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Before signing with a SEN agency, London schools should ask structured questions about compliance, candidate quality, pricing and service arrangements. This guide provides a framework of the most important questions to ask.
Before committing to a SEN staffing agency relationship, London schools should ask a structured set of questions covering compliance, SEN expertise, candidate pool quality, pricing and service arrangements. The answers allow schools to assess whether an agency is suitable for their specific needs, to compare agencies fairly and to identify concerns before committing to a relationship.
SENDhelp supplies specialist SEN teachers, teaching assistants and support staff to schools and provisions across London and the surrounding counties. Whether you need cover today or are planning ahead, we can help you find the right person quickly.
Ask: How do you verify DBS status for workers being placed in schools? Do you use the DBS update service and how do you verify existing certificates? What is your policy on placing workers before their DBS is complete? How do you obtain and verify references from previous educational employers, and from how many? How do you verify the right to work of workers from outside the UK? How do you verify mandatory training, Care Certificate completion and any specialist SEN training? Can you provide a sample compliance record for a recently registered worker?
Ask: What is the specific SEN expertise of your consultants? Do any of your consultants have backgrounds in SEN education? What proportion of your SEN candidates have more than 2 years of SEN experience? Do you have candidates with experience of the specific SEN conditions prevalent in our school? Can you tell me about the SEN training you provide or require from your candidates? What proportion of your SEN candidates hold Level 3 or above SEN qualifications? Do you have candidates with specialist training relevant to our pupils such as autism approaches, AAC or BSL?
Ask: Can you provide a full all-inclusive rate card covering all role levels and all shift types relevant to our school? What is included in your all-inclusive rate, specifically regarding holiday pay and employer National Insurance? What are your transfer fee provisions and the qualifying period for converting an agency worker to direct employment without a fee? What are your cancellation terms and what notice is needed to avoid a cancellation charge? What are your payment terms and how are timesheet disputes handled? Are there any additional charges not included in the standard rate card?
Ask: Do you operate a 24/7 service for urgent SEN cover requests? Who do I contact outside business hours and what is your typical response time for an urgent same-day request? Will I have a named consultant who knows our school and our SEN provision? How do you brief your workers before they attend a placement for the first time? How do you handle feedback on workers and what action do you take when a worker is reported as unsuitable for our school? How do you ensure that you only place workers who are an appropriate match for our pupils’ specific SEN needs?
Ask: How many SEN candidates do you have registered and available in our specific area of London? What is your track record of filling SEN placements in schools similar to ours in London? How do you handle the GDPR implications of schools sharing pupil EHCP information with you for briefing purposes? Do you have a data processing agreement that covers this? Are you familiar with the SEN provision landscape in our London borough? Have you placed staff in schools working with our specific local authority?
Ask: Can you provide contact details for two or three current London school clients in similar settings who would be willing to speak with us about their experience? How long have you been operating as a specialist SEN agency in London? What volume of SEN placements do you make in London schools each week? Have you ever been subject to any regulatory investigation or adverse finding by Ofsted, the DfE or any professional body? Are you members of any professional bodies such as the Recruitment and Employment Confederation?
For related information see our articles on How to Choose an SEN Agency in London and Red Flags When Hiring SEN Staff.
Ask about their DBS, reference and right to work checking processes; their consultants’ SEN expertise and knowledge; the depth of their London SEN candidate pool for the roles you need; their full rate card with no hidden charges; their transfer fee and cancellation provisions; their 24/7 availability and account management arrangements; and whether they can provide client references from comparable London schools.
Ask for documented evidence of their compliance processes, including their DBS policy, reference checking procedure and training verification protocol. Ask for a sample compliance record for a recently registered worker (redacted for personal data). Check their professional body memberships. Ask for client references and speak to them about their experience of the agency’s compliance standards in practice.
Yes. Asking for references from two or three current client schools in similar settings is an important part of evaluating a SEN agency. A reputable agency should readily provide references. Speaking with reference schools gives you unfiltered information about the agency’s placement quality, responsiveness and compliance standards in practice. If an agency cannot or will not provide references, this warrants additional scrutiny.
Visit our SEN London Resource Hub for more guides on EHCP rights, SEN legislation, staffing costs, agency use, Ofsted expectations and borough-by-borough funding variations across the capital.
The information in this article is provided for general guidance only and does not constitute legal or professional advice. Legislation, funding and local authority policies change: always verify current requirements with the relevant authority. SENDhelp Education Limited accepts no responsibility or liability for any loss or damage arising from reliance on this content. Any links to third-party websites are provided for convenience only and do not constitute endorsement of their content.
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