What Affinity Workforce does

Affinity Workforce is a UK-based education recruitment agency operating through five specialised brands—Affinity Partnerships, Career Teachers, CER Education, Monarch Education, and The Protocol Group—to supply temporary and permanent teaching and support staff to primary, secondary, and SEND schools across England. Its primary go-to-market is a Managed Service Provision (MSP) model in which the company takes end-to-end responsibility for a Multi-Academy Trust's temporary staffing operations, including sourcing, compliance, timesheet verification, and billing, delivered largely through the Government Commercial Agency (GCA) Supply Teachers and Education Recruitment Framework where it holds one of only four Lot 2 positions across every iteration since launch.

The company operates a workforce technology platform that supports MSP delivery—handling candidate sourcing, compliance management (DBS verification, TRA checks, annual file audits), timesheet verification, and staffing coordination across multi-school trusts—alongside value-add services including Affinity Academy (training modules for candidates) and Tutoring Services. Headquartered in London with operational hubs in Bristol, Leeds, and Nottingham, Affinity Workforce has placed over 8,170 candidates across approximately 1,000 schools and reports 30+ active Multi-Academy Trust partnerships spanning every major English region.

Revenue is generated primarily through managed-service fees and supply-staffing mark-ups (worker day rate comprises remuneration, statutory entitlements including National Insurance, pension and apprenticeship levy, plus a service-fee percentage), supplemented by candidate-introduction and transfer fees calculated as a percentage of gross remuneration (minimum 20%) or based on daily charge rates. The company was founded in 2017 (legal entity Affinity Workforce Solutions Limited) and is privately held with no disclosed external institutional investment; it acquired The Protocol Group in June 2025 and continues to expand through new MAT wins and existing-account upsell.

Name

Affinity Workforce

Legal name

Affinity Workforce Solutions Limited

Website

https://www.affinityworkforce.com

Company type

Private

Founded year

2017

Operating status

Operating

Headcount range

251–500 employees

Short description

Affinity Workforce is a UK education recruitment agency operating five brands to supply temporary and permanent teaching and support staff to schools and Multi-Academy Trusts nationwide, primarily through Managed Service Provision agreements and the GCA framework.

Ownership category

akta.pro rank

Product category

Education Staffing Services

NAICS

Temporary Help Services (56132), Employment Placement Agencies (561311), Temporary Help Services (561320), Employment Placement Agencies and Executive Search Services (56131), Employment Services (5613)

SIC

Services-Employment Agencies (7361), Services-Help Supply Services (7363)

akta.pro primary industry

MSP-Integrated RPO (RPO Delivered Alongside MSP) (BPACABAO)

akta.pro secondary industries

Education Direct Hire (Teachers/Administrators) (BPACAFAI), Contingent Workforce / Contractor RPO (Contractor Recruiting) (BPACABAK), Vendor Management System (VMS) & MSP-Led Contractor Programs (BPACAGAF), Job Placement, Matching & Career Navigation Services (EDAAAOAL)

Keywords

• Education recruitment
• Supply teaching staff
• Managed service provision
• School staffing solutions
• Academy trust recruitment

Headquarters

HQ city

Birmingham

HQ country

United Kingdom

HQ region

Europe

Offices4 records

Markets served

GTM type

B2B

Offering type

Services

Cost components

Personnel, Operations, Marketing or Sales, Technology or R&D, Supply Chain

Revenue model

1. Managed Service Provision Fees: Affinity Workforce charges fees for managing temporary staffing operations for Multi-Academy Trusts. The company takes responsibility for sourcing, compliance, and placement of supply staff, earning margins on the total charge rate which includes worker remuneration plus statutory costs plus service fees.
2. Candidate Introduction and Placement Fees: Transfer fees and introduction fees when clients directly engage temporary workers supplied through Affinity. Fees are calculated as a percentage of gross remuneration (minimum 20%) or based on daily charge rates.
3. Supply Staffing Mark-up: The company earns revenue by supplying pre-vetted teaching and support staff to schools, with charges comprising remuneration, statutory entitlements (National Insurance, pension, apprenticeship levy), and a service fee percentage.

