The Department for Education received just 19 expressions of interest for its flagship attendance and behaviour ambassador jobs, with education leaders voicing concerns that the roles were “buried”.
The two new ambassadors will be tasked with overseeing the government’s merged attendance and behaviour hubs, set to start in September.
The window for the two jobs opened on 16 May and closed on 30 May. The window opened on 2 June and shut 11 days later on 13 June.
On its expression of interest portal, the DfE stated that it was “seeking individuals with an excellent understanding of improving and sustaining high standards for attendance and behaviour in schools”.
However, the fact that the DfE listed the positions on the government’s contract tendering website - but not on the civil service job site or social media - has raised concerns among education leaders, who feel that they missed out.
Attendance and behaviour ambassadors
One leader of a small trust, who wished to remain anonymous, said that the recruitment process “borders on farce” and criticised the government for “burying the opportunity”.
“Hope no one notices, and guess what? No one does - except those hand-picked 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,” they said.
The trust leader added: “Labour could have shown it was serious about new ideas and genuine change. Instead the DfE appears intent on stacking the outcome so that we end up with the same tired, unproven model as before - effectively a Tory re-tread on behaviour, dressed up in new clothes.”
Keziah Featherstone, co-chair of the Headteachers’ Roundtable and executive head within the Mercian Trust, said she would have applied, had she been able to find the application portal.
“When I heard that this role was going out, I was really interested. I kept a look out for it. Occasionally I searched for it,” she said.
Ms Featherstone added: “I couldn’t find anything at the time, so it’s come as a surprise and a disappointment that the deadline has passed. It looked like a challenging and worthwhile role.”
It is not yet clear how many of those who expressed interest went on to apply to be an attendance and behaviour ambassador. Tom Bennett, a former DfE behaviour adviser, has publicly stated that he has applied.
The hubs are set to help 500 schools and have been funded to the tune of £1.5 million, significantly less than the £10 million received by the programmes they replace.
The inaugural ambassadors, whose contracts are due to start this Friday, are yet to be announced. The two roles will last for two years and offer up to £96,000, but it is not clear whether this covers both years and both roles.
Applicants, alongside answering other administrative questions, had to respond to several questions from the DfE on their “ambassadorial” skills, “policy understanding” and “programme management and oversight” experience.
The DfE stated 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 added 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 contract states that the job will include working with the DfE to “support the development of new and innovative guidance and products for schools, on attendance and/or behaviour”.
The DfE has been approached for comment.
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