The Department of Education has updated its School Workforce Planning guidance for the first time since 2018.
The updated guidance document places a greater emphasis on the people and data management aspects of workforce planning.
The guidance introduces 6 principles to guide leaders' decision-making:
- Have a clear school vision, underpinned by a people strategy
- Invest in the development of people
- Review working practices to ensure staff can focus on what matters
- Be data and evidence-led when making decisions about staffing
- Be creative, saving where you can to invest elsewhere
- Have a culture, system and processes that enable staff to be deployed flexibly across schools
The guidance also refers to the need for schools to be aware of their responsibilities deriving from the School Staffing (England) Regulations 2009 and the Education (Independent School Standards) Regulations 2014. The Department for Education Staff Wellbeing Charter is also identified as a useful resource, defining organisational commitments enabling schools to direct their efforts to support the wellbeing and mental health of employees.
The guidance includes a range of illuminating case studies from schools that have taken a strategic approach to people and data management resulting in reduced turnover, enhanced career progression and professional growth opportunities, the reduction of unnecessary workload and enhanced personal wellbeing.
We have a range of resources to help you proactively manage staff wellbeing and support you in developing a People Strategy available via our HR Resources Hub. If you would like to discuss your school's requirements in greater depth please contact us to set up a call.
Strictly Education also provide a modular HR and payroll solution (EduPeople), providing a single point of data entry for all employee data enabling improved data insights to inform decision-making about staffing. Find out more here.
