Interview with Secondary Education Recruitment Specialist: Liam Jones
08 Jul, 20251-2 minutes
In this blog, you will learn:
- Insights into secondary education recruitment.
- About Spencer Clarke Group’s Cover Supervisor training.
- Where the latest secondary education jobs are and how to apply for them.
In our feature blog, ‘Interview with a recruiter’ we’ve been hearing from recruiters at Spencer Clarke Group to uncover insightful advice for successful hiring and candidate guidance across our specialisms.
This time, we’re speaking to Recruitment Supervisor, Liam Jones, who specialises in secondary education recruitment.
From the effects of Teachers leaving the profession on those who still practice, to uncovering what our Cover Supervisor training entails, Liam shares his expertise and insights on secondary education.
Liam, tell us about yourself
I am a specialist secondary education recruiter at Spencer Clarke Group, working with mainstream secondary schools in the North West.
I’ve had a varied career, starting out as a Physiotherapist and specialising in Paediatrics, before going on to train as a Maths Teacher. I’ve now been working in education recruitment for 4 years and I absolutely love it.
Outside of work I have 2 children (at the time of writing a 7 year old and 7 week old, so a very tired household) and 3 cats - my wife loves to bring home surprise kittens every now and then!
How did you end up in the world of recruitment?
Like most recruiters I would say I fell into recruitment. After working as a Maths Teacher for a couple of years, both on a permanent and supply basis, I realised teaching wasn’t for me so decided to look at other sectors.
While I was looking for something new I was contacted by a recruiter looking for a Maths Teacher and by the end of the phone call we had arranged for me to go into the office to talk about recruitment the following day.
I was lucky enough to be given the opportunity to try something completely new to me and have never looked back since!
What does your role entail at Spencer Clarke Group?
At its simplest, my role is to match the best candidates to their ideal job within schools. I am constantly recruiting for high quality staff to fill both short term and long term roles within local secondary schools.
To do this successfully this means I spend a lot of time trying to get a real understanding of my schools and their specific needs, as well as getting to know my candidates and exactly what they are looking for.
Who do you work with?
I work with mainstream secondary schools across Lancashire and the North West. I currently focus mainly on the Preston, Chorley and West Lancashire areas but as a team we are always expanding into new locations.
As well as working closely with qualified secondary school Teachers, I also work with a range of other school staff. A lot of people don’t realise that within secondary schools there are also opportunities for unqualified staff.
For anybody with a background of working with children or looking to go into a career in education, I also recruit for Cover Supervisors and support roles which can be a great foot in the door of schools.
Can you give us an insight into how your market works?
There are two main ways in which the market works within secondary education; day-to-day and long term cover. For day-to-day cover we are usually looking to cover for short term absences due to Teacher sickness or absence. Schools will contact us as early as they can to request cover for the day and we have a bank of staff ready to be contacted at short notice.
For long term cover, we are looking to cover longer term absence due to things like maternity, long term sickness and unfilled vacancies. For these roles we are usually looking for more specialist staff to fit the specific needs of the school. Throughout the year we are always registering specialist teachers so we can promptly fill these long term gaps to ensure the least possible disruption to the students.
What is the best thing about being a recruiter within education, specifically working with secondary schools?
To me the best thing about being a recruiter within education is getting to speak to so many different educators from all walks of life. When I was a Teacher I found that I mostly only really discussed teaching with other Maths Teachers. Now, I get to listen to Teachers of all different specialisms about their opinions on the education system, what different challenges they may face in their subject area, and what strategies they use to succeed as a Teacher. I am constantly passing on wisdom between Teachers, things that I feel would have been invaluable to me during my teaching career.
The one thing that does stick out as a constant theme when speaking with Teachers from all backgrounds and specialities, is their passion for making sure the students are being given the best possible opportunities to succeed in their education and life following school.
What are the current challenges facing the education sector, specifically secondary education?
One of the main challenges facing the education sector currently is the rising number of Teachers leaving education, resulting in Teacher shortages across the country. This is putting a further strain on other Teachers as they are having to teach larger groups and take on an increased workload. This can then compound the issue by overstretching Teachers and risking further burnout.
How does Spencer Clarke Group help overcome these challenges?
In my experience a lot of Teachers leaving education often just need a change of environment. Every school is slightly different and some schools just don’t fit some Teachers, but that doesn’t mean that teaching as a whole doesn’t. There’s no use trying to fit a square peg into a round hole!
At Spencer Clarke Group we work with a range of different schools, giving Teachers the opportunity to get experience in different settings. This also means that when a school loses a Teacher that didn’t fit with them, we have Teachers who may be a better fit ready to fill that gap. Overall, this means that the impact on other Teachers within the school and on the students is minimal.
What advice would you give to a newly qualified Teacher looking for their first position?
I would advise a Newly Qualified Teacher to be open to trying different opportunities. If you haven’t got a role lined up for the beginning of a school year, first of all don’t panic, there will be loads of opportunities throughout the year!
As an ECT (Early Careers Teacher), I wish I hadn’t rushed into getting a permanent position that actually probably wasn’t best suited to me. If the perfect role doesn’t come up straight away, or you aren’t initially successful in your application, sometimes the best option can be to use an agency to widen your experience and get a better feel for schools in your local area.
By working on supply, as well as you getting to know the local schools better to decide where you would like to apply for permanent roles, you are also showcasing yourself to schools that might eventually be looking to recruit into your specialism, so when it comes to interviewing, they already know you and have seen you in action.
Can you tell us a bit about Spencer Clarke Group’s Cover Supervisor training?
We understand how challenging going into a school with little or no formal classroom experience can be. Our team at Spencer Clarke Group consists of ex-teachers from Primary, Secondary and SEN meaning we have a wealth of experience that we can pass along to unqualified staff looking to go into school for the first time.
In our Cover Supervisor training we spend time going through the general day-to-day roles of a Cover Supervisor, behaviour management and general tips and tricks of how to succeed in the classroom. We complete the Cover Supervisor training remotely and aim to make the training as interactive as possible, so new Cover Supervisors can pick up ideas from each other as well as from us.
What does the future hold for you at Spencer Clarke Group?
Personally, I am hoping to progress as a leader within Spencer Clarke Group. I currently supervise the secondary team and as we continue to grow I hope to add to our amazing team.
As a team we are looking to continue to grow our presence across the North West, working with more schools and providing them with high quality staff and alleviating the strain that absence and slow recruitment can have on schools.
Teaching, school support staff and school facilities jobs
If you’re searching for a new career opportunity, why not take a look at the latest education and school facilities jobs, or simply upload your CV to be notified when a relevant job opening becomes available.
Recruit teaching, support and facilities staff
As a specialist education recruitment agency, we support mainstream and SEND schools with their recruitment needs.
Whether you’re searching for teaching, support, or facilities staff, we have exclusive access to some of the best educators in the North West.
If you’re struggling to fill a vacancy, why not get in touch with one of our team to see how we can help?
- Primary schools - Jimmy Callagher
- Secondary schools - Liam Jones
- SEND schools - Jamie Heath
- School facilities - Emma Dobson
Who is Spencer Clarke Group?
Established in 2017, we’re an award winning and progressive recruitment agency based in the heart of the North West. Our reputation is built on trust, expertise and an unwavering commitment to exceed expectations.
In 2024, we were named Recruitment Agency of the Year at the prestigious Recruiter Awards, an accolade we are extremely proud of.
We operate in two sectors:
In eleven specialisms:
Healthcare, Social Care & Nursing
Corporate Functions & Business Support
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