Synarbor and the news
Synarbor believes that safeguarding and vetting issues are of the upmost importance. Synarbor is a proud and established holder of the DFE Quality Mark, in addition to this we have recently gained this accreditation for our One to One Tutor pool. The standards behind this accreditation ensures that all of our candidates whether they are placed in day to day, long term or permanent positions, are fully vetted and have received Synarbor’s safeguarding training. Our latest developments in technology means you can access up to date information on the stringent vetting checks on all of our candidates.
Furthermore don’t forget that our CRB Umbrella Body service ensures all your staff are vetted correctly by letting Synarbor process CRBs for all staff at your school.
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Can a coalition government make Britain Great again?
"It's a very tough task, as immediate solutions are required to secure our fiscal stability, financial status and to stimulate economic growth. Unemployment is at it highest level for over 15 years, our industrial engines are just about surviving due to our self imposed devaluing of sterling and the Labour governments years of public sector hubris has created a fractious giant that now needs to be aligned to create efficiencies. The Con-Lib alliance may be a contrarian one, but it is one that must be embraced for the 'mix to work'. A scrapping of the 2011 NI increase, with the addition of a new £10k tax free threshold for those less well paid, is a good thing for both jobs and the economy.
A 'pupil premium' plus funding for 'reduced class sizes' with the added mix of 'free schools' should deliver a good future for our children, education sector and subsequently the economy. However, the mooted increase in CGT and increased bank taxes, may harm investment within start-ups and SME's. Which would seriously slow any recovery, as these are the only real areas to offer a chance of accelerated growth, wealth generation and a serious increase in job creation. All are an obvious requirement when strong tax revenues are required to secure Britain's public sector and our future as an economic power.
The public sector faces austere times and this is not a bad thing, as much of the private sector has benefited from stricter controls. However, the government must not make rash efficiency decisions, as anything that has a detrimental effect on Britain's frontline workers will add to social breakdown, increase the burden on society and eventually costs the tax payer many times more to correct than was ever initially counted as an blanket saving. The right people in the right jobs, is the only true efficiency they need, and for that they require professional recruitment assistance, not a glossy 'Top four' accountancy report.
Conclusion: The only way out of this economic black hole is to prime for growth, cut tax, incentivise wealth generators and prepare well for austere times. It looks much better than before, but it's still very fragile."
Dean Kelly, Synarbor CEO
Jes Ladva comments - Synarbor Business Development Director
"The hiatus is over and it's now time to face the realities of tackling the deficit. Inaction is not an option but the dilemma that continues to face the Social Care Workforce whether this is via Local Authorities, Third, Independent and Private sectors is that how can reductions be made when there is so much still to do?
The answer lies in something that we have been advocating for some time. Namely, to ensure the Social Care Workforce is optimised through ensuring the right person is in the right role. In so doing the organisation is enabled to consistently make correct decisions first time round.
In order to achieve this key questions need to be answered in terms of organistional self analysis include:
-Thorough analysis of spend mapped against priority areas.
-Quick consensus on priority areas. -Stakeholder engagement.
-Assessment in to the capacity and capability of the Social Care Workforce.
-Identification of optimum Workforce and skills required.
-Aligned Talent and Performance Management strategy.
-Competence based Recruitment and Retention.
-Early redundancy planning with early deployment of outplacement and retraining services.
And all of this will need to be centrally controlled and managed to ensure core objectives are not blown off-course.
The outsourcing debate will gather new intensity. Outsourcing should lead to lower costs and better quality but this requires effective commissioning. This is an area of concern given the numbers of examples of how procurement initiatives have saved money in certain areas only to reduce quality and subsequently create costs in other areas. Something that must be avoided this time round."
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Michael Gove has set out his priorities for education, saying they will mark a new era.
The new Education Secretary confirmed that Conservative plans for "free" schools and more academies would be the focus for change.
He said nothing was more important to the fairness of society and the country's future prosperity than getting education right.
The department has been renamed.
Mr Gove wrote to civil servants in the "Department for Education" to set out priorities.
He said it would be re-focused on "supporting teaching and learning".
There will be no change to the areas which are covered by the department however and it will still include children's services.
Previously, it was called the "Department for Children, Schools and Families".
'Improving discipline'Mr Gove set out the priorities, saying: "I believe, nothing is more important to the fairness of our society and the future prosperity of our country than getting education right.
"Too many children still leave primary school every year without meeting basic standards in English or maths and too few 16-year-olds get five decent GCSEs.
