What were teachers most concerned about in January 2022?

At Edapt, we support thousands of school staff in England and Wales with employment-related queries. 

As a result, we have a unique window into the insights and concerns of school staff and how this changes at specific times throughout the academic year.

With over 200 accessible support articles on education and employment-related subjects, when people search for objective and reliable information they come to Edapt.

During January 2202, our 3 most popular support articles were:

1 Can teachers refuse to be vaccinated? 

Many of our subscribers were concerned about what the impact would be on their employment if they refused to be vaccinated. Can your school insist you are vaccinated to be able to teach? Could you be potentially dismissed from your role for refusing to take the vaccine?

The Public Health (Control of Disease) Act 1984 states that members of the public should not be compelled to undergo any mandatory medical treatment, including vaccinations. 

ACAS explains employers should be sensitive towards individual situations and must keep any concerns confidential.

2. How can I find my teacher reference number? 

This support article is always one of our most clicked on pieces of content which suggests that many teachers misplace or don’t know how to find their teacher reference number (TRN) easily. Potentially it might also suggest that school staff were searching for their TRNs to use in job applications at the start of the year.

If you don’t know what your TRN is, this can usually be found on your payslip or teachers’ pension documentation.

You can also contact the teacher qualifications help desk to request your number. You’ll need to provide your full name, date of birth and National Insurance number.

The TRN has previously been known as a QTS, GTC, DfE, DfES or DCSF number and therefore may include the letters RP and the forward slash symbol ‘/’. 

For example, if your number is ‘RP99/12345’, just enter ‘9912345’. If your number is ‘68/12345’ just enter ‘6812345’

3. Pay calculator for teachers 

We created our pay calculator tools only recently and they have been pretty popular. As always, there are many variables to consider and we have tried to make it as simple as possible to use.

Pay related enquiries are always very common but with the start of the new year potentially teachers were doubling checking their understanding of their salary breakdown.

Our pay calculator can be used to calculate your estimated pay as a full-time member of staff in England and Wales.

There are a number of caveats to consider:

1. If you teach in a maintained school, you will be paid according to a nationally agreed teacher pay scale. If you teach in an academy, free school or independent school, your pay will be set according to your school’s pay policy
2. Check your school’s pay policy and employment contract to understand the terms you are employed under
3. You will also need to consider any Teaching and Learning Responsibility (TLR) or SEN allowances which might impact your salary