Hello, it’s a little late to say Happy New Year! Instead, I hope you’ve had a great start to the New Year, and the good news is, the days are starting to get a little longer.

Last week I attended the BETT Show and met with some great people, enjoyed the networking events and soaked up the latest ed-tech news and developments on offer. I reflect on this and look at how ESP can ensure we best serve schools sourcing candidates with the latest knowledge.

One of the more challenging tasks in schools is to create the timetable each year for the start of the next academic year in September. This is an area we have extensive expertise in and can support schools. Read on to find out more. 

As always, I include our latest jobs. Please be in touch if you are interested in any of these or you are thinking of moving jobs and would like a general informal discussion relating to technology, data or finance in education.

Best wishes

William Townsend

Managing Director

ESP Recruitment

wtownsend@esp-recruit.co.uk 

A Reflection on BETT 2025

Attending BETT 2025 was an invaluable experience for us and we really enjoyed being immersed in so many innovative ideas. The event showcases all the latest advancements in ed-tech, aligning with our mission to connect schools with top-tier IT, data, and finance professionals.

Critical topics such as AI integration, digital strategy, and cybersecurity were covered, all of which are increasingly relevant to the roles we recruit for. It is becoming more common to see these three areas of expertise being part of Job Descriptions and role advertisements. Candidates who make a point of learning these emerging technologies will stand out.

Engaging in sessions on these subjects enhanced our understanding of the evolving demands within schools, meaning we can better tailor our recruitment strategies to meet these needs.

Networking was also a significant highlight as always and we enjoyed the evening drinks! Connecting with hiring managers from schools and educational businesses is so important for us as is understanding their current challenges and staffing requirements. 

These conversations reinforced to me the importance of our specialised recruitment services, particularly in sourcing professionals adept in managing and implementing new technologies within education.

BETT also facilitated discussions with potential partners and clients for us, broadening our network within the education sector. The insights gained are invaluable as we continue to support schools in navigating the complexities of educational technology and developments like AI. BETT provided us with deeper insight and strengthened our connections with key stakeholders. 

See you there in 2026!

Our Expert Timetabling Service

Timetabling for Key Stage 3,4, and 5 students is one of the most complex challenges schools face each year. Balancing the student subject choices, teacher availability, and the constraints of the school week can feel like an overwhelming puzzle! 

If it is not handled correctly, this can lead to inefficiencies and stress for staff and students. Creating the timetable often ties up senior staff for weeks on end which is inefficient and can reduce their class contact time. 

To support schools with this challenging task, we offer a bespoke timetabling service that completely removes this burden from schools. 

Our expert consultants work closely with each school to design an optimised timetable that ensures every student gets their chosen subjects. At the same time, we maximize teaching resources and operational efficiency. Using specialist knowledge, advanced software, plus years of experience, we create a seamless schedule that works.

By outsourcing your timetabling to us, you can remove a significant headache. Senior leaders can focus on priorities, teachers can be confident that their workload is balanced, and students receive a timetable with their chosen subjects. 

If you, or someone you know, needs external timetabling support, please contact me for more information and we can support you through the process. 

https://www.esp-recruit.co.uk

If you are interested in any of the below, please let me know! In addition, we are looking for IT Project Managers in the London area and specialists in Health and Safety in Schools, any location. If either of these sound like you, let me know! 

IT MANAGER

Location: West London
Salary: £45-55K DoE
Contract: Permanent
 

Part Time It Engineer

Location: Central Manchester
Salary: £120-150 per day PAYE
Contract: 2 days a week, until 28th March 2025 initially
 

Senior IT Technician

Location: Hybrid – South East and South West London /Surrey borders
Salary: Up to £35800 +excellent benefits
Contract: Permanent

Bromcom Software Support

Location: London OR Remote
Salary: £30-40K pro rata
Contract: 3 to 4 months

IT Field Technician (1st/2nd Line)

Location: Somerset
Salary: £130 per day PAYE
Contract: Temp until the end of July 2025!
 

Get in touch if you are interested in these excellent roles.

+44 (0)20 8559 2077

info@esp-recruit.co.uk

Dear Subscribers

Happy December.

May I take this opportunity to wish you all a very relaxing and happy Christmas.

As 2024 draws to a close, this newsletter looks at preparing for leadership roles in 2025. Have you thought about whether you’re ready if the ideal role comes along? Being well prepared can set you ahead of other candidates.

Part of being prepared is writing a stand out cover letter and I give some expert tips below so you can ensure your cover letter stands out from the rest. 
 

With festive best wishes

William Townsend

Managing Director

ESP Recruitment

wtownsend@esp-recruit.co.uk 

Preparing for leadership in 2025

If you’re thinking about moving to a new role next year, there are several things you can do to put yourself in the best position.

