Supply teachers framework benefits report
Published 12 June 2026
Applies to England
© Crown copyright 2026
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The Department for Education (DfE) in collaboration with Government Commercial Agency (GCA) have developed a new framework for schools hiring supply teachers and temporary staffing which introduces caps to supplier margins.
This release aims to estimate the benefit of using the new framework compared to existing costs of hiring a supply teacher.
The cost of a supply teacher is made up of 3 parts:
- teacher wage – gross teacher pay (including employee deductions)
- employment costs – wider employment costs, such as employer national insurance and pension contributions
- supplier margin – all costs not directly associated with the supply teacher, including agency operational costs and profit
Using the ‘Use of supply teachers in schools’ report (see sources) as the basis for overall cost to the school and the teacher wages, we have estimated the likely impact of capping the supplier margin under the maximum cap value. The analysis has been split by primary, secondary and special school teachers.
Table 1: Cost of supply teacher to school – comparison of estimated existing prices against new framework prices and corresponding savings
| Description | Methodology | Primary | Secondary | Special |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Cost to school | a | £218 | £291 | £270 |
| Teacher gross wage | b | £136 | £150 | £144 |
| Employment cost percentage | c | 18.5% | 18.5% | 18.5% |
| Employment cost | d = b * c | £25 | £28 | £27 |
| Total cost of teacher (without margin) | e = b + d | £161 | £178 | £171 |
| Estimated margin | f = a – e | £57 | £113 | £99 |
| Maximum capped margin | g | £45 | £45 | £45 |
| Cost to school under cap | h = e + g | £206 | £223 | £216 |
| Margin saving | i = f – g | £12 | £68 | £54 |
| Cost to school saving % | j = i / a | 5% | 24% | 20% |
All metrics consider daily rates and margins per teacher. Values might not match exactly due to rounding.
Sources
This data was compiled using:
- use of supply teachers in schools report (Table 3), dated September 2024
- GCA framework supply teachers and education recruitment, agreement number: RM6376
Caveats and risks
The teacher cost to school and teacher wages data was collected in a 2023 survey and might not accurately reflect the position at the time of publication of this report.
The employment cost percentage has been estimated at a flat rate 18.5%. This might vary depending on specific teacher wages and contributions and has not been aligned with survey source year.
Saving estimate is based on average cost and exact savings could vary significantly depending on type of school and type of supplied teacher.