Hard to find permanent 0.4 or 0.6 posts

I think one of the biggest issues is the gap between being an experienced, qualified teacher who is willing to work and actually being able to secure a permanent or suitably long-term post.

Supply teaching and temporary contracts can provide valuable experience, but there is a huge amount of uncertainty attached to them. You can build relationships with pupils, become part of a school community and take on significant responsibility, but still have no idea where your work or income will come from a few months later. It also makes it difficult to plan your life financially or personally.

I also think there needs to be more recognition of the experience gained through supply and temporary work. Moving between schools and settings requires teachers to be adaptable and able to quickly understand different pupils, staff teams, routines and approaches. In particular, experience in ASN, nurture and specialist settings can be incredibly valuable, but it can sometimes feel as though teachers in temporary positions are continually having to prove their suitability from scratch.

There is also a real difficulty for teachers who want to work part-time. There are teachers who would happily commit to a permanent 0.4 or 0.6 post, for example, but finding appropriate permanent opportunities at those hours can be extremely difficult. This can leave people choosing between insecure supply/temporary work and posts that don’t fit their circumstances.

Ultimately, I think the system needs to recognise that job security affects more than simply whether someone has a job. It affects whether teachers can plan financially, make longer-term commitments and feel able to build a sustainable career in teaching. There are many teachers who want to stay in the profession and contribute, but the uncertainty surrounding employment can make that much harder than it needs to be.