As the holiday fizzes and sparkles into another calendar year, your thoughts might turn to looking for that all important senior leadership role within IT, Data or Finance. If that is you, do think about calling us. We offer a bespoke search and selection service and always visit the school and have a tour before placing leadership candidates. This helps us to get a better understanding of the culture, people and organisation so we can better match top candidates.

If you are thinking of making a move, there are several things you can do to put yourself in the best place to receive an inspiring new position.

• Make an honest review of your C.V. Is it up to date? Being able to make a timely response to enquiries, gives you the extra edge.
• Have you included your current position? Go through it with fresh eyes, how would you read it if you were interviewing?
• Are the fonts in your CV all the same, do the dates match? Check your contact details! It is so easy to overlook these finer points but imperative to getting that all important call back.
• Leadership can show itself in so many ways, do you volunteer, are you a school Governor for example? How could these skills relate to the role advertised?
• Do use diligence when exploring the education establishment to see that their ethos aligns with your values or that new sparkly job could fade very quickly.

These simple, quick wins will make it so much easier to press send when you are considering the great leap forward into a leadership position. A perhaps surprising, current trend is to include a brief sentence or two about what was once termed the hobbies section, it adds the element of personality and a great way for the interviewer to engage with you on a more personal level.

Of course, for more good advice, do call us for an informal chat.

How to prepare a stand out cover letter

Often we see candidates who have a cracking CV but when it comes to the covering letter, they rush it and leave out important information.

Here are some tips for a really strong covering letter:

• Firstly, ensure it is very well written in good business English.
• Make sure you tie your job experiences to the job role you are applying for, so many candidates cover their experience but not how it relates to the role.
• When you make a statement about what you have achieved in previous roles, always use evidence and quantify things. For example, if you increased sales, say by how much and in what timeframe.
• Never make your cover letter sound too salesy, keep it authentic to how you would write and speak yourself.
• Make sure you show how you have researched the business or school, you could mention their strategic aims or mission statement or, the organisation’s values.

Please use the links below for additional information:
Indeed 2024 | How to Write Cover Letters that Stand  Out
HAYS | How to Write a Cover Letter that Stand Out 

Education Support Professionals
https://www.esp-recruit.co.uk

Research and Preparation:

Before the negotiation:

Research the industry standards salary ranges for similar positions company’s financial health

Determine your own market value by considering:

• Your skills, experience, education
• The value you can bring to the company.
• Identify your priorities regarding salary, benefits, and other perks.

Timing:

Wait for the right time to discuss salary and benefits. Ideally, this conversation should take place after you have received a job offer or during a designated negotiation phase.

If the employer initiates the salary discussion earlier, you can provide a broad range or indicate that you would like to discuss it further once you have more information about the role.

Focus on Value:

During the negotiation, emphasise the value you can bring to the company and how your skills and experience align with their needs

Highlight your accomplishments and demonstrate how they can contribute to the company’s success.

Be Realistic and Flexible:

Set a target salary range based on your research but be willing to be flexible within that range. Use ESP Salary Survey 2023 to see the IT salary range from similar organisations and locations.

Express Confidence and Professionalism:

Maintain a positive and confident attitude throughout the negotiation process.

Clearly communicate your expectations, but avoid being confrontational or aggressive.

Use professional language and tone, and support your requests with logical arguments and evidence.

Let the Employer Make the First Offer:

If possible, let the employer provide the initial salary offer. This allows you to gauge their expectations and negotiate from there.

If they ask for your salary expectations first, provide a range rather than a specific number to maintain flexibility.

Negotiate in Person or Over the Phone:

Whenever possible, negotiate face-to-face or over the phone. It allows for better communication and helps build rapport.

Written communication, such as email, may lack the nuances of a conversation.

Consider Non-Financial Benefits:

Consider the entire compensation package, rather than just focusing on salary alone.

If the employer is unable to meet your salary expectations, explore alternative benefits that may be negotiable:

• Benefits, Bonuses, Stock Options, Holiday Time, Term time vs Full time
• Flexible working arrangements or Professional development opportunities

Maintain Professional Relationships:

Remember that negotiations are a collaborative process, not a confrontation.

Even if the offer falls short of your expectations, remain professional and courteous. You want to build a positive relationship with the employer, regardless of the outcome.

Evaluate the Full Offer:

Once the negotiation is complete and an offer is made, evaluate the complete compensation package and consider the overall value it provides before making a final decision.

Remember, negotiation is a skill that improves with practice. Be prepared, confident, and open to finding a mutually beneficial agreement.

There is currently an IT expertise brain drain happening in Edutech…

Companies that supply schools and MAT’s with ICT service like Managed Service or annual support contracts are all, seemingly without exception, recruiting heavily to replace staff that are leaving the sector..

