How schools and MATs can benefit from CER’s managed service solution

In today’s rapidly changing educational landscape, balancing the recruitment of skilled staff with budget management can be quite a juggling act. To navigate these challenges effectively, multi-academy trusts (MATs) are increasingly turning to managed service providers (MSPs), and one standout player in this arena is CER. CER manages staffing requirements for many MATs across the UK. An example includes the Nicholas Postgate Catholic Academy Trust – a family of 37 schools serving Teesside, North Yorkshire and York. All of CER’s MATs encounter various challenges but these trusts have all benefited from significant advantages within their partnership with CER as their temporary staffing provider. CER’s services have provided them with a consistent and well-trained staff pool, alleviating the need for constant retraining and ensuring a deep understanding of policies and procedures. CER, as part of Affinity Workforce Solutions, is an industry leading, trustworthy provider in the education sector. They operate within the Crown Commercial Service (CCS) framework, ensuring transparency and efficiency in the hiring of temporary staff, which offers several noteworthy benefits to MATs, including: • Fully compliant procurement: CER ensures adherence to all procurement regulations, ensuring MAT’s procurement processes are fully compliant. • Transparent costs: CER provides transparent cost structures, allowing trusts to have clear insights into their staffing expenses. • Reduced charge rates: With CER, MATs can benefit from reduced charge rates, optimising their budget allocation for staffing requirements. • Improved quality of supply staff: CER’s rigorous vetting and training processes result in a higher quality pool of supply staff for trusts. CER’s Vendor Management System, Affinity Hub, empowers schools and academies by giving them full control over supply recruitment and management. It includes features such as efficient invoicing and timesheet management. CER’s expertise in costefficient staffing and unwavering commitment to compliance also eases the financial burden while maintaining educational excellence.