Top Tips on working with outside speakers

1. Check them out, get references and testimonials, ask for a CV, google them, look at the small print and links on their websites, ask for copies of their DBS checks. Is their practice in line with your school ethos, policy and principles? Ask to see their policies (eg Safeguarding, Equality), examples of any resources they use and examples of session plans.  

2. Judge and choose your outside speakers on more than cost. ‘Free’ may suit your budget but it is not a guarantee of quality and may disguise hidden agendas. If you are not paying the fee or the work is heavily subsidised, someone else is funding the work and it is important to know who that is and what motivates them to offer this service to educators and young people.

3. Build the outside speaker into a programme of work, explain to them what has gone before, what will come after and how they fit into the larger scheme of work. Show them your curriculum plans and associated school policies. Outside speakers should be a complement and not a substitute for planned, teacher-led RSE. Ask for a detailed session plan from them too. Non-teachers may not be conversant with the need to demonstrate links to specified curriculum learning outcomes in their session plans so offer support with that or ‘translate’ into your own school format if required.

4. Have detailed discussions and clarify plans prior to their arrival about travel to your site, who to report to, the venue, group sizes, student learning requirements, equipment needs, space required for activities etc. It is important not to waste precious time on the day of delivery with simple planning and administration tasks that could have been arranged in advance.

5. Always have a member of staff in the room – it is not the job of your guest to manage classroom discipline and they are unlikely to be familiar with all the learning needs of your particular students. When a member of staff observes the lesson it is also easier to follow up any student concerns or questions that may arise once your guest is gone.

If they have been booked for having expertise that lies outside the scope of the staff team, observing their practice is also a valuable (and free!) professional development opportunity. There is, of course, an argument that says students may be more open with a guest speaker if their usual teacher is not in the room – in which case another member of staff could be substituted.

6. If you like what your outside speaker has done, develop a relationship with them over time, not just booking for one-off lessons where possible. It can take time to build up an understanding of a school’s needs and what works best with the students, time, resources and facilities available. Good RSE is conducted through a medium of trust and confidence in those facilitating it and that can take repeated visits to establish with your students.   

7. Encourage and enable your guest to seek evaluation of their lesson from students. It is good evidence for the school of your scope of quality assurance and it demonstrates your commitment to the involvement of your students in planning and evaluating your RSE lessons. Whatever the evaluations indicate – whether positive engagement and learning or room for improvement – this can be fed back to students and used to inform future RSE planning. This example of a simple student evaluation form offers three different modes of evaluation which can easily be collated and measured.

8. Be nice to your guest- meet them, guide them around your premises, offer them refreshment. Education establishments can be large and confusing places to find your way around. Make sure your guest always has a chaperone, knows where the toilets, staff room and canteen are for breaks

9.  Develop your own policy and checklist for working with outside speakers like, perhaps, this one from Norfolk. It makes clear your expectations of the speaker, what they can expect from you and offers a written agreement for reference and clarity.

10. Have a contingency plan in case of problems on the day.