Additionally if you have a view of the market like us, or have monitored postings on sites like www.edugeek.net, there is a similar huge demand for onsite technicians in schools that manage their own IT services.

And anecdotally demand for our services, like recruiters in many other industries to be fair, has risen sharpy since Autumn 2021, hitting new heights not seen before in the first 3 months of the year

Why is this?

I think there are 2 main interconnected reasons which most contacts at Bett seemed to agree with..

ICT tech staff in schools are expected in, normally 100% of the time. And at entry and 2nd job level, they are, compared to other commercial sectors let’s be honest, pretty poorly paid.

Of course schools are a local employer and a good place to get your hands dirty with a wide range of tech, so I’m not knocking it..

But the situation has shifted, a wide range of employers are much more open to hybrid or total home working, opening up better paid jobs to talent wherever they are based in the UK

There is also more generally a hike in salaries across the board for IT, schools tech staff have a wide range of skills and this is more attractive than ever before

In response we have seen starting salaries in the private education sector, which are able to respond to rising salary pressures, jump up, sometimes by up to 25% at entry level! State schools unfortunately cannot react as well, but we have seen some positive movement in starting salaries.

New salary survey to come very soon to get some real evidence together..

But this is great for ESP right?

Yep we have been extremely busy and it’s great for candidates but the struggle to source suitable people for schools and business’ is REAL! I’ve never felt so drained and unable to switch off at Easter break

Poor you I hear you cry, and if you have got this far you deserve something positive

My advise to schools facing these challenges:

• Hire on potential and cultural fit, and put more time and expense towards CPD (that’s not something universal in all schools, but it has to happen)
• Hire apprentices as often as you can, reward them with incremental rises throughout, so when their apprenticeship matures they are more loyal if you wish to promote them into a higher role.
• If you cannot budget for salaries that can compete, really emphasis the other benefits to working in schools in your adverts (so many adverts we see really sell the academic achievement of the school with no mention of what the role could do for the potential applicant, detail rich but attraction poor).
• Make the recruitment process slim lined and FAST, as fast as possible, compliant of course but asking for an application form to register an interest will put rare candidates off in a busy market, better to insist on one at selection to interview. Make closing dates sooner, you will have less candidates falling out of the process later on.
• Asking for references before interview will also prevent candidates from applying, if they have several applications, they will not want their current employer bothered by multiple requests for reference. This practice is only commonplace in teaching

Of course using an agency like ESP is additional cost but:

• We have access to other advertising channels and our own database of education tech candidates
• You only pay when we are successful
• We commit time and resources, at our cost, to pro active searches to find more passive candidates, not necessarily with lots of other offers already on the table
• We try our best to deselect inappropriate candidates and are hands on with real Talent to guide them through the process
• We act fast and exclusively

But i’m interested to know?

Have you any clever ideas to attract and retain IT technicians?

Or are you a technician finding your prospects dramatically improved?

Would love to know your thoughts..

From managing whole school mass testing, to co-ordinating home and on premises learning, from selflessly undertaking tonnes of outside of work time mass communications, to dealing at extremely short notice with Government direction (and mis-direction).

Across the board from Heads and Academic staff to Business Managers, IT and site staff and basically everyone, under the toughest conditions, they’ve soldiered on and done the best they possibly could and they all deserve our praise and thanks

It may not have been perfect, from time to time, but they have really risen to the challenge

If you are taking some time off this summer break, you thoroughly deserve it and all those who stay on to patching things up and making improvements for the new term in september, we at ESP salute you!!

Thank you all!

Our company’s ‘recruitment clock’ kept stopping and starting throughout 2020, so I thought what would be interesting, is to investigate what our network of education ‘followers’ had on their minds, in terms of career, for the upcoming 12 months.

The education sector typically weather’s the financial ‘slings and arrows’ better than that of the commercial sector, and I am very happy to report that the majority of people that we speak to are still working within the same school/company that they were from the start of this year. But how do they feel about the coming year? Is it a case that one should remain with the ‘devil’ they know, or did Lockdown give people the time for reflection and perhaps a new direction? Time for a vote….

The two platforms that I used were LinkedIn personal and company page and Twitter. We asked four questions about the coming year:

1. No plans to move on at the moment.
2. Looking to move on in Qtr1 or Qtr 2
3. Wait until Summer 2021
4. Other

THE RESULTS

Option A (No plans to move on ) –  Linkedin 28%  – ESP Linkedin page 25% and Twitter 46%.       

