of recruitment prior to finalisation of any contract: Brief description of the school. Accommodation arrangements for the teacher and cost implications. Transport arrangements and responsibility for transport costs. Work permit requirements and procedures. Clarity about terms and conditions of employment, including any deductions (for tax, insurance, superannuation or other purposes) from the gross salary offered; and rights of access of the employed teacher to social services and welfare benefits of the host country. Any provisions affecting the right of the teacher to be accompanied abroad by a spouse and dependants, including any assistance and allowances offered therewith, rights of spouse to work in the recruiting country, and access of dependants to education and other services. Regulations governing repatriation of earnings and other benefits.
APPENDIX 2
ARTICLES 13, 26 AND 29 OF THE INTERNATIONAL COVENANT ON ECONOMIC, SOCIAL AND CULTURAL RIGHTS Article 13 1. The States Parties to the present Covenant recognise the right of everyone to education. They agree that education shall be directed to the full development of the human personality and the sense of its dignity, and shall strengthen the respect for human rights and fundamental freedoms. They further agree that education shall enable all persons to participate effectively in a free society, promote understanding, tolerance and friendship among all nations and all racial, ethnic or religious groups, and further the activities of the United Nations for the maintenance of peace. 2. The States Parties to the present covenant recognise that, with a view to achieving the full realization of this right: (a) primary education shall be compulsory and available free to all; (b) secondary education in its different forms, including technical and vocational secondary education, shall be made generally available and accessible to all by every appropriate means, and in particular by the progressive introduction of free education.
APPENDIX 3
ARTICLE 26 OF THE UNIVERSAL DECLARATION ON HUMAN RIGHTS 1. Everyone has the right to education. Education shall be free, at least in the elementary and fundamental stages. Elementary education shall be compulsory. Technical and professional education shall be made generally available and higher education shall be equally accessible to all on the basis of merit. 2. Education shall be directed to the full development of the human personality and to the strengthening of respect for human rights and fundamental freedoms. It shall promote understanding, tolerance and friendship among all nations, racial or religious groups, and shall further the activities of the United Nations for the maintenance of peace. The Recruitment of Overseas Trained Teachers
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APPENDIX 4
ARTICLE 29 OF THE CONVENTION OF THE RIGHTS OF THE CHILD 1. States parties agree that the education of the child shall be directed to: (a) the development of the child's personality, talents and mental and physical abilities to their fullest potential; (b) the development of respect for human rights and fundamental freedoms, and for the principles enshrined in the Charter of the United Nations; (c) the development of respect for the child's parents, his or her own cultural identity, language and values, for the national values of the country in which the child is living, the country from which he or she may originate, and for civilizations different from his or her own. (d) the preparation of the child for responsible life in a free society, in the spirit of understanding, peace, tolerance, equality of sexes, and friendship among all peoples, ethnic, national and religious groups and persons of indigenous origin; (e) the development of respect for the natural environment. 2. No part of the present article or article 28 shall be construed so as to interfere with the liberty of individuals and bodies to establish and direct educational institutions, subject always to the observance of the principles set forth in paragraph 1 of the present article and to the requirements that the education given in such institutions shall conform to such minimum standards as may be laid down by the State.
APPENDIX 5
EDUCATION FOR ALL COMMITMENTS - DAKAR 2000 Expanding and improving comprehensive early childhood care and education, especially for the most vulnerable and disadvantaged children. Ensuring that by 2015 all children, particularly girls, children in difficult circumstances and those belonging to ethnic minorities, have access to and complete free and compulsory primary education of good quality. Ensuring that the learning needs of all young people and adults are met through equitable access to appropriate learning and life skills programmes. Achieving a 50 per cent improvement in levels of adult literacy by 2015, especially for women, and equitable access to basic and continuing education for all adults. Eliminating gender disparities in primary and secondary education by 2015, with a focus on ensuring girls' full and equal access to and achievement in basic education of good quality. Improving all aspects of the quality of education and ensuring excellence of all so that recognized and measurable learning outcomes are achieved by all, especially in literacy, numeracy and essential life skills.
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NASUWT
Hillscourt Education Centre Rose Hill Rednal Birmingham B45 8RS T: 0121 453 6150 F: 0121 457 6208/9 E: nasuwt@mail.nasuwt.org.uk W: www.teachersunion.org.uk
National Association of Schoolmasters Union of Women Teachers
04/11031

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The Recruitment of Overseas Trained Teachers

Chris Keates General Secretary

The Recruitment of Overseas Trained Teachers

The Recruitment of Overseas Trained Teachers

The Recruitment of Overseas Trained Teachers

59 61 63 65 68 71 72 73 74 75 78 80 81 83 84 85 86 87 88 89 90 91 92 95 97 98 99 100 101 103 105

Figure Figure Figure Figure

Figure 10: Figure 11: Figure 12: Figure 13:

The Recruitment of Overseas Trained Teachers

The Recruitment of Overseas Trained Teachers

The Recruitment of Overseas Trained Teachers

The Recruitment of Overseas Trained Teachers

The Recruitment of Overseas Trained Teachers

1.2 Teacher supply and recruitment

The Recruitment of Overseas Trained Teachers

1.3 Profile and location of overseas trained teachers

Issued in 2001 2,010 1,011 609 381 348 194 130 60 63 43 39 8

The Recruitment of Overseas Trained Teachers

The Recruitment of Overseas Trained Teachers

1.4 Experiences of overseas trained teachers

1.5 Effectiveness of overseas trained teachers

1.6 Qualified Teacher Status

The Recruitment of Overseas Trained Teachers

All candidates Overseas trained teachers

Num eracy 1.28 1.24

Literacy 1.25 1.27

ICT 1.11 1.13

1.7 Costs and benefits to source and recruiting countries

The Recruitment of Overseas Trained Teachers

The Recruitment of Overseas Trained Teachers

2.2 Quantitative sampling strategy, process and instruments

The Recruitment of Overseas Trained Teachers

2.3 Interview sample, process and schedules

The Recruitment of Overseas Trained Teachers

2.6 Limitations to the study

The Recruitment of Overseas Trained Teachers

3. Profile of Overseas Trained Teachers

Age 31-35 9 1 8 1 3 2 2 26 36-40 6 2 4 1 1 40+ 3 4 5 1 3 2 1 19

Country of Origin not specified 1 1

The Recruitment of Overseas Trained Teachers

Year Started Teaching in the UK 2001 2002 2003 2004* 13 18 5 10 12 12 1 5 9 7 11 2 3 3 4 3 5 1 1 3 2 3 1 1 36 1 54 34 12

*data collected from January to March 2004

Month Started Teaching in the UK from 2001-2004

The Recruitment of Overseas Trained Teachers

3.2 Geographic profile

The Recruitment of Overseas Trained Teachers

Year 2001/02 2002/03 2003/04 Total

Primary Schools 254 258 237 749

Secondary Schools 86 98 108 292

Commun ity Special and PRUs 4 12 11 27

Total 370 395 390 1155

(Source: headteachers survey data)

The Recruitment of Overseas Trained Teachers

3.3 Teacher status

Without QTS On OTT Prog ramme with UK QTS

(Source: OTTs survey data)

The Recruitment of Overseas Trained Teachers

3.4 Data on Overseas Trained Teacher Programme

Table 14: Country of origin and year started OTTP

2001 103 150 87 39 22 11 19 10 18 7 4 11 481

2002 50 230 118 79 57 43 43 34 26 24 20 10 734

2003 888 64 25 20 16 14 7 10 3 11 7 2 1,067

2004* 186 75 45 20 18 26 13 8 8 7 16 5 427