Atlantic Primary Academy principal speaks with the TES about her strategy for attracting the best teaching candidates

Melissa Heppell is principal at Atlantic Primary Academy in Portland. This article was originally published in the TES.

Not only must a school keep its students numbers up, it also has to have a plan to stay fully staffed all year round. 

This is a challenge that grows by the day as more teachers leave the profession, and student numbers grow in secondary schools. If a teacher is looking for a new position, they have more choice than ever before.

So how can leaders ensure they are attracting the right candidates to apply for their vacancies?  

When you plan how you market your school, you have to be sure you’re communicating the ideology of your school clearly. The vision of your school must be clear in order to attract staff who share your ideas, and will ensure they work with you to achieve it.

We spoke to two leaders to get their insights on how schools approach their recruitment planning:

Melissa Heppell is principal of Atlantic Primary Academy in Portland. She explains how she has developed a strategy for marketing her school to teachers, and how they work on attracting the right people to apply for vacancies.

 Chris Sammons, principal at West Island School in Hong Kong, explains the challenges facing leaders in international schools when attracting new teachers.