4myschools are proud new holders of the DCSF Quality Mark
4myschools were awarded the Quality Mark after passing their compliance audit in April 2009.
What is the Quality Mark and what does it mean?
Safe Recruitment - DCSF Quality Mark
Supply teachers make an important contribution to the smooth running of schools and the raising of standards. The Government values their contribution and wants to ensure they are recruited and managed well, to allow them to give their best to schools.
The Quality Mark was launched in July 2002, as a joint initiative between the Department for Education and Skills and Recruitment and Employment Confederation to help drive up standards for everyone in the sector. The Quality Mark sets minimum standards for agencies and LEAs to reach in areas such as the way they recruit and interview supply teachers, the way they check and manage their performance and the way they stay at the forefront of changes in the teaching sector.
Maintaining standards in education recruitment is vital and the benefits of the Quality Mark to LEAs, agencies, supply teachers and the schools that they service are immense. Schools and teachers deserve high quality agencies and this scheme helps both schools and teachers be more confident about the agencies they use. It will give increased confidence to schools, parents and pupils that staff supplied through agencies are recruited properly and have ongoing support. For agencies and LEAs it will provide both assurance and official recognition that the highest standards of recruitment practice are being adhered to; and teachers will be confident that they have selected an accredited and reputable service that will add value to their experience as supply teachers.
Objectives
The main objectives of the Quality mark are:
- To recognise private sector supply agencies and LEAs who are able to demonstrate that they meet standards of good practice in managing and providing supply teachers for schools
- To enable schools and temporary teachers to feel confident about the quality of the agencies and LEAs with whom they are dealing
- To raise the standard and status of supply teaching; and
- To recognize the contributions made by supply teachers, agencies and LEAs in supporting schools.
The Process
All LEAs and agencies (operationally trading for at least one year) which supply schools with temporary teachers in England are eligible to apply. They are required to submit detailed evidence to show they are able to meet the required standards by means of a policy document, internal processes and procedures and documentation in support of these processes. To ensure compliance with each standard there is a rigorous inspection process in place, including an audit, supported by detailed exception reporting to applicants. The REC require a high level of detail and understanding of their operation in order to be sufficiently certain that the written evidence that has been provided is compliant with the required standards.
4myschools will be re-tested every two years with a full audit of our practices.