"So improving literacy, raising pupil attainment, extending parental choice, freeing teachers from bureaucracy, improving discipline and closing the widening gap between the richest and the poorest should be our shared goal."
Michael Gove Michael Gove, Education Secretary Willetts becomes science minister
Mr Gove confirmed he intended to move quickly on plans for all schools to be given the freedom to become academies - schools which are funded by the state but are largely independent.
"In the weeks ahead, I want us to offer all schools the chance to enjoy academy-style freedoms so that heads and teachers across the country can be liberated," he wrote.
"This will be the focus of the legislation we hope to bring forward later this month."
The Conservatives had pledged to have legislation in place so that schools could become academies by this September.
The Liberal Democrats are also in favour of schools having more freedom, but there was a difference between the two parties in terms of how free such schools should be.
The Liberal Democrats had previously said they wanted academies to come under local authorities while the Conservatives said they should be independent.
Read More - BBC
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The Recruitment and Employment Confederation (REC) has highlighted the crucial role currently being played by temporary workers who have stepped up to the mark to keep essential services such as schools, hospitals and care homes working.
Recruitment agencies have also risen to the challenge by ensuring that suitably qualified and properly vetted supply teachers, care workers and other temporary staff are placed at very short notice to cope with the enforced absences.
Commenting on the effects the volcanic ash cloud is having on classrooms, John Dunn, Chair of REC Education, said: “Continuity of education is crucial. It is particularly important for students who are at a critical stage of their studies, GCSE students for instance.
“This is where specialised agencies are an invaluable asset as they are in a position to place supply teachers who are not only fully qualified and vetted but are also, whenever possible, subject specialists. This provides real added value compared to unqualified and generalist cover supervisors who can only offer a generic teaching experience for children.”
An example of how recruiters have responded to the crisis and have helped to provide emergency cover is provided by Jes Ladva, the REC’s London regional director and a director of Synabor Education.
Following the snow related disruptions at the start of the year, contingency strategies were developed in order to cope with future scenarios.
In the current situation, schools started contacting the agency as early as last Saturday and Sunday which enabled a weekend resource team to be convened and ensured that a pool of properly vetted supply teachers and support staff was in place for the start of the new term.
Commenting on the role that agencies have played, Jes Ladva said:
“The resourcing challenge was amplified by the fact that the situation happened at the end of the Easter holiday. The early intervention efforts went some way to allaying the disruption and helped us manage the 150 per cent increase in requests for temporary staff on the Monday morning.
“Clients appreciate the extra effort and the safety net that the effective supply of temporary staff provides in challenging circumstances such as those of the last week.”
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“The most recent Ofsted figures for the first quarter show a 250% increase in schools being marked as ‘Inadequate’, with 25% of all inspected schools receiving a lower grade than when last inspected.”
Source TES:9/4/2010
How safe is your school? Head teachers are seeing their schools failed by Ofsted due to recruitment and vetting procedures not being delivered correctly or recorded on a single central record.
Does your school have a guaranteed vetting process, with accredited procedures and indemnified staff from its third party providers? Is your school aware of the risks associated to poor procedures in regards to safeguarding and the NEW Ofsted inspections?
If you have answered no to either of the above, then Synarbor can improve your recruitment process while uplifting the standard of your provision. As a Quality Mark integrated services provider and accredited CRB umbrella body, we set our vetting and safeguarding standards at the highest bar, ensuring full compliance in all areas at all times. This means that you can always feel safe that the DCSF and Ofsted standards have been met. Strengthen your position In uncertain financial times, too many schools have gone for the ’perceived’ cheaper option of unqualified support staff and lightly vetted agency supply teachers, only to find that their safeguarding procedures are not compliant and the financial ‘risk to reward’ element is a complete false economy.
Synarbor can help you to strengthen your recruitment, vetting and safeguarding procedures, while protecting your budget from onerous unmapped spend.
Government warnings
“The Government warns that local authorities will claw back money from schools with excessive bank balances.” Source TES: 26/3/2010
Synarbor is helping many schools across the UK to make efficiency savings within their procurement of staff and their management of supply, whilst ensuring their vetting procedures are 100% compliant.
The risks associated with ‘taking a chance’ in this area are far too high for any school to consider. We strongly recommend a no obligation conversation with a dedicated member of our team to find out whether we can better your recruitment process, improve your finances and safeguard your school.
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We can help you with all your recruitment needs. We understand that the needs of schools are everchanging, which is why we are at the forefront of introducing innovative recruitment tools to the education industry.
Speak to your local branch today if you have a recruitment issue that needs solving.
