HR advice for schools: An in-depth review of your options

HR is a vast topic, and when it comes to HR advice for schools, it’s easy to feel overwhelmed. Before heading into the detail, we’ve outlined ten key areas – from legal compliance to employee well-being – that’ll provide some context and perspective as to how leaders like yourself can manage your HR responsibilities effectively. It’s very likely that you’ll know most of this advice and recommendations – but it’s always good to have a memory jog. 

Prioritise compliance with employment law

• Ensure policies and procedures align with UK employment laws (Employment Rights Act 1996, Equality Act 2010).
• Stay updated on education-specific regulations (e.g., Keeping Children Safe in Education).
• Regularly review contracts, job descriptions, and handbooks to reflect legal changes.

Emphasise recruitment and retention

• Develop transparent, fair, and robust recruitment processes; utilise Safer Recruitment practices.
• Foster a positive school culture focused on well-being, career progression, and workload management.
• Offer clear induction programs for new staff.
  

Focus on employee well-being

• Introduce measures to address teacher workload (simpler marking policies, encouraging work-life balance).
• Provide access to mental health support (EAPs, in-school counselling).
• Regularly survey staff to identify stress points and implement interventions.

Manage performance effectively

• Develop a clear appraisal system linked to professional development rather than performance-based pay alone.
• Address underperformance constructively with support plans and regular check-ins.
• Celebrate and reward excellent performance to boost morale.

Create a strong safeguarding culture

• Provide regular safeguarding training, emphasising responsibilities under KCSIE.
• Perform thorough background checks (DBS checks) for new hires and maintain a single central record (SCR).

Develop leaders and invest in CPD

• Offer leadership development programs for middle and senior leaders to ensure succession planning.
• Regularly provide CPD opportunities aligned with staff career aspirations and school improvement goals.

Handle conflict and grievances proactively

• Establish clear grievance and disciplinary policies understood by all staff.
• Act promptly and fairly to resolve disputes, emphasising mediation where possible.
• Document every stage of grievance or disciplinary procedures for transparency and compliance.

Maintain open communication

• Encourage a culture of openness where staff feel safe to raise concerns or suggestions.
• Hold regular one-to-one meetings and whole-staff briefings for transparency.
• Use anonymous surveys or suggestion boxes to gather honest feedback on sensitive issues.

Stay agile with policy updates

• Regularly review HR policies (absence management, flexible working, parental leave).
• Keep informed on changes to government guidance, funding, and national initiatives (e.g., Early Career Framework).

Collaborate with external experts

• Engage HR consultants, legal advisers, or unions for complex issues (TUPE, redundancies, tribunal claims).
• Join networks or associations (NAHT, ASCL) for expert guidance and resources.

The practices below offer clear, actionable steps to help you build a robust HR framework in your school. From crafting transparent policies to investing in staff well-being, these strategies lay the groundwork for an environment where both students and employees can thrive.

Develop clear, consistent policies

When it comes to HR advice for schools, establishing clear and consistent policies is often the first step toward effective HR management. We recommend conducting regular policy reviews. This will help address any evolving educational standards or legal requirements. If you want to get clued up on any recent changes in education policy, read this useful article from GovernorHub Knowledge - Changes in education 2024/2025.

Emphasise staff well-being and engagement

One of the most critical aspects of HR advice for schools is placing staff well-being at the forefront. According to the UK government’s Health and Safety Executive data, higher education teaching professionals, primary teachers, and secondary teachers rank sixth, seventh, and eighth, respectively, among the most stressful jobs in the UK. This indicates that teaching professionals face significant challenges - and schools that prioritise staff well-being and engagement position themselves to foster healthier, more productive work environments.

Recruit with a long-term vision

Effective recruitment strategies are another focal point of HR advice for schools. Going beyond merely filling vacancies, schools should adopt Safer Recruitment practices and seek candidates who align with the institution’s ethos. Once hired, offering structured induction programs helps new staff integrate smoothly and sets the tone for long-term retention and success. For more information, read Staffing and employment: advice for schools, which is available on the GOV.UK website.

Use data and technology to your advantage

Of course, we wouldn’t be a tech company if we didn’t at least highlight the growing role that technology plays in simplifying HR tasks. It may seem counterintuitive to remove the ‘human’ from ‘human resources’, but there are many tasks that can be offloaded to technology. Automating processes such as absence tracking and payroll can reduce errors and free up significant time and allow you to focus on the many other things you have to do. 

