A recruitment agency is reviewing its adverts after coming under fire for offering schools free outsourced applications for education, health and care plans (EHCP) if they then hire its staff to support the pupils.
Leaflets from Qualiteach Education Group said schools can “outsource the most time-intensive elements” of the EHCP application process to “experienced specialists, without incurring long-term costs”.
Under the deal, schools would pay £450 to its partner, the consultancy Innovate Create Educate, which collects “evidence and documentation” to apply to the council within 30 days.
The leaflet added that once EHCP funding is agreed, the school “engages a suitable agency professional through Qualiteach”.
After they complete the 30 days in post, the agency would refund the £450 to the school.
‘Troubling commodification’
Lacey Cousins, headteacher at Hawley Primary School in Camden, said the offer “appears to target overstretched and vulnerable schools, exploiting systemic failures rather than addressing them”.
She added it “reflects a troubling commodification of statutory SEND processes at a time when schools are already overwhelmed by administrative burden, delays in specialist support, and chronic underfunding”.
However, after Schools Week contacted the firms, they said the decision to employ Qualiteach’s agency staff was “entirely optional and based on the school’s individual needs”.
This is despite an FAQ on whether the school is obliged to use the firm stating: “Only if EHCP funding is agreed and specialist provision is required. There is no obligation prior to this point.”
Josh Brandon, Qualiteach’s chief executive officer, recognised the leaflet could imply it was mandatory, but “that was not the intention”.
He added the marketing was designed to “illustrate one possible pathway where, if a school chooses to use Qualiteach to support delivery of agreed provision, the £450 fee paid to Innovate Create Educate would be refunded so that the school is not left out of pocket.
“It was not intended to suggest a requirement or expectation, and we recognise that this has not been communicated clearly enough.”
They are now “reviewing the leaflet wording and layout as a result of this feedback to ensure it more accurately reflects the voluntary nature of the arrangement and avoids any implication of conditionality”.
Under the deal, even though schools can get the £450 refunded if they employ an agency worker from the firm, they would still have to pay for that support “through the school’s normal arrangements using agreed funding”.
Brandon also added that schools would still receive the refund if the EHCP application was unsuccessful, but they decided to hire a Qualiteach staff member.
‘Serious ethical and safeguarding questions’
The leaflet states the service would not replace a school’s SENCO, but support them “by removing the most time-intensive administrative elements of EHCP applications”.
Brandon said it was created as heads told Qualiteach about “significant capacity pressures”.
Schools Week has previously revealed SENCOs feeling burnt out and isolated with workload pressures.
But Abigail Hawkins, founder at SENsible SENCO, said: “The EHC process encompasses far more than an administrative function; it requires a compassionate approach. It is unclear what qualifications or training this individual possesses, if any.”
Cousins added the suggestion EHCP applications can be “outsourced to unknown third parties raises serious ethical, professional, and safeguarding questions”.
“EHCP applications are legally significant, highly individualised documents that rely on deep professional knowledge of the child, sustained observation, and close collaboration with families and services.
“It also signals a profound lack of respect for the expertise and accountability of school professionals who carry statutory responsibility for these processes.”
Brandon said the aim was not to “replace professional judgement or statutory responsibility, but help schools progress applications where capacity constraints risk delaying support for pupils who clearly need it”.
The offer came out of discussions with headteachers and visits to schools, he added.
‘Importance of transparency’
Innovate Create Educate, which said it had helped “several schools” with the process for about two years, does not independently assess children, determine provision or make decisions about outcomes.
The leaflet also called its service the “specialist EHCP application that boasts a 90 per cent success rate”.
National figures show councils proceeded with an EHCP needs assessment for just 65.4 per cent of requests.
Asked for more details by Schools Week, the company said the figure “should be defined more clearly” in its communications, as it recognised the “importance of transparency”.
It said that it referred to “the proportion of supported applications that proceed through the statutory process to either assessment or the issuing of an EHCP, based on Innovate Create Educate’s historical data”.
