HR software for Education | Sense HR

HR software for UK schools and colleges.

Safeguarding, DBS, sponsorship licence reporting, term-time leave, supply staff and casual hours — education HR has its own rules. Sense HR is the UK HR software that handles them natively.

Education workforces don't fit generic HR software.

KCSIE

Keeping Children Safe in Education — compliance is non-negotiable. DBS, safer-recruitment, single central record, prohibition checks — KCSIE makes the rules and Ofsted enforces them. There's no margin for paperwork errors.

4+

Tools per school. HR, MIS, supply and payroll don't talk. Most UK schools run their HR in spreadsheets, their MIS for student data, a separate supply agency portal, and payroll on a fourth system. Reconciliation eats SBM time.

Term-time

Leave and pay are bespoke. Standard HR software doesn't get this. Term-time-only contracts, INSET days, occasional teacher pay, supply staff hours, retainer fees — these are specifically British education problems that generic HR doesn't handle.

The Sense stack for education.

Single Central Record, kept current.

Section 175/157 checks, DBS, prohibition, identity, right-to-work, qualifications, S128 — all in one place, audit-ready for Ofsted. Renewals tracked, expiries flagged. KCSIE-aligned SCR fields, auto-renewal reminders, Ofsted-ready export per check.

Safeguarding training, tracked.

Mandatory safeguarding, KCSIE refresh, Prevent, anti-bullying, first aid — all tracked per staff member per role. Renewal cycles automated. Role-specific training matrices, INSET-day completion tracked, per-school compliance dashboards.

Term-time leave done properly.

Term-time only contracts, in-term and out-of-term leave, INSET days, parental leave aligned to term dates — handled natively, not bolted on. Term-date calendars built in, term-time-only contract types, bank holiday and half-term auto-handled.

Supply, casual and retainer staff.

Supply staff on day rates, casual hours, evening clubs, exam invigilators — all handled. Mobile clock-in for supply staff, automated agency reporting. Day-rate contracts supported, casual / single-event onboarding, mobile clock-in for supply.

Sponsorship licence reporting.

Skilled-worker visa expiry, sponsorship reporting duties, RTW checks — all tracked. Home Office-ready reports in one click. UKVI-compatible RTW checks (powered by TrustID), sponsorship duty alerts, visa expiry dashboard.

Performance and appraisal for teaching staff.

Teaching appraisal cycles, pay progression evidence, lesson observation records — tied to objectives and CPD. Appraisal records survive audits and tribunals. Cycle-based appraisals, pay-progression evidence, lesson-observation records.

Built for every part of UK education.

Primary schools

Single-form, two-form entry primary schools. SBM-friendly setup.

Secondary schools

Comprehensive, grammar, sixth-form colleges. Department-by-department HR views.

Multi-Academy Trusts

Group-level reporting, school-level autonomy, central HR shared services.

Independent schools

ISI-aligned compliance, boarding staff, scholarship admin.

FE & sixth-form colleges

Lecturer shift patterns, casual sessional staff, apprenticeship admin.

Nursery & early years

EYFS compliance, paediatric first aid tracking, ratio reporting.

SEND settings

Specialist staff, 1:1 support workers, training matrices for SEND roles.

Education trusts & charities

Trust-wide HR with delegated school-level control.

Real numbers from real education customers.

100%

SCR compliance. Auto-renewal reminders keep every safer-recruitment check current.

8 hrs/wk

SBM time saved. From eliminating spreadsheet reconciliation across HR, MIS and payroll.

0

Ofsted findings on records. Every check, every renewal, every certificate — exportable in one click.

"Our SCR used to live in a spreadsheet that one person owned. If she was off, we were exposed. Now it's live, accurate, and the trust can see every school's compliance from head office."

HR Director · UK Multi-Academy Trust, 9 schools, 420 staff

Common education HR software questions.

Is Sense HR aligned to KCSIE for the Single Central Record?+

Yes. The SCR module is aligned to the latest KCSIE statutory guidance: identity checks, DBS, prohibition (S128), qualifications, right-to-work, overseas checks. Configurable for ISI / OFSTED variations.

Can it handle term-time-only contracts?+

Yes — term-time-only is a built-in contract type. Holiday accrual, leave rules, and pay are calculated correctly for term-time staff, with term-date calendars maintained per school.

Will it work for a Multi-Academy Trust with central HR?+

Yes. Trusts get group-level reporting and central HR controls, with school-level views and delegated permissions. Multi-school structures supported on Elite.

Can we manage supply and casual staff?+

Yes. Day-rate supply contracts, casual hours, evening-club staff and exam invigilators are all handled. Supply teachers can clock in via mobile with geofencing.

Does it handle teacher appraisals and pay progression?+

Yes. Appraisal cycles align to the academic year, pay-progression evidence is captured per teacher, and lesson observations can be recorded and tagged to objectives.

How quickly can we go live?+

Typical school go-live is 4–6 weeks. MAT roll-outs typically run school-by-school over a single term, with trust-level reporting active from day one.

How much does Sense HR cost for a school or MAT?+

From £2 per employee per month on Professional, £8 on Elite (includes SCR, sponsorship reporting and multi-entity for MATs). Free implementation and migration.

See Sense HR running on a real school or trust.

Book a 20-minute demo with our education team. We'll walk through the SCR, KCSIE compliance, term-time contracts and trust-level reporting — on a setting that looks like yours.

Book an education demo

Meet AMI — your AI agent stack.

AMI conducts the first-round interview.

Workflows named for UK HR.

Six AI agents working on your HR.

The only HR system that builds its own location hardware.

TrustID powers right-to-work.