Employment & HR for Schools and Academy Trusts

Our HR retainer service allows you to fix the cost of your day to day requirements as well as build a relationship with a specialist team which can work alongside your senior management, Finance and HR team as well as individual schools and work with you on additional projects as necessary. This is a full telephone and email advice service, including the production of documents and letters to suit the issue that you are dealing with. We can also include in this service a package of visits. This service is costed in relation to the number of employees that you have. Please ask us for a quote.

Tailored Support for large Trusts with In-House HR Teams

Our Schools Partnership HR Retainer is designed specifically for larger school Trusts with established internal HR teams. This service provides additional capacity and strategic expertise, without duplicating your existing capabilities.

If you’re looking to supplement your internal HR provision this flexible retainer offers the perfect solution. We work alongside your team, offering trusted support on complex or high-risk matters, and ensuring you have access to up-to-date, sector-specific guidance when you need it.

You’ll benefit from:

• On-demand advice from experienced HR Consultants with extensive experience in the education sector
• Support via email and telephone for all HR matters, from case management to workforce planning
• A collaborative, strategic approach aligned with your Trust’s goals and values

We understand the dynamics of large academy Trusts and are committed to being a responsive and knowledgeable partner, helping you build capacity and plan confidently for the future.

We offer a comprehensive range of HR training sessions designed to support both experienced senior managers and those new to management roles. Our aim is to equip your team with the practical knowledge and confidence needed to handle key people-management responsibilities effectively.

Each training session is approximately one hour long and includes time for questions and discussion. Sessions can be delivered live via Zoom or Microsoft Teams and can be recorded for future use—ensuring that no one misses out. We also offer the option to tailor content specifically to your organisation’s needs.

Cost: £500 per session (plus VAT)

Training topics include:

• Handling Grievance and Disciplinary Issues: A Practical Guide for Line Managers
• Conducting Workplace Investigations
• Preventing Sexual Harassment in the Workplace
• Managing Sickness Absence
• Handling Difficult Conversations
• Effective Performance Management
• Managing Poor Performance

Our goal is to help your organisation adopt best practices, prevent issues before they arise, and confidently manage challenges when they do occur.

You choose a set amount of telephone or email advice you would like each month, for example 10 hours, and we will quote you at a preferential rate. This will be less than our standard hourly rate and there is no expiration on the hours you purchase. With this service you will get written or telephone advice and can also include visits.

Workplace mediation is a valuable alternative method of dispute resolution, where the working relationship between two parties have broken down and informal line management interventions have been unsuccessful.  Mediation can be used in place of formal time-consuming grievance processes or may be recommended as an outcome of a formal grievance, as an aid to rebuilding the working relationship. 

Workplace mediation is completely voluntary and is conducted by an experienced independent mediator, who does not impose or suggest solutions but instead asks questions of the parties to help identify the underlying causes of their difficulties using collaborative, problem-solving techniques. The mediator’s role is to create a safe, confidential environment where the parties are treated equally and can be open and honest with each other. The mediator owns the process and facilitates constructive dialogue, but the solution is agreed and owned by the parties. 

The overriding aim of workplace mediation is to restore and maintain the employment relationship wherever possible. This means the focus is on working together to move forward, with an aim to creating written agreements. 

Key Benefits:

• Successful mediation can rebuild relationships and create a more productive workplace.
• Reduction in management time and cost managing the conflict formally where informal interventions have not been successful. 
• The use of an independent and impartial mediation service demonstrates your organisation's commitment to resolve the dispute fairly and constructively.
• It encourages the parties to take responsibility to find and agree their own solutions.
• There is less likelihood of legal procedures.
• Improvement of parties’ communication skills, enabling them to resolve their differences more quickly and effectively moving forward. 
• Reduces workplace stress, sickness absence and attrition. 

If you would like a confidential informal discussion about workplace mediation and whether it could be a suitable way to resolve an internal dispute, please contact Penny Walters, Principal HR Consultant and Workplace Mediator PennyWalters@StoneKing.co.uk