Proxi Education – a co‑op created to make life fairer for supply teachers

If you thought that zero hours work with lower pay, no pension, holiday or benefits was mostly the plight of delivery riders, hospitality staff and taxi drivers – think again. The teaching profession is also subject to precarious working practices. 

“Supply teachers used to be allocated to schools through local councils but that ceased in 1988,” said teacher Niall Bradley. “Now, 85% of supply teachers are supplied through private agencies that take a large cut from the money schools pay. 

“So most supply teachers are paid around 40% less than full-time teachers and have no access to a Teachers’ Pension Scheme.” 

What’s worse, it’s common practice for work to be cancelled at short notice with no pay. “One supply teacher I know turned up for a day’s work at a school, got into the classroom and took the register, only to be told to go home as she wasn’t needed – and there was no cancellation fee,” Niall said.  

In a bid to change all this, the National Supply Teachers Network was formed some 10 years ago, to put pressure on the unions to get better pay and conditions for its members. 

“Supply teachers in Scotland are still supplied by local councils, and in Northern Ireland there’s one huge digitally controlled supply pool, run by Belfast City Hall, so we know there are other ways of doing it.” 

They opted to set up Proxi Education up as a co‑operative after a meeting with Greater Manchester Mayor Andy Burnham, as Niall recalled. “We wanted to set up a Greater Manchester supply pool – and he liked the idea but, sadly, education for 3‑16‑year‑olds is not within a mayors’ remit. 

“He brought Co‑operatives UK’s CEO Rose Marley to the meeting and she suggested setting up as a co‑op. And that’s how Proxi began.”

To get Proxi off the ground, Niall and his co-founder received help from the Business Support for Co‑ops programme, delivered by Co‑operatives UK in partnership with The Co‑operative Bank. 

This help came in the form of consultancy and advice from co-operative advisor Mark Simmonds. 

“We had a series of meetings with Mark. We did a process where we looked at the different structures and which would be best for us. We ended up setting up as a limited company by guarantee with co‑operative articles. 

“At the time, we were also wanting to create a more formal structure for the National Supply Teachers Network. When we saw the articles Mark had provided for Proxi, we knew they’d be perfect for formalising this organisation too. So both co‑ops were incorporated within days of each other.”

“Mark also made some useful suggestions for how we could create better conditions for teachers. We have a dividend that goes into a pot for them to spend on continuing professional development, or whatever they wish to spend it on. 

“And he suggested sickness insurance for teachers and cited the example of bread funds in Holland. This is something we plan to do when we’re more established. Sickness insurance will be a game changer for supply teachers.”

Proxi Education started trading in September 2023 and placed their first teachers the following month. Since then, they’ve placed 20 teachers in regular and ad hoc work.

“Fifty percent of them are now being paid towards the top of the pay scale. And we’re making sure the schools we work with follow the Agency Workers Regulations 2010,” said Niall.

“These state that when someone has been working for a school for 12 weeks, they should be paid the same as the permanent members of staff. It’s at this point, however, that most agencies go quiet and try not to pay the new, higher amount.” 

Going forward, Proxi Education plan to turn their largely manual operation into a digital platform to connect teachers with schools more easily, efficiently and cost effectively. 

“We’ve invested in the software and once it’s up and running, schools will be able to book teachers directly, similar to how it works in Northern Ireland and Scotland. That’s what we’re aiming for.

 “The whole thing will be transparent and we’ll take out only a minimal amount to keep the whole system working, so we can get as much of the money paid by schools to teachers as possible.” 

Find out more

Proxi Education | National Supply Teachers Network