Fees charged by supply agencies for staff working in most of England’s schools will be capped at between £32 and £55 from September.
The government announced last year it would seek to cap the fees agencies charge on top of the cost of providing a member of supply staff.
Now new guidance has revealed the details of the caps, and of a new agreement academy trusts will be urged to use to procure supply workers.
Here’s everything you need to know…
1. Academies must follow framework…
Schools across England spend around £1.4 billion a year on agency supply staff, according to the DfE.
A new Supply Teachers and Education Recruitment framework agreement set up by the government commercial agency (GCA) will help trusts and schools procure supply teachers and other school staff, aiming to “provide better value for money”.
Launching in May, it will allow trusts and schools to source staff through government-negotiated agreements with education sector specialist agencies.
A GCA framework portal will help connect them to agencies which have been pre-approved by government through a “rigorous evaluation process”, and have agreed to new daily caps on their agency fees.
Local authority schools can use the framework. Independent schools will not be able access it.
When the 2026 academy trust handbook is published in September, it will say all single and multi-academy trusts “must use” it for their supply staffing needs.
2. …unless they find a cheaper alternative
However, they will be able to deviate from the framework if they find an alternative arrangement with lower agency fees.
The DfE recommends trusts procure supply staff through the framework as “best practice”.
But alternative arrangements will be accepted, as long as they comply with Procurement Act 2023 legislation, and supplier rates do not exceed the new GCA rates.
If other routes are used, agencies must provide a “transparent breakdown” of charges per staff member, so trusts can confirm supplier fees are in line with those set by the framework.
3. Agencies ‘profited excessively’
A 2024 report commissioned by the DfE found supply agencies were charging a mark up of around 100 per cent on the daily rate of pay for supply teachers.
In a new official blog Beth Lord, the DfE’s commercial strategy and innovation commercial lead, said: “Whilst many supply agencies operate well … some have shown exploitative behaviours and focused on profit maximisation over value to schools and, ultimately, pupils.”
DfE guidance said some supply agencies “profited excessively” from the supplier fees, adding that the new caps aim to ensure schools and trusts “aren’t spending more than necessary”.
4. Caps from £32 to £55
Under the framework, daily supplier fees will be capped at various rates for different types of teacher and school staff, ranging from £32 to £55.
The maximum daily supplier fee will be £32 for admin and clerical staff, and £34 for other roles such as cleaners and exam invigilators.
Meanwhile the rate for teaching assistants – who make up 49 per cent of support staff – and unqualified teachers will be capped at £38. The top rate for non-STEM teachers will be £40, STEM teachers £45, and headteachers and senior leadership £55.
These are maximum prices, but the DfE said many agencies had agreed lower ones. It advised trusts to check rates via the new GCA agency supply portal.
5. Other benefits of framework
As well as rate caps, the DfE said the framework offered transparent costs, expert support and complete background and safeguarding checks.
It also included a 12-week free “temporary-to-permanent provision” meaning schools can employ supply staff permanently after 12 weeks, without paying a transfer fee. The DfE said waiving these fees recently saved one school around £150,000 over 18 months.
6. Pay should not be affected
Government has stressed that supply staff pay and conditions should not be affected.
“The strategy caps agency profit only,” says the guidance. It says any agencies “claiming it must pay supply workers less” because of the mandate should be reported to the DfE.
The DfE says the mandate also “should not affect the quality or availability of supply staff”.
7. Existing contracts may continue
The DfE “will not force” trusts to leave existing contracts.
However, it recommended trusts compare current contracted rates against the framework “for future planning once your agreement comes to an end”.
It also urges trust to “be wary of pressure from agencies to favour contracts outside of the framework”, or to replace its terms and conditions with their own.
8. Curb on ‘exorbitant’ fees welcomed
Daniel Kebede, general secretary of the National Education Union, said it is “welcome that the government have begun to recognise that rip-off agencies are profiteering from the education crisis” but said the new fee cap “does not go nearly far enough”.
“The framework offers no guarantees on supply staff pay rates and entrenches agencies as the main supply employers, maintaining the flow of public money into private hands rather than the public provision of supply that we want to see,” he said.
Pepe Di’Iasio, general secretary of school leaders’ union ASCL, welcomed the move to curb “exorbitant fees” charged by supply agencies which he said are “a big drain on school finances”.
But he called for the issue to be further tackled by reducing reliance on supply staff, by improving recruitment and retention rates.
“This will require greater investment in education to boost teacher pay, address workload concerns and ultimately make the profession more attractive to graduates.”
