UK’s Top Education Recruitment Agencies Achieve REC ‘gold Standard’

 

Recruitment agencies Reed, Hays, Randstad and Capita have been awarded REC Audited Education status, demonstrating their commitment to excellence in recruitment.  

 

The REC Audited Education scheme quality assures recruitment agencies that supply teaching and non-teaching staff to schools, academies and education providers across England and Wales.

REC Audited Education was introduced in 2013 as a replacement for the Department for Education’s Quality Mark scheme, which the REC managed for over a decade. To date over 50 recruitment agencies have achieved REC Audited Education status.

 

Reed and Hays are two of the four largest recruitment agencies operating in the UK, with a combined annual turnover of almost £2.16 billion. Randstad and Capita both rank in the top four specialist education agencies according to Recruitment International’s Top 250 Report.     

 

REC chief executive Kevin Green said:

 

“By undertaking this specialist audit recruiters are measuring themselves against the highest industry standards.

 

“The fact that these four major agencies have all chosen to be audited by the REC shows the level of confidence that business leaders have in the product. We encourage other agencies to talk to us about the benefits of being audited both in terms of improving levels of service and demonstrating their compliance to potential clients and candidates.

 

“The success of REC Audited Education is supporting best practice within agencies and ensures we continually improve the standard of teachers within our schools.”         

 

Azam Mohammed, Managing Director at Capita Education Resourcing said:

 

“Gaining this status acknowledges the dedication and professionalism that our staff deliver and confirms that the highest standards of compliance and best practice are met on a daily basis. Our current and potential clients can rest assured that we are committed to the welfare and safety of pupils and deliver to the highest of standards.

 

“It also shows that we are leading the way in recruitment best practice. This scheme assesses how well an agency cares for its candidates and the level of service offered to clients to ensure that recruiters continue to provide the best possible experience to all – something that is really at the heart of everything we do.”

 

Stewart McCoy, Randstad Education Strategic Operations Manager, and REC Education Sector Group Chair, said: 

 

"REC Audited Education gives headteachers peace of mind that the agency they are using complies with safeguarding children legislation. REC members will always take safeguarding seriously but being audited by an external organisation adds an extra assurance to schools. This audit process also helps agencies by making sure that they have adopted the most recent safeguards, and offers sound CPD support to their teaching staff as well as having robust complaints procedures in place.

 

“Several recent procurement processes have required bidders to hold REC Audited Education as a pre-qualifier to the tender process and so there is a clear commercial benefit too.

 

“It is encouraging that other national agencies are among the first to gain the accreditation as this helps to underpin its importance and should encourage more agencies to sign up."

 

Martyn Best, Managing Director at Hays Education, said:

 

“Following our REC Audited Education assessment, I am delighted that Hays Education has been awarded the gold standard. This award recognises our high levels of professionalism and will help us to continually attract the highest calibre of candidates to work in education and ensure the safeguarding of children. The gold standard is a testament to our best practice procedures and compliance policies that ensure we deliver the highest standard of service to our clients.”

 

Keith Rosser, Head of Screening & Compliance Services at Reed, says:

 

"At Reed we pride ourselves in setting and achieving the highest possible standards in recruitment compliance, and REC Audited Education demonstrates our commitment to placing high quality, highly compliant teachers into the education sector."

 

For more information visit www.rec.uk.com/audited

 

Ends

 

Notes to editors:

 

1. REC Audited Education costs £1,295+VAT and must be renewed every two years. Organisations undertaking the audit are required to complete an online diagnostic assessment, following which they are visited by REC auditors who review processes and procedures relating to safeguarding, client relationships and adherence to relevant legislation.