KELLETT NEWS
Recently whilst in London, I took the opportunity to attend a training day related to ‘measuring’ student progress, however, the ‘networking’ aspects of the day were dominated by Heads telling of teacher recruitment and retention woes.
welcome to our new staff Whole School
Senior School
Shirley Chan - HR Admin Assistant
Vivian WOng - House Administrator
Pok Fu Lam Preparatory
UK teacher training and related qualified teacher numbers have always been an inexact science. For the past five years, teachers’ professional associations have been warning the UK Government of a forthcoming crisis, whilst in response, the Department of Education continued to give assurances that this was not the case. In February this year, the UK Government reversed its position and Sir Michael Wilshaw, Chief Inspector of Schools, went as far as to say the crisis had been exacerbated by British Schools Overseas recruitment of British teachers for their schools. Fortunately, to date we have continued to employ excellent, career-minded teachers with proven track records, however, over the past two years these have been harder to come by, as we haven’t enjoyed the strong fields we have had in the past. Both UK and overseas schools are actively pursuing career-minded teachers. Retaining good teachers is equally as important as recruiting them in the first place. Historically, international schools were often guilty of taking good teachers and then starving them of Continuous Professional Learning (CPL). The UK National Qualification Pathway is a series of qualifications designed to take career-minded teachers from Post Graduate qualification status to Headship through a series of rigorously monitored and assessed CPL qualifications. Last year, thirty of
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KELLETT DRAGON NEWSLETTER ISSUE Fifteen May 2016
Kellett School’s teachers made the decision to embark upon either the UK National Professional Qualification for Middle Leadership or National Professional Qualification for Senior Leadership (NPQSL and NPQML). In partnership with Edge Hill University, UK, the Kellett candidates are involved in face-to-face sessions, distance learning and action research projects leading to highly coveted qualifications. Whilst historically, Kellett has had teachers participate in the ‘Pathway Qualifications’, they have never been in such numbers or so uniquely funded. All of Kellett’s participants are taking part on a co-funded basis; each is funding the course fee whilst Kellett is funding Edge Hill University Team’s two face-to-face delivery visits in Hong Kong and the final Assessment fees. The willingness of our teachers to undertake NPQML and NPQSL on this basis demonstrates how fortunate Kellett is to continue to attract career-minded teachers and how seriously our teachers view their futures. I have no doubt that maintaining the calibre of teachers that Kellett seeks to employ will only become more difficult, and the importance of offering National Qualification Pathways is just one of the many ways we can ensure Kellett School and Hong Kong remains an attractive career choice.
Nerina Daryanani - House Administrator Indy Li - Learning Services Coordinator Martha So - Learning Support Assistant
Julie Lai - Mandarin TA
One Senior School Headteacher spoke of the majority of their teachers teaching outside of their degree subjects at Key Stage 3 and increasingly at GCSE level. One primary colleague told of being unable to fill an Assistant Headteacher role for over a year, and there were anecdotes of advertising four or five times to fill vacant posts.
WHOLE SCHOOL
WHOLE SCHOOL
PRINCIPAL’S MESSAGE
Kowloon Bay Preparatory Rose Lao - TA Liz Dickie - Art TA Pierce West - TA
staff leaverS Whole School
Bhawana Gurung Book Keeper
Ruby Cheung HR Officer
Kowloon Bay Preparatory
Senior School
Mimi Li Senior School Secretary
Pok Fu Lam Preparatory Livia Ng Mandarin TA Mark Hampson Resource Room Assistant
Ann Mc Donald Principal
Annie Bennett Art TA
Roxanne Groves Inclusion TA
KELLETT DRAGON NEWSLETTER ISSUE Fifteen May 2016
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