What Supply Desk does

Supply Desk Limited is a UK-based education recruitment agency founded in 2002 that places teachers and school support staff in supply, temporary, fixed-term, and permanent roles across primary, secondary, and special-needs schools in England and Wales. The company serves over 5,000 schools, academies, colleges, trusts, and local authorities from Early Years through post-16 in both state and independent sectors, operating through a registered office in Sheffield (Chapeltown), a main trading office in London (Lime Street), and 11 regional branch offices spanning Brighton, Cardiff, East London/Essex, Hampshire, Herts/Beds/Bucks, Kent, London, North London, and Southampton. Specialist consultants at each branch match candidates with local school requirements.

Beyond core placement, Supply Desk operates a portfolio of supplementary services including School-led Tutoring (delivered under DfE grant funding for Covid-19 catch-up), a proprietary Love 2 Read reading intervention programme with a claimed two-year reading age improvement over 10 weeks and a Pupil Progress Guarantee, teacher training, Early Career Teacher (ECT) support, overseas recruitment, and Continuing Professional Development (CPD) courses covering safeguarding, de-escalation, Team Teach, and cyber security (delivered in partnership with the National Cyber Security Centre and Proxima Education). The underlying technology stack is described as a recruitment platform with job listing, candidate management, and school placement functionality, augmented by a self-serve online job portal and Refer a Friend referral programme paying £100-£150 per successful candidate.

Revenue is generated primarily via placement fees on transaction-based pricing (daily unit rates ranging £82.50-£145 per day depending on role and location) and professional-services fees on tuition/intervention work. The GTM model is sales-led through the branch network, augmented by approved-supplier status on the Crown Commercial Services Framework and a content-marketing blog presence across LinkedIn, Facebook, X/Twitter, and Instagram. Supply Desk holds REC Audited Education status, Cyber Essentials, and GDPR compliance, and previously held a 100% DfE Quality Mark for ten consecutive years until the programme ended in 2013. The legal entity is a UK private limited company with no disclosed parent, institutional investor, or external funding.

Name

Supply Desk

Legal name

Supply Desk Limited

Website

https://supplydesk.co.uk

Company type

Private

Founded year

2003

Operating status

Operating

Headcount range

101–250 employees

Short description

Supply Desk is a UK education recruitment specialist placing teachers and school support staff in supply, permanent, and fixed-term roles across 5,000+ schools in England and Wales via 11 regional branches, with additional tuition, CPD, and teacher training services.

Ownership category

akta.pro rank

Headquarters

HQ city

South Otterington

HQ country

United Kingdom

HQ region

Europe

Offices11 records

Markets served

GTM type

B2B

Offering type

Services

Cost components

Personnel, Operations, Marketing or Sales, Technology or R&D, Others

Revenue model

1. Teacher and Support Staff Recruitment Placement: Supply Desk places teachers and school support staff across all subject areas and key stages in short-term, long-term, supply, fixed contract and permanent positions. Schools and educational institutions engage Supply Desk to source qualified education professionals.
2. Tuition and Intervention Services: Provides tuition services including booster groups, SATs tuition, GCSE/A-Level revision, one-to-one tuition, small group tuition, and specialised programmes like the Love 2 Read reading intervention. These services are available through School-led Tutoring grants and direct purchase.

Pricing tiers

Go-to-market motion1 record

Distribution channels3 records

Marketing channels7 records

Core offering

Supply Desk is an education recruitment agency that places qualified teachers and school support staff (teaching assistants, SEND support, cover supervisors, nursery nurses) into short-term, long-term, supply, fixed-term, and permanent positions across more than 5,000 schools, academies, colleges, trusts, and local authorities in England and Wales. The company also delivers tuition and intervention services, including the proprietary Love 2 Read reading programme, and provides related teacher training and CPD offerings.

Product overview

Supply Desk operates as an education recruitment platform offering a unified service for staffing schools across England and Wales. The core offering consists of teacher placement services and school support staff recruitment, supported by supplementary modules including School-led Tutoring (a DfE grant-funded catch-up programme with proprietary Love 2 Read intervention), Teacher Training, ECT Support, and Continued Professional Development courses. The company also offers a Refer a Friend loyalty programme and Guaranteed Pay Scheme for candidates. The portfolio serves over 5,000 schools through 10 regional branches, connecting them with teachers, teaching assistants, cover supervisors, and specialist support staff across all key stages.

