NAHT recognises Standards in Recruitment accreditation

Standards reflect the needs of schools

Standards in Recruitment (SiR), the industry’s first independent accreditation for recruitment businesses, is pleased to announce that the National Association of Head Teachers (NAHT) has formally recognised SiR’s education standards in its guide ‘Working with teacher supply and recruitment agencies’, published this week.

Commenting on SiR’s education standards, Valentine Mulholland, head of policy for NAHT, said “For some time NAHT has voiced the concerns of its members reporting issues with teacher supply agencies in relation to the recruitment of permanent staff. We have been in discussions with Standards in Recruitment in the development of their independent education standards for recruitment agencies and to ensure these reflect the needs of schools. NAHT welcomes the development of these standards to raise the quality of services that teacher supply agencies provide to schools.”

Independent quality audits

Mulholland adds “Trade associations have their own codes of conduct; schools and employers need to be aware that these are voluntary and rely on employers reporting an agency to their professional body. SiR, although not a trade association, provides independent quality audits of an agency’s compliance with legislation and recruitment good practice for education supply agencies. NAHT has been consulted in the development of the working principles of the SiR education standards.”

Responding to the inclusion of the SiR programme and accreditation in the NAHT guide, SiR engagement director John Randall said “The challenge for us was to provide independent evidence of compliance within the recruitment sector, without the need to belong to a trade association, so making it available to all agencies. This is at a time when better governance and conformity continues to increase as a priority for hirers. SiR standards are set by a broad spectrum of industry stakeholders and are tested on a pass/fail basis, carefully distinguishing minor error from systemic bad practice.

Additional reassurance to employers

“The SiR standard requirements were comprehensive before we engaged with the NAHT, and as their guide states, ‘agencies with up to date accreditation by SiR will offer additional reassurance to employers’. This is not only because of the audit method used, but also because the areas covered go further than pure safeguarding, providing peace of mind for hirers in a variety of ways. The objective is to encourage real improvement in compliance, critically important in the education sector. Businesses that meet realistic best practice under the SiR programme gain significant commercial value, both from the recognition they receive and the process leading up to it.”

For further information about Standards in Recruitment, please contact John Randall, engagement director at SiR. Tel: 0845 450 4415 or email: press@standardsinrecruitment.comwww.standardsinrecruitment.com/sir-education

For further information about the NAHT guide, please contact Steven George, NAHT Head of Press and Media, Tel: 01444 472886, or email pressoffice@naht.org.ukwww.naht.org.uk

 

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