Responding to the recent criticism of education supply recruiters, Samantha Hurley, Operations Director at the Association of Professional Staffing Companies (APSCo) comments:
“It is disappointing to say the least to see supply recruiters once again facing criticism in the media. It shouldn’t be ignored that education recruiters juggle a significant workload for education institutions, on significantly tight margins and often outside of regular business hours.
“The nature of supply recruitment means that staffing companies have to ensure they have a steady stream of qualified and fully vetted teaching professionals on standby in order to send them out to a placement at very little notice. It is the staffing businesses in this instance that are footing the time and cost implications of the compliance, safeguarding, DBS checks and more when it comes to sourcing these temporary teachers for a role.
“Staffing companies put a significant amount of work into delivering high quality and compliant services within tight financial constraints and short timeframes. Aside from the required screening of supply teachers, many of our members have also invested in our Compliance+ accreditation, providing an independently verified certification that they are operating to the highest standards. Given the critical role that supply teachers play in keeping education institutions running, the staffing companies who supply them should be appreciated for their valuable role. Unfortunately, this far too often goes ignored, usually due to a few unscrupulous recruiters. Those that are committed to meeting the high standard of a trade body like APSCo are the ones that are working hard to support the education sector, and this needs to be recognised.”
