Workforce management software for schools and trusts

When a teacher or staff member calls in sick or has to take a leave of absence, schools and trusts need to be able to act quickly. 

Instead of relying on spreadsheets and ringing round the same few substitute teachers, you can use integrated absence management software, which allows you to: 

• Curate a pool of reliable substitute teacher talent, accessible via a secure, centralised online platform 
• Easily communicate with potential substitute staff and secure coverage with a few clicks 
• Eliminate agency fees and provide standardised pay levels, so substitute workers can see at a glance whether they’re the right fit for you. 

Alongside facilitating short-term classroom coverage, solutions might also include recruitment features; ideal when you need to bring someone on board on a more permanent basis. 

Even the best substitute teacher needs the right information to successfully teach and safeguard students. 

As a school or trust, you can use your education management solutions to equip substitute teaching talent with more than just the day’s curriculum. For example, if a student in the class is facing a difficult anniversary, such as the death of a parent, a substitute teacher will be able to see that on your system. 

In this case, the substitute teacher is being better supported, and when permanent teachers know there are measures like this in place, it takes the pressure off – they know their students are going to be properly cared for if they’re sick, which means less presenteeism and workplace stress. 

Access to suitable CPD and training is crucial to effective workforce management. It helps to motivate staff and can make them feel valued as a member of the team. 

Schools and trusts can use their HR systems or learning and development (L&D) software to make sure teachers and senior leadership can prioritise staff development. Every HR By IRIS, for example, has a core training and development module that lets you: 

• Log individual career aspirations and identify relevant training  
• Access online training modules and arrange for CPD that relates to the staff member’s goals 
• Track performance and monitor for any issues (e.g. a teacher who doesn’t have time to complete a training module) 

With training and development software that’s integrated with your MIS, you can also collate school or trust-wide CPD performance data. This can help leadership make better decisions to improve workforce management strategy. 

While flexible working can keep staff happy and help them to achieve a better work/life balance, schools and trusts might struggle to facilitate this measure for staff. 

However, there are a number of software-based solutions which can help make this easier: 

• Some HR solutions have case management functionality, allowing you to effectively log and process flexible working requests from staff 
• A robust HR system can help you monitor who’s working when; so if a staff member is granted flexible working, you can effectively manage their schedule 
• Flexible working has a knock-on effect on payroll, but solutions like Every Payroll By IRIS or Dataplan By IRIS can handle fluctuating work patterns. 

Recruitment is an important mission within workforce management – especially in education, where teacher shortages frequently make the headlines. 

Workforce management tools like recruitment software can help schools and trusts improve how they bring new staff on board by: 

• Centralising recruitment activity into one single source of knowledge, accessible from across schools or trusts 
• Making it easier to respond to applicants via a user-friendly recruitment platform, so promising candidates don’t drop off the radar 
• Carrying out consensual social media background checks without holding up the recruitment process 
• Improving the onboarding process for new starters, such as providing them with induction and policy information via the HR system ahead of their first day in the classroom.