At Alice Smith School, we aim to ensure our students thrive in a nurturing and stimulating environment. Over the past year, we have made significant changes to our recruitment process for educators, aligning it with our strategic vision: to be a diverse collective of experts and curious minds working together to push the boundaries of education and lead learning in an ever-changing world.
Who Do We Look For?
We intentionally use the term "educators" rather than "teachers" because we believe true educators care deeply about a child's holistic development beyond merely delivering academic content. An educator's role is to spark curiosity in students' lives inside and outside the classroom. They inspire students to grow, achieve their ambitions, and become their best selves.
We employ a carefully designed, evidence-based pre-interview questionnaire to identify ideal candidates. This tool helps us pinpoint educators who:
- Believe in Limitless Potential: They promote high emotional and intellectual curiosity, ensuring each child feels valued and capable of achieving great things.
- Demonstrate Motivation and Responsiveness: Highly motivated educators who adapt to their students' evolving needs are crucial to our mission.
- Possess Diverse Skills and Knowledge: We seek individuals with broad and diverse experiences that suit our unique context.
- Commit to Continuous Growth: Ideal candidates wish to continually update and develop their practices in line with our students' present and future needs.
Our Rigorous Recruitment Process
To find our ideal educators, we have implemented a rigorous recruitment process designed to align with our educational philosophy:
- Beliefs and dispositions tools: These evidence-based tools assess candidates' beliefs about education, emotional and intellectual curiosity, motivation, skills, and adaptability.
- A wide global search: We intentionally target diverse global recruitment locations to access a vast pool of highly qualified educators.
- Pre-Interview Screening: We conduct two pre-interview screenings to evaluate candidates' suitability for our context and their commitment to ongoing professional development.
- Teach us as students: Candidates lead a micro-teaching lesson during the interview process, allowing us to gauge their teaching style and ability to engage students effectively.
- Three references: We require strong written and verbal references from three leaders who know the candidate well. Other organisations might only ask for two. These references provide valuable insights into their teaching practice and professional demeanour.
Evidence-Based Approach to Recruitment
Our approach is informed by collaboration with Dr Gerard Calnin, an expert in continuous improvement in education. By benchmarking our recruitment processes against global standards, we ensure that we are continually refining and enhancing our methods. As Ken Robinson aptly stated, “Curiosity is the engine of achievement,” we strive to foster this curiosity in both our educators and students.
At Alice Smith School, we are committed to recruiting outstanding educators who will inspire and empower our students. By focusing on holistic development, emotional intelligence, and innovative teaching practices, we’ll create an enriching educational experience that prepares our students for the future. We are excited about the diverse talents and perspectives our new educators bring, and we look forward to each new academic year.
