Staffing industry rebukes NEU’s “inaccurate” supply teacher report

The recent report on supply teacher costs from the National Education Union (NEU) is littered with inaccuracies and fails to address the root cause of the education recruitment crisis. 

Samantha Hurley, Managing Director at APSCo UK, comments:

This report contains significant inaccuracies and fails to address the underlying causes of the education sector’s recruitment and retention crisis. Our education members - including some of the largest supply teacher staffing firms - do not recognise the 90%+ mark-up rates cited. These figures are simply not reflective of reality.

 

While the sector is undeniably facing challenges, blaming external partners rather than tackling systemic barriers is counterproductive. The recommendations outlined in the report are, in many cases, unworkable.

 

APSCo UK and its members strongly support fair pay and appropriate benefits for supply teachers. However, the report overlooks a critical issue: private staffing firms are excluded from the Teachers’ Pension Scheme (TPS) - a Government policy that the recruitment sector cannot alter. Implementing the report’s recommendations would require schools to increase budgets by an estimated 28% to accommodate TPS access for supply teachers, a figure that is simply unattainable given current financial constraints. And that’s just to cover the recommendations around pensions.

 

The report also fails to account for the real costs involved in sourcing and supporting supply staff. When we add up the financial impact for staffing businesses, it is significant. They have to budget for spend on compliance checks, job boards, Apprenticeship Levy fees, National Insurance, pensions, and more. Then there’s the additional support that most offer, such as CPD provisions and access to NEST pensions. This all really adds up. In fact, speaking to our members, we estimate that this sits at between £2,000 and £3,000 per placement.

 

No audit has been conducted on actual take-home pay for supply teachers. The report’s inflated pay rate assumptions distort markup calculations, leading to recommendations based on flawed data. The references to models in Scotland, Wales and Northern Ireland are also problematic. These systems have proven more expensive for the sector, and the framework in Wales has made supply teachers unaffordable for many schools. The result is a decline in classroom quality as unqualified cover staff replace trained professionals.

 

A move toward a nationalised system would require a civil service workforce potentially exceeding 2,500 employees. The cost of recruiting, training, and supporting this workforce - alongside the necessary IT and infrastructure - would be substantial. Eliminating agency spend won’t come close to covering these costs. Once again, we must ask: how will these recommendations be funded?

 

When it comes to recruitment in education, we know that our members focus on providing a high-quality, professional service, often going above and beyond for clients and candidates alike. It’s common for recruiters in this space to work unsociable hours to ensure schools, trusts and academies have supply teachers on site before the school day starts. The critical, collaborative role that recruiters play in keeping schools going should never be underestimated."

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