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QM Accreditation

August 2011 – 100% compliance
September 2010 – 100% compliance
September 2007 – 100% compliance
September 2004 – 100% compliance

What is the Quality Mark?

Supply teachers make an important contribution to the smooth running of schools and the raising of standards. The Government values their contribution and wants to ensure they are recruited and managed well, to allow them to give their best to schools.

The Quality Mark was launched in July 2002, as a joint initiative between the Department for Education (DfE) and the Recruitment and Employment Confederation (REC) to help drive up standards for everyone in the sector.

The main objectives of the Quality Mark are:

  • To recognise private sector supply agencies and LAs who are able to demonstrate that they meet standards of good practice in managing and providing supply teachers for schools
  • To enable schools and temporary teachers to feel confident about the quality of the agencies and LAs with whom they are dealing
  • To raise the standard and status of supply teaching; and
  • To recognize the contributions made by supply teachers, agencies and LAs in supporting schools.

The Quality Mark sets minimum standards for agencies and LAs to reach in areas such as the way they recruit and interview supply teachers, the way they check and manage their performance and the way they stay at the forefront of changes in the teaching sector.

Maintaining standards in education recruitment is vital and the benefits of the Quality Mark to LAs, agencies, supply teachers and the schools that they service are immense. Schools and teachers deserve high quality agencies and the Quality Mark helps both schools and teachers be more confident about the agencies they use. It gives increased confidence to schools, parents and pupils that staff supplied through agencies are recruited properly and have ongoing support. For agencies and LAs it provides both assurance and official recognition that the highest standards of recruitment practice are being adhered to; and Teachers will be confident that they have selected an accredited and reputable service that will add value to their experience as supply teachers.

These standards cover:

  • face-to-face interviews by a trained interviewer
  • the entire list of vetting checks including:
    • identity checks,
    • provision of induction programme for supply teachers
    • taking up two references (one being their most recent employer)
    • a policy on how overseas trained teachers will be recruited and vetted
    • access to Continuous Professional Development (CPD) and learning opportunities for supply teachers
    • dealings with schools this covers providing accurate details of the supply teacher, transparent details on charging policy and terms of business and a proper complaints procedure
    • GTC registration,
    • qualification checks (including checking the comparability of overseas qualifications)
    • list 99 checks
    • enhanced CRB clearances
    • permission to work checks (this covers the checking of work permits or working holiday visas for non-EU citizens)
  • To ensure compliance with each standard there is a rigorous inspection process that is tested by the REC's external auditors every year.