SEND Teaching Assistant – Barnsley

This year has been a very difficult year trying to find on-the-day supply cover but Provide Education have been exceptional. Where other agencies have phoned me back saying they are unable to help, Provide Education have said leave it with me and we will sort it ... and they always have. I cannot fault the standard of teachers and teaching assistants provided; they have always been highly motivated and provided a really good standard of teaching. Well done Provide Education and I am looking forward to working with you again in September. Tornedale Infant School, Doncaster

From our perspective at Ash Green, Provide give a first class service. Whatever time I get in touch- and goodness know during Covid it has been lots and late/early!!- the agency do their very best to get back as quickly as possible with a solution. They provide a personal service, matching teachers who have succeeded with us if they possibly can and giving us information on strengths and specialisms. Nicola and Jade are both positive and progressive people to work with and the quality of staff that they send is overwhelmingly good- particularly teachers but have also helped with support staff and admin. One really nice touch was at times of high staff absence when they could not help us due to capacity- they would still offer something…’We have x and y available tomorrow.’ ‘Do you need anyone for Friday as we have availability?’ We have valued the quality of their provision and the consistency of their support and it has helped keep our school running this year. Mungo Sheppard Head Teacher Ash Green Community Primary School

Gillian, Primary Teacher, Barnsley I have been working for Provide Education based in Barnsley for over 5 years. They are a professional agency working with many exceptional schools throughout South Yorkshire. Provide consultants seek to find work for me, either day to day or pre- booked placements in these schools on a regular basis. I can choose to work whenever and wherever I like. Provide also keep me informed also of longer placements in schools should I choose to take them up. Once a placement has been accepted e-mail and text are sent immediately with address and postcode of school. Provide are contactable 24/7 should you have a problem. The whole team at Provide Education Barnsley are friendly, approachable and informative who take the time to work with you to ensure you are happy with every placement. I can highly recommend working for them.

I have needed to make significant use of the services of Provide Education this academic year at both schools.  This has included very long-term cover of a teacher (2 terms +), 3 to 4-week blocks, and ad hoc day to day cover of both teachers and support staff. Staff sent have taken an active role in the life of the school attending staff training sessions, meeting with parents and preparing for whole school audits etc. The supply staff have felt to be substantive members of staff. Whenever I have rung, including evenings and weekends, the phone has been answered and the process of finding replacement staff has started.  I have been notified by text or call of the name of the person providing the cover before the work in school starts.  An email has been sent through to myself and office staff with DBS details and a photograph of the member of staff attending. Provide have rung or emailed to check I am happy with the member of staff sent. You have also checked towards the end of the week, what cover in needed the following week. I have been especially impressed with the level of flexibility. On a number of occasions, we have been unsure about the length of the cover needed and you have ensured that the member of staff has been available beyond the initial timescale.  This has enabled consistency for the children and helped to reassure parents that their children will not be taught by a range of staff. When one of the supply staff has been unable to attend, new cover has been arranged at short notice. On one occasion, the school wasn’t happy with the member of staff sent and she was quickly replaced by a teacher whose ethos much more closely matched the ethos of the school.  All the above have helped to ensure a smooth running to the schools. Thanks very much! Lee, Executive Headteacher

Provide staff are the people I speak to first thing in the morning and are always on the ball. They are positive, efficient, extremely helpful and friendly even if the demands are numerous and sometimes a little late. Anita - Cover Manager, Brighouse School

It’s always a pleasure working with Provide. One quick call (sometimes last minute) and we get a quality teacher. They always endeavour to get our preferred teachers, which we really appreciate. In December we won £100, which we have used to purchase attendance prizes and incentives to increase attendance which has really helped the school and children. We are really happy working with Provide. Thank you for not bombarding us with sales calls like other agencies. Jemma - Business Manager, Barnsley School