Children in areas of social deprivation can face a variety of issues that present difficulties for them and the school – but that doesn’t mean that behaviour issues are always at the root of a school being labelled ‘challenging’. Issues such as poverty, parents’ working patterns (eg casual or shift work), a transient population, a high proportion of a community whose first language is not English and the phenomenon of transient, migrant workers can all affect children, their schools and their communities. Ultimately, working in a challenging inner city school is about addressing low achievement, whatever its causes.

Making schools better

There aren’t any quick fixes in the education sector – long-term investment is the answer. Recent initiatives have included the introduction of specialist school status and the extended schools system. The latter programme encourages schools to open for longer hours during the week and at weekends, so that they can offer their library, sporting or IT facilities to all children in the area. The idea is to provide positive activities in the local community, help break down the barriers to achievement and promote schools as good places to hang out.

Recognition and opportunities

The government ‘London Challenge Scheme’ has sought to develop a better deal for London teachers. It is recognised that you can reach the peak of your profession in a challenging school, so a system is now in place to reward teachers financially once they have proved they have met certain standards. Golden hellos have also been proposed to attract talented teachers into the cities and incentives are already in place to teachers of maths and science in secondary schools and languages at primary level. The future leaders programme is expanding its intake for autumn 2007 to help qualified teachers to progress in inner city secondary schools. This is an important move as many headship posts will fall vacant in the next few years.

"The future leaders programme is expanding its intake for autumn 2007 to help qualified teachers to progress in inner city secondary schools."

The feel-good factor

For the right teachers, teaching in a challenging inner city school can be a very positive experience. It’s exciting to have the chance to make a positive impact on a school and its pupils: sometimes there will be a knock-on effect on the wider community. It’s a privilege to work with pupils from different countries and cultures – you can celebrate the different heritages in the classroom and help build understanding. You’ll learn a great deal about the social and economic backgrounds of children and how these impact upon their lives. You will also be working with staff who are committed to raising attainment and helping pupils achieve their potential. As in any classroom, you will work with a real mixture of children, from those with special needs to those identified as gifted and talented.

Looking to the future, the knowledge and experience you’ll gain from working in a challenging school will mark you out as a teacher with special qualities; and should you decide to change careers at some point in the future you’ll have a wealth of skills to offer.

Advice

Before applying for or accepting a job, do your research thoroughly. You can read OfSTED reports for detailed information on a school’s attendance, exam results and ethos. Ask searching questions of local authorities, recruiters, school teachers, governors and, if you can, pupils. Remember that it’s not in recruiters’ interests to mislead you. Find out whether there’s a good induction programme with regular opportunities to meet with other teachers, courses and training. Also find out how much mentoring support you will receive, and whether the school works with teacher training institutions and other schools to share good practice. Finally, get a real feeling for the school by visiting it at the beginning or end of a school day.

Colin Bell is recruitment and marketing manager for children and young people at the London Borough of Richmond upon Thames. His experience includes a six-month secondment to the government-funded ‘London Challenge: Keys to Successful Teacher Recruitment Programme’.

Read a graduate profile of Ijaz Muhammad, a secondary teacher working in a city school