Reducing supply costs by 10% would release £150 million to the sector!
The total core schools’ budget totals over £59.6 billion in 2024-2025 – the highest ever level per pupil, in real terms, according to the DfE – but schools are facing cost inflation that outstrips this commitment and facing some very challenging times.
The amount spent in 2022/2023 on ‘supply staff’ was over £1.5 billion, and with the high level of teacher absence and vacancies this is expected to continue to grow. When the total cost of existing staffing is removed from the total budget, the £1.5bn represents over 10% of what all schools have available nationally for everything else – buildings, services, resources, energy etc.
On this basis, a 10% reduction on the cost of supply to schools could release an additional £150 million to school budgets – working with Schools Mutual Services could help you reduce your costs.
From a financial perspective, 2024/2025 is a difficult year for schools and academies. Here at SMS, we are shocked that some schools are paying anything up to 100% mark-up for supply staff. SMS provides a mutual alternative to costly private agencies, helping schools manage supply staffing within legal and ethical boundaries.
The National Education Union (NEU) calls for ‘an end to the domination of commercial supply agencies, where supply agencies siphon off ring-fenced public education funds in the name of private profit’ and asks for experience levels and skills to be recognised – another fundamental reason why Schools Mutual Services was established and why the organisation’s approach supports national pay-scales.
“At a time when so many schools are struggling to make ends meet, it is clear that we can ill afford to lose more money from the system as a result of over-priced services from the commercial sector who are making obscene profits!” Nick Hurn OBE, SMS Executive Leader.
Schools Mutual Services is a true not-for-profit organisation, owned by member schools and governed by serving education leaders. Our priority is to provide a legally compliant and financially responsible solution for education staffing. This will no doubt frustrate schools, teachers and parents alike, and is the fundamental reason why Schools Mutual Services (SMS) exists.
SMS is committed to delivering ethical, transparent, and legally compliant recruitment services that prioritise both educators and schools. We urge all stakeholders to focus on solutions that benefit education rather than profit-driven alternatives.
Nick Hurn OBE added: “We are an ethically driven organisation, established for the benefit of the sector and are working with schools and academies nationally to present better options that focus on educational outcomes. We are vehemently opposed to the profiteering in the sector and will continue to disrupt the ‘cosy’ relationships that exist in certain regions in England.
With regional offices in Newcastle, Oxford, and Nottingham, SMS works with schools across the whole of the North East, Nottinghamshire, Derbyshire, Leicester, Oxfordshire and Swindon. Each office is embedded within its local education community, working in partnership with school trusts, teaching alliances such as OTSA, and local authorities to deliver tailored supply staffing support across primary and secondary education, whether that is day-to-day supply teaching or long-term placements. From multi academy trusts to community primary and special schools, SMS is helping educational establishments navigate financial pressures with a smarter, more sustainable solution for supply teachers and support staff, that puts pupil outcomes first.
North East Hub
Portland House, Newcastle, NE1 8AL
📞 0191 933 8300
✉️ info@schoolsmutualservices.co.uk
South East Hub
Podium Sandford Gate, Littlemore, Oxford OX4 6LB
📞 01865 597 771
✉️ oxford@schoolsmutualservices.co.uk
East Midlands Hub
16 Commerce Square, Nottingham NG1 1HS
📞 0115 646 6460
✉️ nottingham@schoolsmutualservices.co.uk