Top 3 most popular articles in May 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 250 accessible support articles on education and employment-related subjects, when school staff search for reliable information on employment issues in schools, they come to Edapt.

During May 2022, our top 3 most popular support articles were:

1 What should I include in my resignation letter as a teacher?

During May we received lots of views on our support article on the topic of what to include in your resignation letter as a teacher.

This is probably due to the fact that if you are employed under the terms of the Burgundy Book you will need to resign by May 31st to leave by the end of summer term.

What to include in a resignation letter can always be a bit daunting. What information do I need to include and what should I leave out? You might be cautious about letting your school know too much information, depending on what the situation is.

Resignation letters do not need to be overly complex and should stick to the main facts and dates for leaving your position. 

They are certainly not for airing any grievances or personal opinions about the school or members of staff. It is important that you maintain your professionalism during the resignation process.

You have to remember that you will need to secure a reference if you are moving onto another school. You will also have to work your notice period in school, which could be problematic if too many grievances are aired.

2 Can teachers take a day off to attend a job interview?

Similar to the above topic, many school staff were searching about the practicalities about attending a job interview at a different school or outside of education.

There are no specific sections in the School Teachers Pay and Conditions Document (STPCD) or the Burgundy Book which explicitly set out details on whether teachers are allowed paid leave to attend a job interview.

It will be the decision of each school how it handles requests for a leave of absence for attending interviews during term time. You will need to check your school’s policies and staff handbook for specific information.

In the majority of instances schools will be understanding that staff will be looking at other employment opportunities and will be accommodating for requests to attend job interviews. You will have to make a request to your headteacher or line manager in advance and follow the procedures set out in your school’s staff absence policy.

3 TLR payments

Information about how Teaching and Learning Responsibility (TLR) payments work can be found in the STPCD published by the Department for Education.

TLR payments fall into three categories. 

TLR1 and TLR2 are awarded to teachers undertaking sustained additional responsibility. 

• TLR1 payments range from £8,291 – £14,030 (for sustained additional responsibilities, with line management responsibilities for a significant number of people) 
• TLR2 payments range from £2,873 – £7,017 (for sustained additional responsibilities)

TLR3 payments are awarded for teachers who are taking on a time-limited school improvement project or one-off responsibility.

• TLR3 payments range from £571 – £2,833 (fixed-term payments for time-limited school improvement projects or one-off externally driven responsibilities)

Only classroom teachers can receive TLR payments. So members of staff who are lead practitioners or in the leadership group cannot receive TLR payments. You will also need to be a qualified teacher and TLR payments cannot be awarded to support staff.