KEIGHLEY featured in bus tours taken by hundreds of trainee teachers as part of a groundbreaking initiative to attract more of them to work in Bradford-district schools.

It is thought that Bradford is the first local authority in the country to offer the tours, which involve students being shown around different types of school to see the variety of jobs available and to “dispel myths”.

In the last academic year, 360 final-year trainee teachers from across Yorkshire took part in the tours, with another 400 students taking part this academic year.

After they qualify, they are asked if they want to become part of a “talent bank” of teachers that can be used to fill vacancies in district schools.

Of the 360 who took part in the tours last academic year, a quarter have now found jobs in Bradford after going through the talent bank.

The scheme has also reduced the percentage of schools reporting recruitment issues in the nursery and primary sector from 58 per cent to 32 per cent.

Organised by Bradford Council, the tours were started as a way to tackle problems in recruiting teachers locally, helping to prevent an exodus of newly qualified teachers from the district, as well as enticing new teachers from Leeds and across the country to teach in the district.

The most recent tour took students to sites including Beechcliffe Special School in Keighley.

The council recently ringfenced £660,000 over three years on work to help recruit more teachers, after concerns were raised that recent poor performance by the district in school league tables meant new teachers were moving out of Bradford for jobs in better performing areas.

The bus tours are followed by workshops called Journey to Your First Teaching Post in which candidates are given advice about applying for jobs, writing personal statements and preparing for their job interviews.

Bradford Council’s recruitment and retention strategy manager Sara Rawnsley said: “The first year of the bus tours and talent bank has been hugely successful. It was launched in nursery and primary schools in its first year and is now being extended into secondary schools.

“The talent bank benefits both new teachers and schools. It provides teachers with preparation for their job interviews and gets them to think about the type of school they would like to work in and it has provided our schools with access to a pool of talented newly qualified teachers. But the talent bank is not just restricted to newly qualified teachers. I am keen to hear from experienced teachers, especially out of Bradford district, who would like the opportunity to come and work in our vibrant, diverse city – there is something for everyone here, from small rural schools to large inner-city successful schools.

“The aim of our work is to get people who are thinking about going into teaching to think about Bradford and to see for themselves what life is like inside our schools.

“We also want people in Bradford to think about teaching. We want to make sure that we recruit and retain the best teachers possible. We know this approach is working with 90 teachers starting their careers in the district this year after having come on our bus tours.”

Councillor Imran Khan, the council’s executive member for education, employment and skills, said: “We know that teaching in Bradford schools can be very rewarding and we are keen to hear from newly qualified and experienced teachers who are up for the challenge of making a difference to the lives of children in our district.”

Senior staff at each school showed the trainee teachers the school environment and spoke about what particular skills are needed to work in their school, and what to expect on a day to day basis.

Anyone interested in teaching in Bradford district should e-mail sara.rawnsley@bradford.gov.uk.