Moreover, data insights – like staff performance metrics or CPD participation rates – provide a clear picture of your school’s strengths. This will allow you to make informed decisions that enhance overall teaching quality.

A real-life example

DEALT, a MAT comprising of eight primary schools, were grappling with fragmented HR and payroll operations – with multiple schools using different systems from different providers. This decentralised approach made reporting complex and time-consuming. By implementing Access Education People & Payroll, they gained a comprehensive solution that integrated payroll and HR functions into one platform. Read the full customer story.

Encourage open communication

Transparent, two-way communication is a recurring theme in HR advice for schools. Yet, when the working day is so intense, it can be easy to overlook this crucial element. 

Culture change specialist, Frank Devine, argues that leaders can foster open communication, trust, and healthy challenge by creating curiosity and empowering employees with genuine autonomy, rather than imposing unnecessary standardisation – which is something we know schools grapple with. 

While not directly linked to education specifically, Devine’s model helps Headteachers move beyond merely managing a school to actively shaping a supportive, innovative, and engaged school culture. To learn more about Devine’s model, read Seven ways to build open communication into your workplace culture.

Provide ongoing professional development

Another best practice commonly cited in HR advice for schools is providing ongoing CPD. Yet, if you ask any teacher – “What’s the main thing stopping you from learning more?” – most will say “time.” And that’s correct. Time is more valuable than the last biscuit left in the staffroom.

So, what can you do as a leader to ensure you provide opportunities for ongoing, adequate professional development? In this article by TES entitled - ‘No teacher thinks they have enough time for proper CPD. Here’s how schools can MAKE time...’, it’s suggested that Headteachers should provide structured, protected time for staff to collaborate, reflect, and practice new strategies by reducing unnecessary workload (like administrative tasks) and reorganising timetables. 

This way, CPD becomes a meaningful, ongoing process rather than an afterthought, ensuring teachers can learn effectively and ultimately enhance their classroom practice.

Know when to seek external expertise

Another piece of HR advice for schools is to know when to seek external support, especially when faced with complex or specialised challenges. You may be dealing with legal disputes, organisational changes or intricate compliance matters. In these instances, consulting HR experts or professional associations (NAHT or ASCL, for example) can provide personalised guidance.

One of the most common questions arising from HR advice for schools is whether external or internal HR support is truly necessary. When you’ve got so much on your plate – like recruitment, compliance, performance management, and so on, it’s natural to question if an outside perspective (or additional resources) will offer tangible benefits.

Before we explore those options further, consider the following questions:

1. How complex are our current HR challenges?

• Are we experiencing frequent staff turnover or persistent recruitment difficulties?
• Have we faced recent compliance or safeguarding challenges that required urgent intervention?

2. Do we have the in-house expertise and resources?

• Does our existing leadership team or administrative staff have up-to-date knowledge of employment law and education-specific regulations like Keeping Children Safe in Education (KCSIE)?
• Are we regularly investing in professional development to maintain this expertise?

3. Is our HR administration efficient and error-free?

• Are we finding it difficult to stay on top of tasks like DBS checks, absence tracking, or performance appraisals?
• Have we noticed administrative errors or delays that affect staff satisfaction and school operations?

4. Can we support staff well-being and engagement proactively?

• Do we have the capacity to monitor staff workload, morale, and well-being initiatives effectively?
• Are mental health resources and flexible working arrangements truly accessible, or are we too swamped with day-to-day tasks to oversee them?

5. Are we prepared for growth or structural changes?

• If we’re part of, or planning to join, a multi-academy trust (MAT), do we have the infrastructure to manage HR across multiple sites?
• If our school is expanding or undergoing organisational changes, do we have a roadmap for HR processes?

6. What if we don’t get it right?

• How would a significant HR issue—like a compliance failure or unresolved staff grievance—impact our reputation, finances, and, ultimately, students’ learning experience?
• Are we willing to risk potential legal or regulatory repercussions if our current HR procedures prove insufficient?

Making the decision

Finding yourself consistently answering “yes” to some, if not all, of these questions? This is where external HR advice for schools can really help. Let’s take a closer look at what HR support is available. 

External HR support can be invaluable – especially if you’re seeking to save time and gain peace of mind. Two popular routes are: hiring an HR consultant or implementing HR software. Let’s take a look at both in turn.

