Under the DfE’s Maximising Value for Pupils programme, every academy trust must now procure agency staff through the Government Commercial Agreement (GCA) RM6376 framework. Zen Educate is an Approved Supplier on Lot 1 and Lot 2 — so your transition is compliant, transparent, and built to protect your budget.
Lot 1
Direct appointment
Lot 2
Managed service
The framework changes how trusts buy agency staffing — and raises the bar for transparency, safeguarding, and value.
Mandatory procurement route
Trusts must have active agreements in place with all suppliers used across their schools.
Value for pupils
With national agency supply spend reaching £1.4bn in 2023/24, the framework drives transparency, capped margins, and quality.
Lot 1
Direct appointment
Typically known as Preferred Supplier List (PSL) - Zen is one of your trusts suppliers and allows schools to book temporary, fixed-term or permanent staff on a day by day basis. Best for school by school implementation plan and adhoc needs.
Lot 2
Managed service
Typically known as Master Vendor or Managed Supplier. Zen becomes the single point of contact and manages the relationships with other vendors, to find supply. Built for scale, technical capability and complex, trust-wide procurement.
Trusted standards. Framework-ready staffing.
Zen Educate is built for responsible public-sector procurement — combining B Corp certification, recognised recruitment standards, and approved supplier framework credentials.
General Education
Great educators for every classroom
SEN
Specialist support when your students need it most
Early Years
Nurturing educators for your youngest learners
Dual-Lot Approved
The only route you’ll need, whether you book directly or hand us the whole supply chain.
Top 3 UK agency
One of the largest vetted candidate pools in the country, with over 13,000 teacher and TAs across the UK.
Transparent margins
Ethical margins and full commercial transparency — a Zen standard long before the framework required it.
£50m+ saved
Delivered for schools through technology-led matching, operational efficiency, and fairer commercial models.
Jonathan Greener, Regional Director, Zen Educate
Does my trust have to use the GCA framework?
No, but the mandate from the DfE which changes procurement practices applies to all trusts. The GCA framework is heavily recommended and will be the default path for Trusts. If you opt out and procure staff through another framework, you own the compliance, must justify value for money, and run your own tender process (compliant with the Procurement Act of 2023), all while exposing your trust to DfE procurement scrutiny and potential intervention.
What’s the difference between Lot 1 and Lot 2?
Can we keep using Zen for ad-hoc bookings?
How does the transition affect our current agency relationships?
Is Zen safeguarding-compliant?