Pricing tiers

Go-to-market motion2 records

Distribution channels4 records

Marketing channels9 records

Core offering

Affinity Workforce provides education recruitment and Managed Service Provision (MSP) to UK schools and Multi-Academy Trusts, placing qualified temporary and permanent teaching and support staff across primary, secondary and SEND settings. The company operates under the Government Commercial Agency (GCA) framework Lot 2 and delivers its services through five specialised brands, with an integrated Workforce Technology platform supporting compliance, candidate management and placement workflows.

Product overview

Affinity Workforce operates as one of the UK's leading education recruitment agencies, offering a multi-brand portfolio of staffing solutions. The company is structured as a platform-plus-modules architecture, with five core recruitment sub-brands (Affinity Partnerships, Career Teachers, CER Education, Monarch Education, and The Protocol Group) supported by additional services including Managed Service Provision for Multi-Academy Trusts, Workforce Technology, Affinity Academy for training, and Tutoring Services. The company also operates social impact initiatives including Before the Bell (free school breakfasts) and The After School Podcast. Affinity Workforce delivers services primarily through the Government Commercial Agency (GCA) framework and specialises in supplying temporary and permanent teaching and support staff to primary, secondary, and SEN schools across the UK.

Differentiator

Problem solved

Functional benefit

Brands

• Before the Bell: Social impact initiative providing free school breakfasts to pupils across the UK
• Affinity Academy
• Affinity Zero
• The After School Podcast

Products and services

• Managed Service Provision (MSP) for Education
• Affinity Partnerships
• Career Teachers
• CER Education
• Monarch Education
• The Protocol Group
• Tutoring Services

Quantifiable outcome

• Over 8,170 candidate placements across approximately 1,000 schools through GCA framework
• +4 more outcomes

Named customers14 records

Segments5 records

Ideal customer profiles2 records

Technology focussed No

API detail

Has API

No

API docs

API detail

Core technology

AI maturity

App detail

Feature2 records

Partnerships

Twelve partnerships are on record, tiered core.

• Vision Multi-Academy TrustcoreStrategic or Co-development Partner · 1 June 2026Affinity Workforce secured a new managed service partnership with Vision Multi-Academy Trust to oversee temporary staffing provision across its primary and secondary schools in Greater Manchester. The partnership introduces a structured approach to managing supply needs, ensuring schools have timely access to experienced teaching and support professionals through a single dedicated provider supported by an approved supply panel.
• Lighthouse Schools PartnershipcoreStrategic or Co-development Partner · 1 June 2026From September 2026, Affinity Workforce will manage supply staff requirements across all 33 primary and secondary schools within the Trust, spanning North Somerset, Bath and North East Somerset, and Bristol. The partnership provides a coordinated approach giving the Trust greater control, clarity, and consistency across its supply model.
• Greenshaw Learning Trust (Expanded)coreStrategic or Co-development Partner · 1 June 2026Following successful rollout of services to academies in Bristol and Gloucestershire in September 2025, the partnership entered its next phase extending to 12 additional primary and secondary academies. The expanded agreement includes end-to-end management of temporary staffing needs from sourcing candidates to overseeing compliance.
• Orchard Hill College & Academy Trust (Expanded)coreStrategic or Co-development Partner · 1 May 2026Following successful mobilisation in November 2025, Affinity Workforce extended its contract to support all the Trust's academies across London and the South. The expansion reflects positive impact of the partnership and the Trust's confidence in Affinity Workforce to manage its temporary and supply staffing requirements at scale.
• Orchard Hill College & Academy TrustcoreStrategic or Co-development Partner · 1 November 2025Newest MSP partnership with OHCAT, a specialist Multi-Academy Trust supporting 13 academies across London, Surrey, Sussex, and Berkshire. Affinity Workforce supplies exceptional teaching and support staff to help deliver inclusive, personalised education across the Trust's academies for pupils with complex and special educational needs.
• GLA Trust (Gloucestershire Learning Alliance)coreStrategic or Co-development Partner · 1 March 2025New managed service partnership with GLA Trust, a values-led trust of 11 primary schools and 4 school-based nurseries in Gloucestershire and Worcestershire. Affinity Workforce is the exclusive provider of temporary staffing, supplying high quality supply teachers, teaching assistants, and non-classroom support staff.
• Government Commercial Agency (GCA)coreStrategic or Co-development PartnerAffinity Workforce delivers its Managed Service through the GCA framework and is proud to be one of The Government Commercial Agency. The company is one of only four suppliers to have held a Lot 2 position across every iteration of the framework since it launched, having placed more than 8,000 educators in schools.
• Career TeacherscoreOthersCareer Teachers is one of five education recruitment brands in the Affinity Workforce family, dedicated to providing exceptional recruitment services tailored to meet unique needs of schools and SEN provisions across the UK.
• CER EducationcoreOthersCER Education is one of five education recruitment brands in the Affinity Workforce family, specializing in recruiting dedicated and hard-working teaching staff for UK schools.
• Monarch EducationcoreOthersMonarch Education is one of five education recruitment brands in the Affinity Workforce family, providing recruitment services for the education sector with a personable and honest approach.
• Affinity PartnershipscoreOthersAffinity Partnerships is the main brand operating Managed Service Provision with Multi-Academy Trusts, providing dedicated staffing solutions across the UK education sector.
• Multiple Multi-Academy TrustscoreStrategic or Co-development PartnerPartnerships with 30+ MATs including Advanced Learning Partnership, Bishop Chadwick Catholic Education Trust, Extol Academy Trust, Nicholas Postgate Catholic Academy Trust, Education Village Academy Trust, Tudhoe Learning Trust, Northern Education Trust, drb Ignite, Greenwood Academies Trust, Central Region Schools Trust, Orchard Hill College & Academy Trust, Lime Trust, Cabot Learning Federation, Castle School Education Trust, Cathedral Schools Trust, Futura Learning Partnership, Greenshaw Learning Trust, The Priory Learning Trust, The White Horse Federation, Northern Ambition Academies Trust, Aston Community Education Trust, Sheffield South East Trust, and Co-op Academies Trust schools.

