Our HR Services for Schools

We will write and check school job descriptions and person specifications for recruitment purposes or restructuring / organisational change.

We provide regular legal and school news through our website. If an issue is critical e.g. rolled up holiday pay, we will contact you direct

We can carry out thorough disciplinary and grievance investigations and prepare reports, interview witnesses and research the issues. This saves management time which is best used towards pupil education and attainment.

Reports and conclusions are then presented to the Head.

Handling staff disciplinary and grievance issues is never pleasant, but we provide advice you can be reassured that you will comply with the required legal process laid down by ACAS and we can also attend all meetings / interviews to make the whole experience as painless as possible. We can act as notetakers and advisor at these meetings

We can provide you with a school disciplinary and grievance policies that meet all legal obligations and ACAS guidance.

Every school aspires to have a workforce that performs well, turns up to work on time and puts in effort to go the extra mile and by managing performance there is no reason a school cannot achieve this. We advise on performance management to ensure staff appraisals and reviews are carried out regularly (and to the highest standards) for you to ensure continued school success.

Always give new staff to your school a thorough induction so they start off as you mean them to go on and to make sure you meet all your legal obligations. Probationary periods should be detailed in all contracts of employment and offer letters. We advise on probationary letters, draft them for your school and are present if a member of staff fails their probation.

Staff appraisals and regular reviews are the major tool that a school will use to identify individual performance issues and identify success. This is a two-way process that formally records an employee’s performance over a set period, usually 2/3 months, termly or for an appraisal each year. This is an ideal time to look at KPIs, phonics, parent feedback, class forecasts, SEND, Dfe visits, peer and learning walk feedback.  It is also about looking at staff potential as well as current strengths and allowable weaknesses.

We can run training programmes for managers and leaders to ensure both parties get the maximum benefit from the review system as well as providing the paperwork and guidance.

There are times when school staff underperform because they do not have the necessary skills to do their job, in other words unable to meet your expectations. To handle these situations, a School needs a capability policy and guidance on how to manage a staff member back to full performance or, if necessary, out of the school altogether.

Staff Handbooks and Codes of Conduct need careful crafting to ensure all school staff know the behaviour they are expected to demonstrate both outside and inside school for example suitable dress and social media exposure.

A major concern for schools is how to handle short term frequent staff absences. Short term sick leave can be extremely disruptive for a school and unfair on the other staff that have to pick up the extra workload. By introducing return to work sickness interviews and monitoring systems as well as training school leaders on how to use them, significant improvements can be made. We can advise on policy, practices and training as well as how monitoring can be communicated to staff.

Long term employee absence may well be caused by an underlying issue caused by a disability and therefore a member of school staff is protected from any discrimination in the workplace. Working with our Occupational Health Service, we can find reasonable adjustments for the workplace, plan phased returns to work or if this is not possible within a reasonable timeframe, terminate the employment allowing the school to recruit again.

We can accompany managers on home welfare visits, arrange medical appointments and draft letters.

Good staff health and well-being is essential for a working environment. Research from the CIPD suggests that on average sickness absence costs employers £692 per employee every year, with 7.4 working day lost per employee. This represents 3.3% of all working time.

Alongside the financial cost of sickness absence, employee health matters can be sensitive and difficult to manage. An independent assessment from our specialist Occupation Health Doctor can provide invaluable advice and guidance for managing sickness absence appropriately.

We can organise independent medical assessments, assessment of new starter medical questionnaires and advice on disabilities and medication

We can support your school in carrying out risk assessments on staff returning to work from long term sickness or where a disability is progressive or has recently been disclosed.

Named after the Transfer of Undertakings (Protection of Employment) Regulations 2006, TUPE refers to the process of moving staff form one school to another, or to a MAT or as a result of a merger.

This TUPE process can be fraught with risk for both the outgoing and the incoming employer and so requires a skilled understanding of employment law to manage correctly. This is why we are on hand to help guide you along every step of the way.

To complete your TUPE process smoothly we will:

Help you to identify who will transfer.
Plan and manage consultations with staff, elected representatives and trade unions if recognised.
Provide the required documents for the incoming school or MAT.
Construct a TUPE process plan.
Plan and manage any potential redundancies.

Our consultants have years of experience of managing transfers and have handled the TUPE process for many organisations. We will work with you to make the transition for your staff, whether incoming or outgoing, legally compliant and as smooth as possible.

In the event of a school member of staff or former member submitting a claim through ACAS for conciliation, we will act as your representative and discuss the responses with you.

This normally takes 28 days but can be extended.

We will advise on this procedure which a claimant must pursue before submitting a full Tribunal Claim.

We provide guidance on employee engagement and staff involvement from surveys, feedback events, forums and staff zone content.

Where there is a legal obligation to involve trade unions we can provide liaison and take steps to consult where trade union collective consultation is required.