Staffing and employment advice for schools

Staffing and employment advice for schools – November 2024

Introduction

This advice helps school employers with staffing and employment issues, offering guidance based on the School Staffing (England) Regulations 2009 for maintained schools, and the Education (Independent School Standards) Regulations 2014 for independent schools, academies, and free schools. It highlights relevant legislation and up-to-date guidance, including statutory guidance. However, it is not exhaustive, and following it does not exempt governing bodies, academy trusts, or local authorities from their legal duties as employers under other legislation.

Who is the advice for?

This advice is for:

School leaders, school staff and governing bodies in all maintained schools and academies
Local authorities
Academy trusts

Appointing Staff

Governors and school leaders should plan new staff appointments with a focus on curriculum-led financial planning over a 3 to 5-year period, including regular reviews of staff deployment. Schools can consult the DfE’s School Workforce Planning Guidance for additional support.

Governing bodies must ensure they have the necessary skills for effective staff selection. Governors may need to seek help or training, such as on interview techniques. At least one member of any selection panel must have completed safer recruitment training.

All schools must follow employment law when appointing staff. Maintained schools must also adhere to the School Staffing (England) Regulations 2009, while academies must comply with their funding agreement and the Education (Independent School Standards) Regulations 2014.

Schools should obtain references from an applicant's current or former employer before making an appointment, ensuring to follow up for clarification on any contradictory or incomplete information. For headteacher and teacher appointments, the governing body should inquire with previous employers about whether the individual has undergone capability procedures in the past two years.

Headteacher Appointments

Every maintained school must have a headteacher, while academies and free schools have more flexibility in their leadership structures per their funding agreements. Governing bodies may benefit from consulting the local authority or their HR provider when appointing a headteacher and should consider engaging a school improvement partner or a professional adviser. Given the significance of this decision, it may also be helpful to hire an experienced professional to assist with the process or to use templates from the local authority or HR provider to ensure compliance with legal requirements.

Discrimination in Appointments

Employers and governing bodies must adhere to the Equality Act 2010 when recruiting staff, ensuring they do not discriminate against prospective employees based on any protected characteristic, including race, sex, or disability, in terms of appointments, pay, and conditions.

Agency Staff

Governing bodies determine the necessity and type of supply cover, and it is good practice for schools to have a cover policy. If engaging agency staff for supply cover or other roles, the governing body must ensure that appropriate checks are conducted to assess the individual's suitability to work with children. Schools should obtain written confirmation from supply agencies that the same checks have been performed on supply staff as would be done for the school’s own staff.

Hosting Trainees

Governors and school leaders should consider hosting initial teacher training (ITT) trainees in their schools. These placements allow trainees to gain practical teaching experience, enhance their pedagogical and pastoral skills, and foster connections with students and the broader school community.

Transfer of Undertakings (TUPE)

Governing bodies must recognise that employees' terms and conditions of employment are protected by regulations during a school transfer to a new employer under TUPE rules. This affects both the transferring and receiving employers, including contractual liabilities and continuity of service. Due to the complexity and significant future implications for employers and staff, schools should ensure they have access to legal advice during staff transfers.

Safeguarding and Employment Checks

Safer Recruitment - In a maintained school, the governing body must ensure that at least one member of the appointment panel has received appropriate training on safeguarding and promoting children's welfare during staff recruitment. Academies also have responsibilities for the health and safety of their pupils, so it is good practice for appointment panel members in academies to be similarly trained.

Employment Checks - When making appointments, governing bodies must consider equalities legislation and best employment practices. After selecting a preferred candidate but before finalising the appointment, they must:

Verify the candidate's identity.

Check their right to work in the UK, ensuring compliance with Home Office guidance on right to work checks.

For teaching positions, governing bodies must also confirm that the candidate is not prohibited from teaching by the Secretary of State, as those prohibited cannot work as teachers in a school setting.

Governing bodies should:

Obtain references from the applicant's current or former employer.

For teachers, they should inquire with the current employer about any capability procedures the candidate has faced in the past two years and the reasons for those procedures.

A barred list check must be conducted before appointment if the role involves "regulated activity relating to children." These checks are performed by the Disclosure and Barring Service (DBS). Governing bodies typically request DBS checks through their local authority, which serves as an umbrella body, while academy trusts have their own arrangements for this process.

The barred list check verifies that a person is not prohibited from engaging in "regulated activity," which includes:

a. Unsupervised activities such as teaching, training, instructing, caring for, or supervising children; providing wellbeing advice or guidance; and driving a vehicle solely for transporting children and their carers.

b. Work conducted in specific establishments that allows contact with children, such as schools, children’s homes, and childcare facilities. However, this does not apply to supervised volunteers unless they provide certain types of personal or health care to a child.

Mandatory Reporting for FGM

Section 5B of the Female Genital Mutilation Act 2003 establishes a mandatory reporting duty requiring regulated health and social care professionals and teachers to report known cases of female genital mutilation (FGM) in individuals under 18 to the police. This duty has been in effect since 31 October 2015.

Childcare Disqualification Requirements

Childcare legislation imposes additional requirements on schools and academies employing staff who work with children in early years provision (up to the first September following their 5th birthday) and in later years provision (before and after school childcare) for children under 8. All schools providing such childcare must take necessary measures to ensure they do not employ individuals disqualified from working with these age groups in a childcare setting.

Teacher Services System

When making appointments, governing bodies and, where applicable, academy trusts must ensure that mechanisms are in place to verify that individuals employed to teach have the necessary teaching qualifications and have successfully completed statutory induction, if required.

Staff Management

Employers of all school staff must provide a written statement of particulars that includes essential details such as pay scale, pay intervals, hours of work, holidays, sickness benefits, pensions, notice periods, job title, contract type (fixed or permanent), and place of work.

Schools Designated with a Religious Character

In a voluntary-aided school, the governing body may prioritise the appointment, remuneration, and promotion of teachers based on their alignment with the school’s religious tenets, attendance at religious worship, or willingness to provide religious education according to those tenets. Additionally, when terminating a teacher's employment, the governing body can consider conduct that conflicts with the school's religious principles. For foundation or voluntary-controlled schools with a religious character, if there are more than two teachers, at least some must be selected for their qualifications to teach religious education in accordance with the school's trust deed or religious tenets

Resources:

Staffing and employment advice for schools - https://assets.publishing.service.gov.uk/media/66fc13673b919067bb482a4e/Staffing_and_employment_advice_for_schools.pdf

KCSIE – https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/keeping-children-safe-in-education--2

Recruiting a headteacher - https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/recruiting-a-headteacher

Governance Handbook - https://www.gov.uk/guidance/governance-in-maintained-schools https://www.gov.uk/guidance/-governance-in-academy-trusts

WTSC - https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/working-together-to-safeguard-children--2

DFE School workforce planning - https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/school-workforce-planning