Smart Teachers
Smart Teachers is a UK education recruitment agency founded in 2005, supplying temporary and permanent teaching, support, and leadership staff to roughly 6,800 schools, colleges, and trusts across London, the Home Counties, and a 32-branch UK network within The Edwin Group.
- Company typePrivate
- Founded2005
- HeadquartersFinsbury, United Kingdom
- Headcount101–250
- GTM typeB2B
- OfferingServices
What Smart Teachers does
Smart Teachers is a UK-based specialist education recruitment agency founded in 2005 and operated as the flagship brand of The Edwin Group, a strategic operating parent that also owns Axcis, ABC Teachers, Vision for Education, Edwin People and Commando Joe's. The company supplies temporary and permanent teaching, support and leadership staff to primary, secondary, SEND, academy, multi-academy trust, college and alternative-provision schools, with a stated focus on London and the Home Counties and a wider UK branch network. Its scale signals include roughly 10,000 registered candidates, 6,800 client schools, 473 preferred supplier agreements, and 36 named branch locations across the country.
The core product set comprises supply cover (temporary staffing), permanent recruitment, executive search for school leadership, and tuition services (face-to-face and online). Underlying technology is an education recruitment platform with three self-service portals: a public Job Portal and Supply Staff Portal for candidates, and a School Portal plus an enhanced School Portal Plus for institutional clients to request staff, manage bookings and administer preferred-supplier workflows. The School Portal appears to run on a Salesforce-based client portal (Salesforce login URL is exposed in the navigation). Revenue is generated via three streams: subscription/recurring models for temporary and supply staffing, transaction fees for permanent placements, and professional-services fees for tailored tuition delivery. Pricing is quote-based and not publicly disclosed.
The go-to-market combines direct field sales to schools (backed by regional branch account managers and dedicated safeguarding processes), self-service digital channels for both candidates and schools, referral programmes for both schools and candidates, training and events, and approved-provider status with the UK government National Tutoring Programme. The Edwin Group, including Smart Teachers, was named in The Sunday Times Top 10 Best Places to Work UK 2023 in the big companies category, with Excellent ratings across reward and recognition, information sharing, empowerment, pride, job satisfaction and wellbeing. The company is privately held, with no disclosed funding rounds, M&A, or revenue figures in the source data.
Smart Teachers firmographics
Firmographics- Name
- Smart Teachers
- Legal name
- Smart Teachers Ltd
- Website
- https://smartteachers.co.uk
- Company type
- Private
- Founded year
- 2005
- Operating status
- Operating
- Headcount range
- 101–250 employees
- Short description
- Smart Teachers is a UK education recruitment agency founded in 2005, supplying temporary and permanent teaching, support, and leadership staff to roughly 6,800 schools, colleges, and trusts across London, the Home Counties, and a 32-branch UK network within The Edwin Group.
- Ownership category
- akta.pro rank
Smart Teachers industry classification
Industry- Product category
- Education Staffing Services
- NAICS
- Educational Support Services (611710)
- SIC
- Services-Employment Agencies (7361)
- akta.pro primary industry
- Education Direct Hire (Teachers/Administrators) (BPACAFAI)
- akta.pro secondary industry
- Homework Tutoring & Academic Support (Subject Tutoring) (HSAAAHAC)
Keywords
Where Smart Teachers is headquartered
LocationHeadquarters
- HQ city
- Finsbury
- HQ country
- United Kingdom
- HQ region
- Europe
Offices1 record
Markets served
Smart Teachers business model
Business model- GTM type
- B2B
- Offering type
- Services
- Cost components
- Personnel, Operations, Marketing or Sales, Technology or R&D
Revenue model
- Temporary/Supply Staffing: Supplying temporary teaching, support and leadership staff to schools on a contract basis
- Permanent Recruitment: Permanent placement services for schools seeking full-time teaching and support staff
- Tuition Services: Tailor-made tutoring services provided face-to-face and online for pupil support
Pricing tiers
| Model | Billing | Price |
|---|---|---|
| Subscription | Pay-as-you-go | Supply cover services for schools |
Distribution channels5 records
Marketing channels4 records
Smart Teachers product offering
Product offeringCore offering
Smart Teachers recruits and supplies qualified teachers, teaching assistants, cover supervisors, support staff, and school leaders to schools, colleges, and alternative provisions across London and the Home Counties on a temporary (supply cover), permanent, and executive search basis. The agency also provides tailor-made tuition services delivered face-to-face and online, and supports placements through dedicated online portals for candidates and schools.
Product overview
Smart Teachers operates as an education recruitment agency providing a unified portfolio of staffing services for schools, colleges, and alternative provisions. The core offering consists of supply cover (temporary staffing), permanent recruitment, executive search, and tuition services, supported by digital platforms including the Supply Staff Portal, School Portal, and School Portal + for managing placements and administration. Additional services include ECT placement pools, job alerts, training and events, and a resource library. The company connects approximately 10,000 registered teachers and support staff with 6,800 client schools across 32 branches in the UK.
Differentiator
Problem solved
Functional benefit
Products and services
- Supply Cover Temporary staffing service supplying qualified teachers, teaching assistants, cover supervisors, and support staff to schools for last-minute and short or long-term absences. Priced on a quote-based, pay-as-you-go basis and delivered via local branches and the School Portal.
