Worksop: Provide Education aiming to get more teachers back into the classroom

A Worksop-based recruitment agency is aiming to get more teachers back in to the classroom after long career breaks.

Provide Education, based at Triangle Business Park at Shireoaks, works with 2,200 teachers helping them to find supply teaching posts - and sometimes permanent jobs - in hundreds of schools across the region.

Their job candidates range from newly qualified teachers to those with many years of experience - and about five per cent on their books are teachers who have come back to the profession after a significant time away.

Suzy Badmin-Reynolds, 49, qualified as a primary teacher in 1987 and taught for 10 years before taking a career break to bring up her two sons and concentrate on a property renovation and letting business.

“It was a daunting prospect at first,” Suzy said. “But the support I was given by Provide Education was marvellous and I was surprised how quickly I got back in the swing of it. Once a teacher always a teacher I suppose.”

Suzy has worked at numerous schools in the last year and currently works at two or three on a regular basis, covering for staff sickness and training courses.

Suzy added: “It is great to be able to get work when I can and suits me down to the ground. I am never hassled to take a job either. It is entirely up to me and my availability. I continue to work in the property market and support my teenage sons with their studies.”

Director of Provide Education, Barry Simmons, said: “It is safe to say Suzy was a little nervous about returning to the classroom and it was great to give her the support she needed to ease her back in to it. Suzy is now one of the most popular teachers on our books has won several of our ‘teacher of the month awards’ based on headteacher feedback.”