Monarch Education
Monarch Education is a UK education recruitment agency supplying temporary and permanent teaching and support staff to primary, secondary, and SEND schools across England through four regional offices, operating as a trading brand of Affinity Workforce Solutions Limited.
- Company typePrivate
- Founded2000
- HeadquartersBirmingham, United Kingdom
- Headcount101–250
- GTM typeB2B
- OfferingServices
What Monarch Education does
Monarch Education is a UK education recruitment agency that supplies temporary and permanent teaching and non-teaching staff to primary, secondary, and Special Educational Needs and Disabilities (SEND) schools across England. Founded in 2000 with its first branch in Birmingham, the company now operates four regional offices covering the West Midlands, East Midlands, North West, and South regions (Birmingham, Nottingham, Manchester, Bristol), serving 1,439 school clients and placing 3,450 candidates across 164,401 working days in 2023. Its commercial offering spans daily supply, short- and long-term placements, permanent recruitment (with transfer fees of 20% of gross remuneration and minimums of £3,000 for teachers and £1,500 for other workers), and master-vendor managed service provision for Multi-Academy Trusts that standardises charge rates across academy networks.
The business model is sales-led, using dedicated regional recruitment consultants engaging directly with school administrators, HR departments, and MAT leadership. Monarch holds Government Commercial Agency (GCA) Framework approved supplier status, enabling public sector procurement access, and is an approved tuition partner on the Department for Education's National Tutoring Programme. Its technology footprint is intentionally light: a candidate portal and the Affinity Tutors online platform for one-to-one and group tutoring, rather than proprietary AI or matching systems. Adjacent group products under the Affinity Workforce umbrella include the Affinity Academy (CPD and apprenticeship training), Monarch Partnership Plus (loyalty scheme with rebates and training schools), and Affinity Zero (carbon offsetting initiative).
Monarch Education is a wholly owned trading brand of Affinity Workforce Solutions Limited (Company No. 11593079), a private UK company that also operates sister brands CER and Sugarman Education. Leadership comprises CEO Esme Bianchi-Barry and Managing Director Corinna Holden, supported by a regional operations management team. The company has not raised external funding and does not publicly disclose standalone revenue. Its strategic positioning combines regulatory credentials (GCA, NTP, Gold Standard in Safeguarding), long-tenured MAT relationships, and employer-brand recognition (Sunday Times Best Places to Work 2024 and 2025) to compete in a fragmented UK education staffing market.
Monarch Education firmographics
Firmographics- Name
- Monarch Education
- Legal name
- Affinity Workforce Solutions Limited
- Website
- https://monarcheducation.co.uk
- Company type
- Private
- Founded year
- 2000
- Operating status
- Operating
- Headcount range
- 101–250 employees
- Short description
- Monarch Education is a UK education recruitment agency supplying temporary and permanent teaching and support staff to primary, secondary, and SEND schools across England through four regional offices, operating as a trading brand of Affinity Workforce Solutions Limited.
- Ownership category
- akta.pro rank
Monarch Education industry classification
Industry- Product category
- Education Staffing Services
- NAICS
- Educational Support Services (611710), Educational Support Services (6117)
- SIC
- Services-Educational Services (8200)
- akta.pro primary industry
- Instructional Delivery & Pedagogy (School-Led) (EDAJAFAB)
Keywords
Where Monarch Education is headquartered
LocationHeadquarters
- HQ city
- Birmingham
- HQ country
- United Kingdom
- HQ region
- Europe
Offices4 records
Markets served
Monarch Education business model
Business model- GTM type
- B2B
- Offering type
- Services
- Cost components
- Personnel, Operations, Marketing or Sales, Technology or R&D, Others
Revenue model
- Temporary Staffing Services: Monarch Education acts as an employment business supplying temporary teaching and non-teaching staff to schools. They charge schools daily rates/hourly rates for supply staff, with fees structured as a percentage of total engagement cost on top of remuneration and statutory costs. They also serve as master vendor for Multi-Academy Trusts, standardizing charge rates across academies.
- Permanent Placement Fees: Transfer fees apply when schools permanently engage temporary workers supplied through Monarch. Fees calculated as 20% of Gross Remuneration during first 12 months, with minimum fees of £3,000 for teachers and £1,500 for other workers.
- National Tutoring Programme: Monarch serves as an approved tuition partner on the NTP, providing one-to-one and group tutoring for pupils either face-to-face or via their online platform Affinity Tutors.