Scale indicators8 records

Recent moves6 records

Expansion highlights6 records

Direct peers

• Reed Education: Specialist education arm of Reed, one of the UK's largest recruitment groups, providing temporary and permanent teaching and support staff to schools nationally; comparable across permanent and supply placement and framework-level contracts.
• Manpower Education: Education staffing arm of ManpowerGroup providing temporary and permanent recruitment for teachers and support workers across UK schools; comparable in scale, framework access, and managed supply arrangements.
• Protocol Education: UK specialist education recruitment agency supplying teachers, teaching assistants, and support staff to schools and MATs; directly comparable in supply-teaching model, regulatory accreditation, and school-customer base.
• Teaching Personnel: UK specialist education recruitment agency supplying teachers, TAs, and SEN staff; directly comparable in supply-day model, school-customer focus, and use of approved public-sector procurement frameworks.
• Page Personnel Education: Education and early-years recruitment arm of PageGroup placing teachers and support staff into UK schools; comparable in supply/permanent hiring and use of public-sector frameworks.
• Academics: UK education recruitment specialist serving primary, secondary, and SEN schools with supply and permanent teaching staff; directly comparable in product offering, customer base, and fee structure.
• Randstad Education: Education recruitment arm of the global staffing group Randstad, providing supply teachers and teaching assistants across the UK; directly comparable in supply-day model, pay-rate structure, and multi-brand umbrella.
• Hays Education: Hays' dedicated education division supplying teachers, SEN staff, and support professionals into UK schools and MATs; comparable in supply/permanent education recruitment and enterprise trust-level agreements.

Emerging players

• Coyle Education: Boutique UK education recruiter placing teachers and support staff into schools; an EMERGING_PLAYER with overlapping supply-teaching coverage and a comparable focus on compliance and safeguarding.
• Spencer Clarke Group: UK public-sector recruitment specialist with an education desk placing teachers and support staff into schools and academies; comparable in public-sector supply-teaching exposure though broader across sectors.

Market position

Strengths5 records

Weaknesses5 records

Competitive moat5 records

Key risks6 records

Key highlights7 records

Customer concentration

• Xtwitter.com/affinitywf
• Facebookfacebook.com/profile.php?id=100089725454990
• LinkedInlinkedin.com/company/5101572
• Instagraminstagram.com/affinityworkforceaws

Compliance5 records

Revenue estimate

Valuation estimate

Number of profiles

Profiles4 records

Subsidiaries5 records

Funding overview

Funding rounds

Investors

Funding detail is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →

M&A2 records

Investments

M&A and investment is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →

Frequently asked questions about Affinity Workforce