The Department of Education has launched an online tool with the aim of helping head teachers to avoid high supply agency fees.

Education Secretary Damian Hinds said the online tool will clearly show the fees recruitment agencies charge on top of staff wages, so school leaders know what they are getting for their money. It will also help schools avoid agencies that charge fees for making temporary staff permanent.

In 2016-17, the last year for which figures are available, schools in England spent £825 million with supply agencies.

To appear on the list of approved agencies available through the tool, they must set out their costs up-front, allowing schools to compare prices, and conduct rigorous background checks on their staff.

“I want to help schools use their resources as effectively as possible,” Hinds said. “There will always be a role for supply teachers within schools, but schools shouldn’t be ripped off when trying to recruit them. This new online tool will bring much-needed transparency to the fees that agencies charge to enable school leaders to see what they are getting for their money.”

The Association of Professional Staffing Companies commented on the online tool, voicing support for greater transparency around supply teacher recruitment, but warned that a race to the bottom in terms of rates has the potential to impact standards.      

Samantha Hurley, director of operations at APSCo, commented, “Schools are often reliant on supply teachers amid the ongoing staffing crisis in education. However, there is often a misconception that the fees that professional recruitment firms charge for sourcing, attracting and vetting candidates in this talent-short and highly-regulated sector are disproportionate – which in the majority of cases, simply isn’t true. 

“The launch of this new tool is reflective of a wider trend towards improving transparency and quality standards within education recruitment, which APSCo wholeheartedly supports,” Hurley said. “However, it is crucial that moves such as this do not create a climate where the sector becomes too commoditised – and standards and safeguarding are impacted as a result – as we have previously witnessed in social work recruitment.”

“In terms of fees, hiring managers will be able to compare breakdowns of overheads, management charges and margins so that they can be better informed when choosing a recruitment partner,” Hurley said. “However, most importantly, end user clients can be assured that the recruiters they source through the tool have been audited by an accredited industry body, and that they uphold the highest standards with regards to compliance and safeguarding.”