Option B (Looking to move in Qtr1/Qtr2) –Linkedin 41%  –  ESP Linkedin page 50% and Twitter 31%                          

Option C (Waiting until Summer 2021) – Linkedin 18%  –  ESP Linkedin page 25% and Twitter 23%                               

Option D (OTHER) – Linkedin 13% – ESP Linkedin page 0%  and Twitter 0%

Though Twitter slightly skewed the scores/percentages, maybe because unlike Linkedin and our own company website, the Twittersphere tends to be a platform where anyone and everyone can vote. However, that said, the Twitter result wasn’t that out of kilter with the Linkedin results which, as you can see, are quite similar in their deductions.

CONCLUSION

My thoughts on this poll are rather struck by the fact that by this time next year there COULD be between 60-75% of our target audience moving on, certainly the desire is there. I appreciate that the science isn’t conclusive- and yes, we are in recruitment.

That said, when I first started this survey I really did think that given the terrible events of 2020, most people would just want to ‘batten down the hatches’ and wait at least 9-12 months before considering a move. It appears that the strongest drive to leave will be in the first two quarters.

Finally, to any hirers who are reading this piece, it might be worth thinking about the “Super Three” reasons why your staff might want to be moving on :

Nowhere to go to /growth in your company : Some of your staff are very happy working in their ‘comfort zones’, whereas some people are very ambitious, do you recognise this ?  If you have the space, in your day make time for ‘mini reviews’/ chats with your staff. They might see this as an opportune time to open up to you expressing where they think they are going or what pathways might be open to them.

Poor Management: Of course we are not talking about you (as if ?!) ….. Surveys have found that there is a high percentage of staff leaving companies due to a breakdown in communication between management and staff. Maybe it is time to seek outside help/training for your managers? Having a good manager is vital to any organisation.

Stress/Burnout: According to a recent poll 23% of staff are exhausted at work, makes you think. If there is a Wellness programme at your school be sure that this is well signposted. Pay attention to other people’s needs – not everyone can start work at 8am or finish at 5pm – attempt to be as adaptable as you can. Try and have more flexibility with people’s Start/Finish times, and –  as we realised this year –  one really can work from home. 

Finally , to all the ESP followers, let us all hope that this nightmare year will all soon be forgotten in the coming months and that from all of us at ESP  –  do have a very happy Christmas and a much more normal, healthy and brighter new year to come.

Steve Simms

Speed of hire

The first reason is speed of hire which, in the digital age, is even more relevant. The speed of technological change has signalled an era where job seekers have constant access to new opportunities and types of work. Hyper-connectivity and the mobile workforce makes it even easier, and more socially acceptable, for employees to move from one company to another – even during the recruitment process. The days of expecting candidates to wait patiently whilst interviews are held and decisions made are long gone and risks your candidates finding a bigger better company hiring for the same post. Today, successful recruitment demands that organisations adapt to the current needs of their potential workforce.

If transforming your company’s recruitment procedures sounds daunting, this is where a professional and well-established recruitment agency can help. Speed is everything and successful agencies have the digital reach to be quick and efficient and make no apologies in pushing for a quick hiring process.

Accuracy of hire

The second is accuracy and this is where hyper-connectivity can be a disadvantage to recruiters. The online world can make it very difficult to target specific job seekers. In my experience, online advertising, as cheap and accessible as it is, will bring you huge amounts of willing and eager candidates, from all over the globe, but few if any with the skillsets you require.

Agencies can accurately access prospective, often passive, but experienced candidates with as close a match to what your role and organisation requires as possible. Good agency recruiters are skilled in targeting advertising and deep searches to attract the right people. They know which platforms to advertise on to maximise the flow of suitable candidates and can quickly filter unsuitable applicants. Coupled with that are strong pre-screening skills, and in our case, strong compliance checking. The result is a speedy and accurate search to deliver the best the market has to offer.

Be reassured that professional recruitment agencies abide by strict and evolving legislation to protect workers and improve practices. There are many reasons for the continuing growth in agency recruitment but, for all organisations, recruitment is financially expensive and time consuming, whichever route they choose. In contrast, good agency recruitment, is fast and accurate.

Where we demonstrate heightened value is our specialist focus of education recruiting. By building sector knowledge, slowly and carefully over time, we quickly understand roles, often not needing to advertise to select the right type of candidate and can drive to place the right person as soon as possible.

ESP Recruitment in Action

Just after Easter, a client referred us to a school in urgent need of a temporary SIMS specialist. Within a couple of hours, we found someone who lived close to the school, was immediately available, had the right skillset and experience and was already compliance checked. Prior to contacting us, the school was working with a national generalist agency who, after a week of recruiting for the post, hadn’t been able to propose any candidates. Our consultant has also had similar experiences and finds working for us much more rewarding as we are able to find them the most suitable and enjoyable posts.

When your organisation must have the right person in post quickly, judge your agency on delivery first, the opposition may promise everything but can they deliver?