Supply agency fee capped at £55 per day under DfE ‘mandate’

Supply agencies will not be able to charge trusts more than £55 per day in fees under a new Department for Education “mandate”.

The DfE has published guidance setting out caps on the fees that agencies can charge for supplying teachers and other education staff under a new framework.

It said the supplier fee covers agencies’ operating costs and profits, rather than the supply worker’s pay, national insurance or pension costs.

The government said the caps are intended to ensure that schools and trusts “aren’t spending more than necessary”, adding that some supply agencies had “profited excessively”.

Supply fees ‘big drain on school finances’

Pepe Di’Iasio, general secretary of the Association of School and College Leaders (ASCL), said there were “exorbitant fees being paid to supply agencies on a daily basis” and described this as “a big drain on school finances”.

The highest cap of £55 per day will apply to senior roles such as headteachers and other senior leadership positions.

The supplier fee for teachers of science, technology, engineering and maths (Stem) subjects will be capped at £45 per day, while non-Stem teachers will have a maximum fee of £40 per day.

Fees for educational support staff will be capped at £36 per day, or £38 for special educational needs and disabilities support staff, while admin and clerical staff will have a £32 cap.

Mr Di’Iasio said ASCL welcomed “efforts to cap the costs that can be charged to schools already operating with very tight budgets”, adding that school leaders are often “powerless” because they must maintain staffing levels.

However, the “other way of tackling this issue” would be to reduce schools’ reliance on supply staff by improving recruitment and retention, Mr Di’Iasio added.

He said this would require “greater investment in education to boost teacher pay, address workload concerns and, ultimately, make the profession more attractive to graduates”.

Trusts mandated to use framework

All single-academy trusts and multi-academy trusts will be mandated to procure supply staff through this new framework from September. It is due to go live in May.

The mandate will be published in the upcoming 2026 Academy Trust Handbook and aims to provide “better value for money” for trusts through a DfE-led negotiated deal.

Local authority-maintained schools will also be able to use the framework, although the mandate only applies to academy trusts.

The DfE has yet to set out how this new framework will be enforced, and could not confirm how many supply agencies currently charge over the new daily fee caps it has set.

Sarah Monk, chief strategy officer of The Edwin Group, which includes two supply agencies, said the mandate was a “positive step for the sector” because it would support schools and trusts to maintain “quality and continuity of learning” while securing value for money.

She said it should also bring “greater transparency and consistency” to the procurement process and help trusts to achieve stronger safeguarding, compliance and ethical standards.

Trusts will be able to use an alternative framework or contracts, but only if this does not exceed the rates available through the DfE’s framework.

The DfE said trusts using another procurement route must ensure that agencies provide a transparent breakdown of charges on a per-candidate basis, so that they can confirm supplier fees are not higher.

The DfE will not force trusts to exit an existing contract.

Procurement ‘a time-consuming process’

Ms Monk said procurement could be “a time-consuming process”, but added that the new approach would do “much of the groundwork upfront” while still allowing trusts to choose from “a fully vetted pool of quality providers”.

She added that, done well, the change would bring “more structure, control, data visibility and assurance”.

However, Ms Monk warned that, given the implementation timescale, schools and trusts would need support to manage the transition and ensure compliance.

The DfE said the mandate should not affect the quality or availability of supply staff, nor should it affect their pay and conditions.

The department has told schools and trusts to contact it immediately if agencies claim they must pay supply workers less because of the mandate.

Ms Monk said the shift was ultimately about “the integrity of how public funds are used” and focusing on “securing high-quality staff and delivering the best outcomes for children and young people”.