We are very happy to provide feedback regarding the service we have received from The Classroom Partnership. Overall, our experience working with The Classroom Partnership has been very positive. They currently manage the vast majority of our supply through their platform, with approximately 93% of our supply requirements fulfilled in this way.
Where we occasionally go off-platform, this is typically due to the nature of some of our SEN schools, which can be particularly heavy users of supply staff. In those instances, our approach is more about managing demand across schools rather than any inability on The Classroom Partnership’s part to fill roles.
The Classroom Partnership has enabled us to gain full weekly visibility of supply usage and spend across our 31 schools. The reporting and coding functionality allows us to clearly understand what supply is being used for, which has helped us make more strategic decisions. As a result, we have been able to create internal pools of supply staff, reduce overall spend, ensure funding is appropriately allocated, and address absence patterns where recording may not fully align with the reasons given.
Both urgent and planned cover needs are consistently supported across all roles, including teaching, support staff, and tutors and the platform itself is straightforward to use and provides the level of functionality and transparency we were looking for when implementing a master vendor solution.
In terms of quality assurance, we operate a rating system where candidates are reviewed at the point of timesheet approval, this helps maintain high standards of supply staff across our schools, and The Classroom Partnership works collaboratively with us to ensure quality remains consistent.
Compliance and safeguarding are also very strong as The Classroom Partnership has a dedicated safeguarding director who is highly experienced, efficient, and transparent in their approach. When safeguarding matters arise, we are confident they are being handled appropriately and by the right person.
Another benefit of the model is that The Classroom Partnership manages third-party agencies extremely well. Their processes ensure agencies can work with us compliantly within DfE guidance, even where those agencies may not sit directly on the Crown Commercial framework. This has helped broaden access to quality candidates while maintaining strong compliance standards.
The Classroom Partnership has also delivered meaningful social value across our schools as part of the partnership, and they have been proactive in building strong relationships with headteachers and supply leads. Their approach is collaborative and aligned with our own objective of reducing unnecessary supply spend through better planning, transparency, and data-led decision-making.
Given the success of the partnership and the support we have received, we recently signed a further three-year contract with The Classroom Partnership. We would not be looking to move to another master vendor, as The Classroom Partnership has demonstrated a genuine commitment to supporting our trust and improving outcomes across our schools.