HR Consultant

What they offer

1. Specialised expertise: HR consultants often have extensive experience in employment law, safeguarding procedures, and best practices specifically tailored to the education sector.
2. Objective assessment: A consultant provides an unbiased review of your current policies and practices, identifying potential gaps and risks.
3. Hands-on support: They can assist with specific projects, such as managing disciplinaries, conducting HR audits, or handling TUPE transfers.

When to Consider This Option

• Complex HR challenges: If your school faces legal disputes, large-scale redundancies, or challenging grievances, a consultant’s expertise can be critical.
• Policy overhaul: When you need a comprehensive update of your HR framework - from contracts to safeguarding records - an HR consultant can guide you step by step.
• One-off or occasional needs: If most HR tasks run smoothly but complex situations arise occasionally, on-demand consultancy offers flexible, targeted support.

Practical example

A primary school is facing budget constraints and needs to streamline staffing structures, including merging two year groups and reallocating support staff. The proposed changes have unsettled employees, who worry about possible redundancies and job security. The school’s leadership team brings in the HR consultant to draft a fair and transparent restructuring plan, consult with staff and union representatives, and manage any capability or grievance issues that arise during the transition. Through every step, the consultant provides clear, legally compliant guidance to help the school navigate this sensitive process.

HR Software

What It Offers

1. Automation and efficiency: HR software takes over routine tasks—like absence tracking, payroll integration, and performance appraisals—reducing administrative workload.
2. Centralised records: Storing essential HR data (e.g., DBS checks, training logs) in a single system keeps your school compliant and prepared for inspections.
3. Analytics and reporting: Detailed insights into staff turnover, absence trends, and CPD engagement help leaders make data-driven decisions.

When to consider this option

• High volume of administrative tasks: If your staff spends excessive time on manual data entry or paperwork, automation can drastically free up resources.
• Growing multi-academy trusts (mats): Larger or expanding trusts benefit from a unified view of HR metrics across multiple schools.
• Ongoing process improvement: If you seek a scalable, long-term approach to improve safeguarding compliance, staff well-being tracking, and performance management, software is a strong investment.

Practical example

A growing multi-academy trust is finding it increasingly difficult to manage staff data across multiple schools. Updating DBS checks, tracking absences, and logging training hours has become a time-consuming, manual process spread across countless spreadsheets. Concerned about compliance, data accuracy, and excessive administrative workload, the trust decides to implement a centralised HR software and payroll system. This ensures automatic reminders for DBS renewals, streamlined absence tracking, and robust analytics to pinpoint trends in staff turnover and CPD engagement - all of which help leaders make more informed decisions while freeing up valuable time for strategic initiatives.

Which route is best for you?

Choosing between an HR consultant and HR software will depend on your own unique challenges, resources and strategic goals. You may decide to draw upon both solutions at some point now or in the future. 
Your school may benefit from expert-led interventions for immediate, complex issues. Whereas another setting may prioritise a technology-driven approach to manage their general operations. In many cases, a blended strategy might be the best HR advice for schools.

On the topic of HR advice for schools, an answer may be to offload certain administrative responsibilities – especially those which are time-consuming and error-prone. Payroll management is a prime example. 
In a large setting, handling payroll in-house can quickly become a complex task. You have precise calculations, ever-changing regulations and tight deadlines. By offloading this task onto a managed payroll service, you can save enormous amounts of time and reduce errors.

What is a managed payroll service?

A managed payroll service typically offers a team of experts who are responsible for the latest payroll legislation, statutory requirements and processing tools. An effective payroll service will also provide clear, real-time reporting on salary expenditure – which makes budgeting and forecasting far more transparent. For MATs, a managed payroll service can centralise payroll across your organisation – making the entire operation more time-effective and streamlined.

We strongly recommend choosing a payroll service with proven experience in the education sector. Education has various nuances that make the process quite complex. 

Don’t forget, here at Access Education, our suite of interconnected tools can help you manage your human resources, payroll, finance and budgets all in one place. Check out our pricing bundles for simplified, per school pricing. 

Watch the video below to find out more about Access Education’s managed payroll service:

If there’s one overarching lesson that comes from expert HR advice for schools, it’s this: be proactive rather than reactive. By anticipating challenges - whether that’s updating safeguarding policies, planning for staffing changes, or seeking additional support before issues escalate - you position your school to handle complexity with confidence. Proactivity fosters a culture of readiness and resilience, ensuring that both staff and students benefit from a stable, forward-thinking environment.