- Permanent Recruitment
- Executive Search
- Tuition Services
- Supply Staff Portal
- School Portal
- ECT Pool
- Training & Events
Companies that use Smart Teachers
Customer profileNamed customers7 records
Segments5 records
Ideal customer profiles4 records
Smart Teachers technology and API
TechnologyTechnology focussed No
API detail
- Has API
- No
- API docs
- API detail
Core technology
AI maturity
App detail
Feature4 records
Smart Teachers partnerships and signals
Strategic signalPartnerships
Seven partnerships are on record, tiered flagship, minor and core.
- Edwin GroupflagshipParent company providing strategic direction and shared services across eight companies including Smart Teachers, enabling access to comprehensive recruitment and enrichment solutions for schools and candidates.
- ABC TeachersminorSister brand within the Edwin Group portfolio, serving as part of the group's comprehensive education recruitment and enrichment solutions.
- Vision for EducationminorSister brand within the Edwin Group providing education recruitment services as part of the group's integrated staffing and enrichment offerings.
- AxcisminorSpecialist SEND recruiter operating as part of the Edwin Group, focusing on special educational needs and disabilities placements.
- Edwin PeopleminorPart of the Edwin Group portfolio offering recruitment solutions alongside Smart Teachers and other group brands.
- Commando Joe'sminorPart of the Edwin Group providing enrichment and character education solutions as part of the group's comprehensive education offerings.
- National Tutoring ProgrammecoreApproved provider of National Tutoring Programme academic tutoring, providing extra support for pupils through trained tutors.
Scale indicators6 records
Recent moves6 records
Expansion highlights6 records
Smart Teachers competitors and assessment
Company assessmentDirect peers
- Teaching Personnel: UK's largest specialist education recruitment agency, supplying teachers, teaching assistants and support staff to primary, secondary and SEND schools on temporary and permanent bases — directly overlapping Smart Teachers' core supply-cover and permanent-recruitment offering.
- Protocol Education: UK education recruitment specialist providing supply teachers, permanent hires, and tuition services to schools and academies across England, competing head-to-head on preferred-supplier lists and SEND staffing contracts.
- Academics: UK-based education recruitment agency placing teachers, support staff and leaders in primary, secondary and SEND schools via temp, contract and permanent placements — a direct competitor in Smart Teachers' core London and regional geography.
- TeacherActive: UK education recruitment specialist providing supply cover, permanent recruitment and SEN staffing to schools and academies nationally, with a comparable multi-branch model and similar candidate/customer scale.
- Aspire People: UK education recruitment agency offering supply, permanent and SEND staffing solutions to schools and academies; competes directly with Smart Teachers on preferred-supplier tenders in London and the Home Counties.
- ITN Mark Education: UK-based specialist education recruiter supplying teaching and support staff on a temporary and permanent basis to primary, secondary and SEND schools, operating in overlapping geographic territories.
- Career Teachers: UK education recruitment agency offering daily supply, long-term and permanent teaching placements to schools, with a multi-branch London-centric footprint that directly overlaps Smart Teachers' core geography.
Broad incumbents
- Reed Education: Education division of Reed, the UK's largest generalist recruitment group, supplying teachers and support staff via temporary and permanent placements to schools and MATs nationwide — a broader-incumbent competitor leveraging significant group scale.
- Hays Education: Education arm of Hays, the global staffing group, providing supply, permanent and executive education recruitment across the UK with a multi-region branch network comparable to Smart Teachers' geographic model.
- Randstad Education: Education division of Randstad, one of the world's largest staffing firms, providing supply and permanent education recruitment across the UK and competing on MAT-level preferred-supplier contracts.
Market position
Strengths5 records
Weaknesses5 records
Competitive moat5 records
Key risks5 records
Key highlights7 records
Customer concentration
Smart Teachers social profiles
Digital presenceSmart Teachers financial estimates
Financial estimateRevenue estimate
Valuation estimate
Smart Teachers leadership team
Management profileNumber of profiles
Smart Teachers funding detail
Funding detailFunding overview
Funding rounds
Investors
Funding detail is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →
Smart Teachers M&A and investment
M&A and investmentM&A
Investments
M&A and investment is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →
Frequently asked questions about Smart Teachers
What does Smart Teachers do?
Smart Teachers recruits and supplies qualified teachers, teaching assistants, cover supervisors, support staff, and school leaders to schools, colleges, and alternative provisions across London and the Home Counties on a temporary (supply cover), permanent, and executive search basis. The agency also provides tailor-made tuition services delivered face-to-face and online, and supports placements through dedicated online portals for candidates and schools.
Is Smart Teachers a public or private company?
Smart Teachers is a private company. It is classified as corporate owned and is currently operating.
When was Smart Teachers founded?
Smart Teachers was founded in 2005. It employs 101 to 250 people.
Where is Smart Teachers based?
Smart Teachers is headquartered in Finsbury, United Kingdom, in the Europe region.
How does Smart Teachers make money?
Three revenue lines are on record. Temporary/Supply Staffing is the primary driver. The others are permanent Recruitment and tuition Services.
Who are Smart Teachers's main competitors?
Direct peers on record are Teaching Personnel, Protocol Education, Academics, TeacherActive, Aspire People, ITN Mark Education and Career Teachers. Broad incumbents are Reed Education, Hays Education and Randstad Education.
Does Smart Teachers have an API?
No public API is recorded for Smart Teachers.
What industry is Smart Teachers in?
Smart Teachers's product category is Education Staffing Services. Its primary akta.pro industry code is BPACAFAI, Education Direct Hire (Teachers/Administrators), with a secondary code of HSAAAHAC, Homework Tutoring & Academic Support (Subject Tutoring). Its NAICS code is 611710 and its SIC code is 7361.