Pricing tiers
| Model | Billing | Price |
|---|---|---|
| Other | Weekly | Custom daily/hourly rates for temporary staffing |
Go-to-market motion1 record
Distribution channels4 records
Marketing channels7 records
Monarch Education product offering
Product offeringCore offering
Monarch Education is an education recruitment agency that supplies temporary and permanent teaching and support staff to primary, secondary, and SEND schools across England. It operates as a trading brand of Affinity Workforce Solutions Limited, with four regional offices (Birmingham, Bristol, Manchester, Nottingham) delivering staffing services through direct sales, the GCA Framework, and master vendor arrangements with Multi-Academy Trusts. The company also offers online tutoring through the Affinity Tutors platform as part of the National Tutoring Programme.
Product overview
Monarch Education is a specialized education recruitment agency and part of the Affinity Workforce Solutions group. The company operates as a unified platform offering temporary and permanent staffing services for teaching and non-teaching staff across primary, secondary, and SEN schools throughout England. The core offering (Monarch Education) connects schools with qualified teachers, teaching assistants, and support staff through direct placement, managed service provision via the GCA Framework, and supply teaching. Supplementary products include Affinity Tutors (online tutoring platform for the National Tutoring Programme), Affinity Academy (CPD and training), and Monarch Partnership Plus (loyalty scheme). The company operates regional branches covering East Midlands, West Midlands, North West, and South regions.
Differentiator
Problem solved
Functional benefit
Brands
- Affinity Tutors: Online tutoring platform providing one-to-one and group tuition for pupils in primary and secondary schools, part of the National Tutoring Programme offering.
Products and services
- Monarch Education Recruitment Services Temporary and permanent education recruitment services connecting qualified teachers, teaching assistants, Early Career Teachers (ECTs), and support staff with primary, secondary, and SEND schools across England through four regional offices.
- Affinity Tutors Online tutoring platform offering one-to-one and group tuition for pupils in primary and secondary schools, delivered either face-to-face or online as part of the National Tutoring Programme (NTP).
- Monarch Partnership Plus Enhanced loyalty programme for partner schools offering financial rebates, preferential rates, training school opportunities, and termly funded project bidding for individual schools and school cluster groups.
- Affinity Academy Training Training and professional development platform offering CPD courses, safeguarding training, and bespoke Early Career Teacher (ECT) courses for candidates, plus apprenticeship programmes (Level 3 Business Administration).
Quantifiable outcome
- 3,450 candidates placed and 1,439 schools served annually
- +1 more outcomes
Companies that use Monarch Education
Customer profileNamed customers5 records
Segments3 records
Ideal customer profiles2 records
Monarch Education technology and API
TechnologyTechnology focussed No
API detail
- Has API
- No
- API docs
- API detail
Core technology
AI maturity
App detail
Monarch Education partnerships and signals
Strategic signalPartnerships
Ten partnerships are on record, tiered minor and core.
- Western Overseas Study Abroad LimitedminorMonarch Education (Dubai) is one of seven international institutional partners appointed by Western Overseas Study Abroad Limited (WOSAL) for student recruitment and admissions support. WOSAL, a BSE-listed company, is expanding its global education network across Canada, New Zealand, Europe, the Middle East, and Russia.
- Affinity Workforce SolutionscoreMonarch Education is a trading brand wholly owned by Affinity Workforce Limited. The parent company provides shared services, branding, and strategic direction. Monarch operates alongside sister brands CER and Sugarman Education under the AWS umbrella, sharing resources like the Affinity Zero sustainability initiative and Affinity Academy training programmes.
- Lime Academy TrustcoreMonarch Education provides staffing services to Lime Academy Trust academies in the East Midlands region (Northamptonshire, Nottinghamshire, Corby, and Peterborough). The partnership covers both teaching and non-teaching staff supply.
- Cabot Learning FederationcoreA partnership with over 20 academies in the South West of England. Monarch works with CLF to provide supply teaching staff, offering benefits including flexibility, no paperwork for teachers, variety across different school environments, and professional development opportunities.
- Castle School Education Trust (CSET)coreMaster vendor appointment covering 7 schools (4 secondary, 3 primary) across Bristol and South Gloucestershire including The Castle School, Marlwood School, Downend School, Mangotsfield School, Lyde Green Primary School, Severn Beach Primary School, and Charfield Primary School. Monarch standardizes charge rates across all academies.
- drb Ignite TrustcoreMonarch Education provides staffing support for drb Ignite Trust academies across the West Midlands region, supplying both teaching and non-teaching temporary staff.
- Greenwood Academies TrustcorePartnership with Greenwood Academies Trust providing staff for their academies in the East Midlands region, covering Northamptonshire, Nottinghamshire, Corby, and Peterborough areas.
- Department for Education (National Tutoring Programme)coreMonarch is an approved tuition partner on the £1 billion NTP, providing one-to-one and group tutoring for pupils whose education was affected by the Covid-19 pandemic. Tutoring is delivered either face-to-face or via the online Affinity Tutors platform.
