The Department for Education has failed to appoint the inaugural attendance and behaviour ambassadors by its own publicly stated deadline.
The contract start date listed on the government’s tendering website for the jobs is - today - with a contract end date of 3 July 2027.
However, as of today the DfE has made no public announcement on who has been appointed to the two jobs of attendance and behaviour ambassador.
It is understood that the recruitment process is still ongoing.
Merged attendance and behaviour hubs
The ambassadors will be asked to oversee the government’s merged attendance and behaviour hubs, which are due to start in September.
A salary of up to £96,000 has been indicated. However, it is unclear whether this applies to both roles and both years of the two-year contracts and, when asked, the DfE did not provide further clarification.
The hubs will help 500 schools and have been allocated £1.5 million of funding, significantly less than the £10 million received by the programmes they replace.
The window for the two jobs opened on 16 May and closed on 30 May. The window then opened on 2 June and shut 11 days later on 13 June. Only Tom Bennett, a former DfE behaviour adviser, has publicly stated that he has applied.
News of the delay follows complaints that the DfE had “buried” the application portal for the roles, after just 19 people expressed interest.
On its expression of interest portal, the DfE states that it is “seeking individuals with an excellent understanding of improving and sustaining high standards for attendance and behaviour in schools”.
Concerns over missed opportunities
Education leaders have complained that they have missed out on the opportunity to apply, given that the DfE listed the positions on the government’s contract tendering website but not on the civil service job site or social media.
One leader of a small trust, who wished to remain anonymous, previously told Tes that the recruitment process “borders on farce” and criticised the government for “burying the opportunity”.
They said: “Hope no one notices, and guess what? No one does - except those handpicked and directed [to the listing]. It’s a crying shame. This was a real chance to bring in fresh thinking to vital roles, and it’s been squandered.”
Applicants had to respond to several questions from the DfE on their “ambassadorial” skills, “policy understanding” and “programme management and oversight” experience.
The DfE states on the contract portal that the roles “will support the DfE in developing effective national attendance and behaviour policy and provide strategic oversight to the government’s Attendance and Behaviour Hubs programme”.
It adds that the ambassadors will be “sector-facing leaders”, who “support the DfE’s agenda on behaviour, including promoting a culture of belonging and safety in school for pupils and staff”.
The DfE has been asked for comment.
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