Top of the class

A grant for a computer system revolutionised the business.

Principal Teachers is the leading supply teaching agency in North Yorkshire, providing high-quality services for nursery, primary, secondary and further education establishments. 

It had all been done manually, in a back bedroom

“I was doing it all manually, with a paper diary and a set of index cards—and the business was based in a bedroom at my home,” says Becca Morgan. “It took time to match up the requirements of schools with which supply teachers were available with the necessary skills. I’d been outsourcing the weekly payroll to an external company, so I was keen to bring that process in-house, making it faster and more cost-effective. And I needed to be doing less paperwork so I could spend more time getting to know new clients and maintaining relationships with existing ones.”

Help from Business Link Yorkshire and Yorkshire Forward

With help from Business Link Yorkshire, a computerised solution was sourced,and a grant was accessed to pay for the work to be done. The new computer uses a database and Sage accounting software, which allowed Principal Teachers to store more information on their registered schools and teachers—such as skills, requirements and previous bookings.

A faster, more flexible system

“The process has been drastically improved. For example, we can search for a maths teacher for every Monday for the next month, and the system presents us with some options, along with the contact details of available teachers with the right skills. It means we can pinpoint exactly who we want to speak to without making numerous unnecessary phone calls. Teachers can now apply online, which automatically populates our database, and they can also go to the website to look at their future bookings.”

Rebranded, relocated, revitalised

In the year since then, the company has since rebranded, moved into new offices, employed 3 more staff & doubled its turnover. They’ve won a quality kitemark from the DfES for their consistently high-quality teachers, something they wouldn’t even have had time to apply for before!