Educators today face a perfect storm of HR pressures.
Staff absence costs are rising, and compliance demands are intensifying, with recruitment and retention of the best staff adding another layer of challenges. School leaders often find they are left to manage complex HR issues with spreadsheets, MIS add-ons, or patchy systems.
Too often, the gaps show up where schools can least afford them:
- Recruitment and retention challenges increasing the need for more interim staff
- Absence tracking and training records duplicated or missed.
- Safeguarding checks are vulnerable to errors.
- Redundancies, pensions, and notice periods are mishandled, which drives up costs and staff frustration.
- Leaders stretched by people decisions they don’t face often enough to retain confidence.
Joined up people, software, and services
At Juniper, we believe HR shouldn’t sit in a silo. It needs to be joined up with the rest of the school: connected systems, professional people, and strategic thinking. That’s why we’re proud to launch our new HR Managed Service and Software, powered by PeopleFirst from MHR.
Many schools tell us they don’t just want a reactive HR support; they want long-term reassurance, prevention, and clear guidance. By bringing together Juniper’s CIPD-qualified consultants with PeopleFirst’s powerful HR technology, we’re offering schools and trusts a new level of confidence: Combining HR, payroll, and MIS data so compliance isn’t missed with service from Juniper’s education-specialist consultants, who step in on casework, redundancies, safeguarding, and more.
Hear from Juniper
Gavin Freed, Chairman, Juniper Education, said:
“You really don’t need to look further than education to get a better sector example for the phrase ‘we’re in the people business’.
Effective management of all aspects of the employee lifecycle, from advertising for roles through compliance, safeguarding, appraisal, absence tracking, and contract (to give a few of the many examples) through to exit, is full of complex challenges and potential pitfalls with which school leaders often wrestle. They really should have access to better-informed, education-relevant help.
That education HR help needs to assist schools and MATs in being more joined up so that they can act as effective employers in an increasingly competitive employment marketplace by creating a seamless, confidently handled employment experience for staff.“
Introducing our new HR service bundles
Juniper’s new service gives educators three clear pathways - whether you need emergency assistance or longer-term proactive support:
- Core HR Essentials – dependable day-to-day support and compliance assurance.
- Connected HRIS – fully supported HR software and consultant service, powered by PeopleFirst.
- Complete HR – a joined-up approach to the entire employee lifecycle, from recruitment to workforce planning.
[Click here to see our HR bundles in more detail]
Whatever the size or structure of your school or trust, the aim is simple: reduce compliance errors, provide a more confident employment experience for staff, avoid costly mistakes, and free leaders to focus on education, not admin. You can find out more and book a chat with our team here.