Differentiator

Problem solved

Functional benefit

Products and services

• Teacher Placement Services Recruitment and placement of qualified teachers across all subject areas and key stages in short-term, long-term, supply, fixed contract, and permanent positions for UK schools.
• School Support Staff Recruitment Recruitment of teaching assistants, SEND support staff, cover supervisors, nursery assistants, and other school support personnel for UK schools.
• School-led Tutoring DfE grant-funded tutoring programme designed to close learning gaps from Covid-19, providing catch-up tuition including SATs, GCSE, A-Level preparation, and one-to-one or small group sessions for school pupils.
• Love 2 Read Programme Proprietary 10-week reading intervention programme proven to boost reading ages by 2 years in 10 weeks, offered with a Pupil Progress Guarantee to schools and pupils.
• Teacher Training Training and professional development services including overseas recruitment and NQT (newly qualified teacher) support for candidates and schools.
• Continued Professional Development (CPD) Continued Professional Development courses including Safeguarding in Education, De-Escalation workshops, Team Teach training, NCSC Cyber Security training, and collaborative courses with Proxima Education, for teachers and school staff.
• ECT Support Support services for Early Career Teachers, including guidance and placement assistance for newly qualified educators.
• Refer a Friend Scheme Referral programme paying £100-£150 for successful candidate referrals to Supply Desk's education recruitment network, available to candidates and clients.
• Guaranteed Pay Scheme Guaranteed payment contracts offered to supply teachers meeting specific criteria, paid weekly.
• Overseas Recruitment Service supporting UK schools in recruiting qualified teachers from overseas, integrated with Supply Desk's broader teacher placement and training portfolio.

Quantifiable outcome

• Reading age improvement of 2 years in 10 weeks through Love 2 Read programme
• +2 more outcomes

Named customers1 record

Segments4 records

Ideal customer profiles2 records

Technology focussed No

API detail

Has API

No

API docs

API detail

Core technology

AI maturity

App detail

Feature1 record

Partnerships

Five partnerships are on record, tiered core and minor.

• Recruitment and Employment Confederation (REC)coreStrategic or Co-development PartnerSupply Desk is a member of REC and complies with the Code of Professional Practice. The REC Audited Education scheme is the recognised gold standard for recruitment businesses.
• Crown Commercial Services (CCS)coreStrategic or Co-development PartnerSupply Desk is an approved supplier on the Crown Commercial Services Framework, allowing public sector schools to procure education staffing services through official government procurement channels.
• Proxima EducationminorStrategic or Co-development PartnerCollaborative CPD courses with Proxima Education, which works with leading teacher education providers to develop innovative, scenario-based training approaches.
• National Cyber Security CentreminorStrategic or Co-development PartnerCyber Security training designed by the National Cyber Security Centre to help schools protect themselves and their staff and students with IT and online systems.
• Mighty WriterminorGTM or Marketing PartnerSupply Desk provides access to Mighty Writer, an award-winning literacy support resource, at discounted rates for partner schools.

Scale indicators5 records

Recent moves6 records

Expansion highlights5 records

Direct peers

• Teaching Personnel: One of the UK's largest education recruitment specialists, supplying teachers, support staff, and early-years personnel to schools nationwide. Highly comparable in service mix, customer base (UK primary/secondary schools), and branch-led distribution model.
• Protocol Education: UK education recruitment agency placing teachers and support staff across primary, secondary, and SEND schools. Directly comparable in target customer, contract types (supply/permanent), and regional branch network.
• Reed Education: Education recruitment arm of Reed, a major UK staffing group, placing teachers and support staff into schools. Overlaps directly on supply/permanent teacher and TA placements across England and Wales.
• Hays Education: Specialist education division of Hays, a global staffing firm, recruiting teachers, support staff, and education leaders for UK schools. Directly comparable on customer base and service offering, with broader corporate parent.
• Aspire People: UK education recruitment specialist placing teachers, teaching assistants, and SEND support staff. Comparable in service mix (supply/permanent/long-term), target schools, and geographic focus on England.
• Vision for Education: UK-based education recruitment agency supplying teachers, cover supervisors, and teaching assistants to primary and secondary schools. Directly comparable on contract types, vetting/safeguarding emphasis, and regional branch model.
• Academics: UK education recruitment firm placing teachers and support staff into primary, secondary, and SEND schools. Comparable on customer segments (Early Years through post-16) and supply/permanent placement offerings.
• Tradewind Recruitment: UK education recruitment agency focused on teacher and support staff placement across primary and secondary schools. Comparable service mix and customer base, with similar emphasis on safeguarding and compliance.
• Simply Education: UK education recruitment agency placing teachers, TAs, and SEN specialists in primary and secondary schools. Comparable on customer base, contract types, and regional branch coverage.

Emerging players

• Zen Educate: Digital-first UK education staffing marketplace connecting schools directly with teachers and support staff. Targets the same UK school customers but with a tech-led model that bypasses traditional agency mark-ups.

Market position

Strengths5 records

Weaknesses5 records

Competitive moat5 records

Key risks7 records

Key highlights7 records

Customer concentration

• Xx.com/SupplyDeskUK
• Facebookfacebook.com/thesupplydesk
• LinkedInlinkedin.com/company/730943
• Instagraminstagram.com/supplydesk

Compliance4 records

Revenue estimate

Valuation estimate

Number of profiles

Funding overview

Funding rounds

Investors

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

M&A

Investments

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

Frequently asked questions about Supply Desk