It's a Thursday in October. The business manager of a trust you've supplied for six years rings to say they're sorry, but from now on every booking has to go through the government framework. You're not on it. Neither are most of the agencies you know.
Calls like that have been going out across England since 1st October. Mike, Raina and I ran an education agency for seven years, and nothing in that time changed how schools buy supply staff as much as this. This guide covers the rule itself, the fee caps, and the work still open to you if you're not on the list.
What changed
Academy trusts now have to book supply staff through one framework: Supply Teachers and Education Recruitment, RM6376. It's run by the Government Commercial Agency, which used to be the Crown Commercial Service. It went live on 30th April 2026 and runs until 29th April 2029.
The rule itself is one paragraph, 2.28 of the Academy Trust Handbook 2026, in force from 1st October 2026. Trusts must use the framework for supply staffing unless they have an alternative compliant agreement with rates that don't exceed the framework's.
So a trust has two routes. Book through RM6376, or use another arrangement that meets two tests. It has to comply with the Procurement Act 2023, with spend counted across all the trust's schools, and it can't cost more than the framework would. Trusts with existing contracts aren't forced to end them early, but the DfE has told them to check their rates before they renew.
The framework has two parts. Lot 1 is for booking agencies directly, and 209 agencies won places on it. Lot 2 is for trusts that want one managed service provider to run all their temporary and permanent staffing, using a supply chain of other agencies where it needs to. 16 providers won places there.
The rule binds academy trusts. Maintained schools can use the framework if they want to, but the handbook doesn't apply to them.
The fee caps
The framework caps what an agency can charge on top of the worker's pay, per day, by role. These are the maximums the DfE has published:
| Role | Maximum daily agency fee |
|---|---|
| Teacher (STEM) | £45 |
| Teacher (other subjects) | £40 |
| Support staff (non-SEND) | £36 |
| Support staff (SEND) | £38 |
| Headteacher and senior leaders | £55 |
| Facilities | £36 |
| Admin and clerical | £32 |
| Other roles | £34 |
The caps apply to the fee, not the pay. The DfE's own example takes a £71 daily fee for a STEM teacher down to £45. Many agencies on the framework bid below the caps, and trusts can see those rates.
Before you talk to a trust, work out your current fee per role against this table. They will.
If you're on the framework
A place on Lot 1 comes with terms that change the day-to-day work. Trusts book on the framework's own call-off terms, so your terms of business don't apply to those bookings. If a trust wants to take a worker on permanently after 12 weeks, it pays no transfer fee. And the framework sets safeguarding and audit standards that you have to meet for every worker you send.
Those standards are where most of the work lands. For each worker, you need to be able to show which checks were done, when, and by whom, and to show it whenever a trust asks.
If you're not on it
Lot 1 isn't open to new agencies. The Government Commercial Agency lists RM6376 as a closed framework, and nothing on its page says when it might take on new suppliers. Plan on it staying closed until it ends in April 2029.
That still leaves plenty of education work. The handbook doesn't bind maintained schools, so local authority schools can keep booking you as they do now. A trust can also run its own procurement, as long as it complies with the Procurement Act 2023 and your rates don't exceed the framework's. That's the trust's process to run, and your fees need to sit inside the caps to stay in it.
Trusts part way through a contract carry on until it comes up for renewal, which gives you time to get your rates and your records ready. And the 16 Lot 2 providers can use other agencies to fill bookings, so joining one of their supply chains is a way back into trusts that have gone with a managed service.
Whichever route you take, the buyer will want to know two things: whether your fees are within the caps, and whether you can prove your checks.
What a trust will ask to see
A trust's business manager will start with your fee per role, set against the caps above. Then they'll want written confirmation of your checks, which Keeping Children Safe in Education already requires: a school must get confirmation from the agency that it has done the checks the school would have done. Behind that sits the record for each worker, covering identity, right to work, enhanced DBS and barred list, qualifications, references and any gaps in employment history, each with a date and a source.
If all of that lives in one record per worker, you can answer in a few minutes. If it's spread across inboxes, spreadsheets and paper files, each request takes an afternoon.
That's the job PassQ does. It clears your workers, chases their references by phone and email, and keeps every check in one record, ready to send to a trust. It also takes the booking, keeps the timesheet and works out the pay. See PassQ for education agencies, read what KCSiE says about references, or book a demo.
The short version
Since 1st October, academy trusts book supply staff through RM6376 or through their own agreement at framework rates or below. The framework caps agency fees at £32 to £55 a day by role. It's closed to new agencies until 2029. If you're not on it, maintained schools, trusts' own agreements and Lot 2 supply chains are still open, and every one of them will ask about your fees and your records.
Frequently asked questions
What is RM6376? RM6376 is the Supply Teachers and Education Recruitment framework, run by the Government Commercial Agency (formerly the Crown Commercial Service). It runs from 30th April 2026 to 29th April 2029. Lot 1 lets schools book agencies directly and has 209 agencies on it. Lot 2 is for trusts that want one managed service provider to run all their staffing, and has 16.
Do academy trusts have to use RM6376? Yes. Paragraph 2.28 of the Academy Trust Handbook 2026, in force from 1st October 2026, says trusts must use the framework for supply staffing unless they have another compliant agreement whose rates are no higher than the framework's. Trusts with existing contracts aren't forced to end them early, but the DfE expects them to check their rates before renewal.
Do maintained schools have to use RM6376? No. The rule sits in the Academy Trust Handbook, so it binds academy trusts. Maintained schools can use the framework but aren't required to.
What are the RM6376 fee caps? The caps limit the agency's daily fee on top of the worker's pay. Per the DfE: £45 for STEM teachers, £40 for other teachers, £36 for support staff (non-SEND), £38 for SEND support staff, £55 for headteachers and senior leaders, £36 for facilities, £32 for admin and clerical, and £34 for other roles. The worker's pay and conditions don't change.
Can my agency still join RM6376? The Government Commercial Agency lists RM6376 as a closed framework, and its page says nothing about new agencies joining. Plan on it staying closed until it ends in April 2029. In the meantime you can supply maintained schools, trusts with compliant agreements of their own, and the supply chains of the Lot 2 managed service providers.