An academy trust boss who set up a staff absence protection provider has now set up what he calls the only “school-owned” teacher supply service.
The chief executive of the Bishop Wilkinson Education Trust, Nick Hurn, in 2018 launched a mutual that aimed to offer schools cheaper sickness cover and ensure they retained surpluses for themselves.
He has since created a spin-off recruitment company called Schools Mutual Services, which provides substitute staff at short notice.
Schools Week analysis in January showed maintained primaries and secondaries forked out £622 million, or £171 per pupil, on supply cover in 2021-22, a five-year high.
