Education Supply Certified means a supply agency has had its safeguarding policy, its safer recruitment procedure and a sample of its worker files read, line by line, against the checks Keeping Children Safe in Education requires, by The British Institute of Recruiters, within the last two years. It is done online, the outcome comes within ten working days, and the certification, its date and its status sit on the agency’s public verification page where a school, a trust or a framework buyer can check them in one click.
The Government Commercial Agency (GCA) and the Department for Education (DfE) have approved The British Institute of Recruiters as an Accreditation Body under the GCA Supply Teachers and Education Recruitment Framework Agreement RM6376. The framework requires supply agencies to hold independently audited accreditation from an approved body.
Agency Members add the certification from the dashboard. Not yet an Agency Member? Start with your company name.
What the audit checks
There are ten checks before a worker starts. They are the registration interview, identity and address with two documents, right to work, professional registration and qualifications including the Teaching Regulation Agency record, two references covering two years including the last school, an enhanced DBS with the barred list and its annual renewal, overseas checks, prohibition and disqualification checks, the Rehabilitation of Offenders declaration and the fitness to work declaration. Then come the duties during an assignment, which are the annual re-confirmation, a change in a worker’s status, the agreed process with the school for an allegation, the Conduct Regulations, umbrella companies and payslips. A director signs the declarations set out in the Criteria. The standard is BIOR’s Education Supply Certification Criteria, version 1.2. Ask for a copy at support@ior.org.
How it works
An Agency Member adds the certification from its dashboard in one click, and from that afternoon its verification page shows “Education Supply certification, in progress”, so a school can see that the work is under way. The dashboard then shows three tiles on one page that saves as it goes. The first holds the two policies and the declarations. The second holds the worker files, five plus one umbrella-paid worker, chosen by the published rule the moment the agency saves its placements list. The third is Submit. BIOR reads the files against the checklist and issues the outcome within ten working days. No visit, no meeting, no call. The result is a page, every line met or not met in plain words with the clause it rests on, and gaps close on the same page within twenty working days.
Every two years, with a declaration between
The certification runs for two years. At twelve months a director confirms on one page, free, that the policies stand and that every placed worker’s checks were re-confirmed in the year. Sixty days before expiry the agency is invited to renew, with its previous answers pre-filled where they still stand. A certification that is not renewed, or a membership that lapses, shows as lapsed the same day, and the register changes with it.
How a school checks it
Search the agency at ior.org/verify, or open the link on its badge. The page shows “Education Supply Certified to [month year]”, the standard version and the locations covered. An agency in progress, due or lapsed is shown as such. Every certified agency is listed at ior.org/education-supply. The record is published by BIOR from the live register, not by the agency.
What it does not say
The certification tells a school that the agency’s processes meet the standard and that a sample of its files showed them in use. The agency remains responsible for every worker it supplies and for every obligation of its framework contract, some of which sit outside the audit’s scope. A school keeps its own duty under Keeping Children Safe in Education to check that the agency has made the checks for each worker it receives, and the agency’s completed checklist for the booking is how it does so.
Which audit does an agency need?
| BIOR Audited | Education Supply Certified | |
|---|---|---|
| For | Any recruitment business, in any sector | Agencies that supply schools and colleges in England |
| Asked for by | Tender panels, preferred supplier lists and client due diligence | Schools, trusts and the education frameworks |
| What BIOR reads | Your policies and five placement files against UK recruitment law and the BIOR Code | Your safeguarding policy, safer recruitment procedure, director’s declarations and six worker files against the checks Keeping Children Safe in Education requires |
| The status | BIOR Audited, to a date | Education Supply Certified, to a date |
| How, how long, how much | Both the same. Online, no visit, the outcome within ten working days, two years for £895 plus VAT, a free declaration at twelve months | |
| Can you hold both | Yes. An agency with education and commercial desks holds both, shown as two lines on its verification page. Neither replaces the other | |
Questions people ask
Is Education Supply Certified the same as BIOR certification?
No. BIOR certification is the assessment every Agency Member takes against UK recruitment law and the Code. Education Supply Certified is an audit added on top of it for agencies that supply schools and colleges. An agency must hold the certification and Agency Membership to be audited.
Can an agency that is working towards it be used by a school?
That is for the school and the framework to decide. The agency’s verification page shows “in progress” with the date from the day it applies, so a school can see where it stands.
What does it cost?
£895 plus VAT for two years, and the same at each two-year renewal, with nothing to pay for the annual declaration. The certification is for Agency Members and the membership fee is separate.
Does the BIOR audit for other sectors cover schools?
No. The BIOR audit covers the recruitment law that applies in every sector. Supply to schools adds the safeguarding checks above, which only this certification audits, and the two are shown separately on the verification page.
Written by The BIOR Membership Team. Last reviewed 12 November 2026.