ABSTRACT
The rigour, depth and formality of these functions will depend on the nature of the candidates you are receiving. In particular, if you are recruiting to a graduate trainee scheme, recruiting NQTs or other candidates with less than perfect skills and knowledge, you will need a powerful and lengthy induction, recapitulating many of the functions offered by teacher training institutions. Induction is like teaching: it consists in part of the provision of scaffolds around someone’s work – strict procedures, monitoring, breaking apart of complex tasks, accessible advice – and then their gradual removal. The less experienced the candidate, and the lower the current skill level, the stronger and longer the scaffolding required. Unfortunately few development programmes are designed with the care and detail that we reserve for pedagogy and, although there is something to be said for dropping people in at the deep end, this has to be a calculated rather than negligent act.
