27th July 2020

CCS Framework: Your questions answered

Welcome to the CCS Handbook series, which covers everything you need to know about the Crown Commercial Service (CCS) framework for the DfE-approved Supply Teachers and Agency Workers deal. The framework is designed to help schools get value for money and find agencies that follow best practices in safeguarding and compliance. You can find out more about it here.

We’ve collated a selection of the most common questions that we have received from schools regarding the CCS framework.

Frequently Asked Questions

How do you transfer a temporary worker to a permanent employment contract without incurring any extra costs?

As long as you give a minimum of 4 weeks’ notice and the worker has completed at least 12 weeks of work on CCS terms, then transferring them to a permanent contract is free of charge. We covered the details of making a temporary worker permanent, in this article.

Do I have to take a temporary worker permanent after 12 weeks?

There is no obligation for a school to make a temporary worker permanent after 12 weeks. If you choose to keep a worker temporary for longer than 12 weeks, you will be able to take them permanently for no extra cost at any time, provided you give 4 weeks notice. For more information about taking a temporary worker permanently, you can refer to this article.

How do I check if an agency is on the deal?

There are 122 suppliers on the deal, which is just 17% of education agencies in the UK. To check if an agency is on the deal, you can use the list of suppliers on the CCS website, as detailed here.

Is the agreement just for teachers?

The CCS framework isn’t just for hiring temporary teachers. In fact, most roles that a school will need to fill are covered in the CCS deal, including cleaners, teaching assistants, clerical staff, administrative workers, maintenance staff, and more. For in-depth information on who you can hire using the CCS framework, please refer to this article.

Can I hire a worker through the framework even if they aren’t signed up to a preferred supplier agency?

If you know a worker who isn’t signed up with an agency on the agreement, and you would like to hire them on CCS terms, you can tell your preferred supplier agency that you would like to hire them as a ‘nominated worker’.

Once the worker has signed up to us, you can rest assured that their pay and associated legislative costs are allowed for, and that background checks have been taken care of, in compliance with all public procurement legislation.

For more information on nominated workers, please read our handy article here.

What next?

At Engage, we are in full support of the CCS Framework and are happy to see the DfE’s commitment to standardising best practices in temporary recruitment through the framework. 

If you have any more questions, this link will direct you to our CCS Info page, where you can submit your CCS-related questions using our CCS framework enquiry form.

Helpful Links

• Engage Education, ‘CCS Framework’
• Engage Education, ‘Engage Education joins the CCS framework for supply teachers for the future of education’
• Engage Education, ‘Why choose the CCS Supply Teachers Deal?’ 
• Crown Commercial Website, ‘Supply Teachers and Temporary Staff in Educational Establishments’
• Crown Commercial Service Website,  ‘Supply Teachers and Temporary Staff in Educational Establishments’
• CCS ‘Here to help’ website, ‘Temporary Staff for Education’
• CCS ‘Here to help’ website, ‘6 top tips to help you get the most from the supply teachers deal’
• DfE Press Release, ‘New site to help schools save thousands on recruitment costs’