- Government Commercial Agency (GCA)coreGCA Framework approved supplier status enables Monarch Education to provide temporary staffing services to public sector education institutions through established government procurement channels.
- Affinity Academy / Training PartnersminorMonarch offers CPD portfolio enhancement and free safeguarding training through their internal Affinity Academy programme. They also partner with external training providers for apprenticeship programmes (Level 3 Business Administration).
Scale indicators5 records
Recent moves6 records
Expansion highlights5 records
Monarch Education competitors and assessment
Company assessmentDirect peers
- Teaching Personnel: UK's largest dedicated education recruitment agency, supplying temporary and permanent teaching and support staff to primary, secondary, and SEND schools. Direct competitor on the same customer segment with overlapping service offerings including managed vendor and tutoring-adjacent services.
- Protocol Education: UK education recruitment agency supplying teachers, TAs and support staff to schools and academies nationwide. Closely comparable on GTM motion (sales-led to schools/MATs), temporary/permanent staffing model, and UK geographic coverage.
- Simply Education: UK specialist education recruitment agency providing supply teachers, ECTs, TAs and support staff to schools across multiple regions. Overlaps with Monarch on temporary supply model, daily-rate pricing, and school-segment focus.
- Career Teachers: UK education recruitment specialist supplying teachers and teaching assistants to primary and secondary schools. Comparable in scale, focus, and target customer segment to Monarch.
- Sugarman Education: Sister-brand UK education recruitment agency under Affinity Workforce Solutions, serving schools with temporary and permanent teaching staff via the same GCA Framework procurement channels. Operates as the adjacent Monarch brand within the same parent group.
- CER Education Recruitment: Another Affinity Workforce sister-brand education recruiter supplying schools across the UK. Comparable on staffing model, school client base, and parent-group synergies with Monarch.
Broad incumbents
- Reed Education: Education arm of Reed, one of the UK's largest generalist recruitment groups. Competes with Monarch across permanent and temporary education placements, but operates a broader staffing portfolio beyond education.
- Randstad Education: UK arm of global staffing giant Randstad, providing education-focused temporary and permanent placements in schools. Larger and more diversified parent, but directly overlaps with Monarch on school staffing supply.
- Hays Education: UK education recruitment division of Hays plc, focusing on qualified teacher and education-leader permanent and temporary placements. Comparable on education segment with significantly broader recruitment portfolio beyond education.
- Adecco UK (Education): UK arm of Adecco Group offering education-sector recruitment among its broader staffing services. Comparable on school-staffing supply but operates as part of a large, multi-vertical global staffing business.
Market position
Strengths5 records
Weaknesses4 records
Competitive moat5 records
Key risks6 records
Key highlights7 records
Customer concentration
Monarch Education social profiles
Digital presenceMonarch Education compliance and trust
Trust signalCompliance6 records
Monarch Education financial estimates
Financial estimateRevenue estimate
Valuation estimate
Monarch Education leadership team
Management profileNumber of profiles
Profiles5 records
Monarch Education funding detail
Funding detailFunding overview
Funding rounds
Investors
Funding detail is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →
Monarch Education 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 Monarch Education
What does Monarch Education do?
Monarch Education is an education recruitment agency that supplies temporary and permanent teaching and support staff to primary, secondary, and SEND schools across England. It operates as a trading brand of Affinity Workforce Solutions Limited, with four regional offices (Birmingham, Bristol, Manchester, Nottingham) delivering staffing services through direct sales, the GCA Framework, and master vendor arrangements with Multi-Academy Trusts. The company also offers online tutoring through the Affinity Tutors platform as part of the National Tutoring Programme.
Is Monarch Education a public or private company?
Monarch Education is a private company. It is classified as corporate owned and is currently operating.
When was Monarch Education founded?
Monarch Education was founded in 2000. It employs 101 to 250 people.
Where is Monarch Education based?
Monarch Education is headquartered in Birmingham, United Kingdom, in the Europe region.
How does Monarch Education make money?
Three revenue lines are on record. Temporary Staffing Services are the primary driver. The others are permanent Placement Fees and national Tutoring Programme.
Who are Monarch Education's main competitors?
Direct peers on record are Teaching Personnel, Protocol Education, Simply Education, Career Teachers, Sugarman Education and CER Education Recruitment. Broad incumbents are Reed Education, Randstad Education, Hays Education and Adecco UK (Education).
Does Monarch Education have an API?
No public API is recorded for Monarch Education.
What industry is Monarch Education in?
Monarch Education's product category is Education Staffing Services. Its primary akta.pro industry code is EDAJAFAB, Instructional Delivery & Pedagogy (School-Led). Its NAICS code is 611710 and its SIC code is 8200.