Creating Cultures with Transient Staff Teams

This content was originally produced for staff in international schools, but is relevant for practitioners in schools globally.

Moving regularly between schools in the international sector offers staff a wonderful chance to experience new and different cultures, both within and beyond the school gates. It can provide them with fresh perspectives, allowing them to develop and refine their professional practice. But having transient staff teams is not without its challenges.

For many international schools, it can be difficult to create positive, supportive and effective cultures around behaviour and a consistency towards behaviour support when working with a relatively transient staff workforce.

Challenges around consistency with transient staff teams

Consistency is key to the success of many aspects of school life, from curriculum delivery and lesson planning to daily routines and behaviour support. When students – and staff – know what to expect, they can operate effectively in a safe, secure and predictable environment.

Ever-changing staffing structures and personnel can sometimes be problematic for teachers, leaders and students, and can lead to inconsistencies across multiple facets of the school ecosystem.

Listen to our podcast about consistency and behaviour support.

Disjointed training and CPD

When we plan and deliver continuing professional development (CPD) opportunities, we do so in line with our setting’s strategic priorities. For the most part, continuing professional development is planned well in advance; at other times, it is organised in response to new developments or initiatives, and the onus is on us, as leaders, to ensure that all staff are promptly brought up to speed.

Either way, the only team members we can impact through training or development opportunities are the individuals who are in our staffing structure at that moment in time.

When a staff member chooses to move on, and new colleagues join the team, inconsistencies can begin to arise across various elements of professional practice. New recruits may not have received the same training and may therefore find it harder to understand our approaches, values and ethos around behaviour. This can make it challenging to establish an effective culture and ensure that everyone is on the same page.

Unsettling for students

Staff transience can be very unsettling for students. When a trusted adult with whom they may have built a strong bond departs, it can leave them feeling uncertain and, in some cases, dysregulated.

Understandably, it can take replacement staff time to create bonds and get to know the students in their care. During such transitional periods, we may notice an increase in distressed or anxious behaviours among students.