Recruitment and Retention

Teachers are the cornerstone of any successful education system. They shape the future by inspiring young minds, providing guidance, and helping children grow and achieve their full potential. Yet, the teaching profession faces ongoing challenges that can result in high attrition rates, particularly in areas like Croydon, where socio-economic factors and diverse student needs place additional pressure on educators.

At Croydon Education Partnership, we are committed to addressing these challenges and implementing strategies that ensure the recruitment and retention of exceptional teachers to serve the young people of Croydon.

Currently, the Recruitment and Retention Group strategy is:

1. To host funded recruitment fairs to attract the best Educators to Croydon

2. To offer a free job board for all educational settings in Croydon

3. To offer funded parental leave coaching

Overview

The Croydon Education Recruitment Event 2026 aimed to attract high-quality candidates to the borough’s education sector, supporting recruitment and retention across schools, nurseries, and colleges. The event provided a platform for education settings to meet potential candidates directly and promoted Croydon as a desirable place to build a career in education.

Planning took place from September 2025, with the event delivered in March 2026 and evaluation completed by May 2026.

Impact

The event demonstrated positive outcomes across pupils, the workforce, and the wider community:

• Children and Young People: Stronger staffing levels contribute to more consistent teaching and improved learning experiences
• Workforce: High engagement from both education settings and candidates; attendees included prospective teachers, Early Career Teachers, overseas-trained teachers, and staff for other education roles
• Community: Promotes local employment opportunities and supports stable school environments that benefit families and the wider community

Feedback showed the event was highly valued, with participants reporting it was well organised, worthwhile, and would recommend it to others.

Sustainability

The project is creating lasting impact through:

• Planning an annual borough-wide recruitment event
• Strengthening partnerships between schools, training providers, and the local authority
• Using feedback to refine marketing, targeting and event delivery for future years
• Expanding engagement with secondary schools, experienced teachers, and early years providers

Strategic Vision

By attracting and retaining skilled education professionals, the Croydon Education Recruitment Event strengthens the borough’s workforce, improves staffing stability, and supports high-quality teaching and learning for all children and young people.

This is an ongoing project to support recruitment into Croydon’s education settings by maintaining a centralised, free-to-use job board. It enables schools, nurseries, and colleges to advertise vacancies more easily and reach a wider pool of candidates. The job board continues to play a role in helping reduce recruitment pressures and improve staffing levels across the sector.

Make sure your vacancies are listed! Advertising is completely free for all Croydon education settings—just register and start posting to help attract high-quality candidates.

Please visit the site and register with your name and email address to take advantage of this initiative, or alternatively, you can email us here.

APPLY HERE

To ensure that educators in Croydon receive the support they need, we are offering 10 one-to-one FULLY FUNDED coaching places as part of the Maternity and Paternity Coaching Project. These coaching sessions are specifically designed to support educators during their transition back to work after maternity or shared parental leave.

Each coaching session will offer tailored Support to help educators navigate the return-to-work process, build confidence, and successfully manage the transition into their professional roles.

Get Involved:

If you are an educator returning to work after maternity or shared parental leave, or if you’re a school looking to support your staff in their return to the classroom, this is an excellent opportunity to provide meaningful support.

For more information or to apply for a coaching place, please contact us today.

Together, we can help create a seamless transition for our teachers, ensuring they feel supported, confident, and ready to thrive in their roles.

Additional places are now available – please encourage eligible staff to register their interest (flyer below).

Overview

The Educator Coaching Programme provides structured, evidence-based professional coaching for up to 20 educators across Croydon schools. Running from April 2026 to March 2027, the programme supports staff wellbeing, strengthens leadership capacity, and helps improve teacher retention.

Through personalised coaching sessions, participants reflect on professional challenges, develop leadership confidence, and build strategies for managing workload and career progression.

Impact

The programme is designed to benefit pupils, educators, and the wider community:

• Pupils: Stable and supported staff create positive learning environments, fostering stronger relationships and improved academic and wellbeing outcomes
• Workforce: Professional coaching builds leadership skills, enhances job satisfaction,

• upports wellbeing, and strengthens retention during key career transitions
• Families and Communities: Healthier school cultures and sustainable careers contribute to consistent, high-quality education for local families

Evidence from coaching frameworks (ILM, ICF, EMCC) shows that structured coaching improves confidence, resilience, leadership effectiveness, and retention.

Sustainability

The programme ensures long-term impact by:

• Collecting participant feedback and retention data to evaluate effectiveness
• Informing future workforce wellbeing and CPD strategies across Croydon
• Building leadership capacity that benefits schools beyond the life of the programme
• Providing a model that could be scaled across other schools or integrated into future professional development frameworks

Strategic Vision

By supporting educator wellbeing and leadership development, the programme strengthens Croydon’s school workforce, improves retention, and contributes to high-quality, consistent learning experiences for all pupils.