HR network

This network is aimed at staff in member colleges who are responsible for HR functions including recruitment, retention, HR policies, staff welfare, managing absence, redundancies and restructuring. These meetings provide an opportunity for staff across our membership to discuss hot topics, swap ideas and share good practice.

At each meeting, we are also usually able to include include an employment law update with Alice Reeve, Partner & Education Employment Lawyer at VWV, to update members on case law, relevant HR issues and answer questions from network attendees.

Networks are usually held online, approximately three times per year. If you would like to join the network, just turn up to one of the meetings. Outside of the network meetings, colleagues can ask questions and access support via our HR discussion forum.

This network is hosted by Clare Howard, Natspec CEO. If you have suggestions for any topics you’d like to see covered in future networks, please email clare.howard@natspec.org.uk

Please check our Natspec networks page for details about all of our other networks.

Upcoming meetings

Employment law updates

The employment law update, presented by Alice Reeve at VWV, is recorded at each meeting. Recent recordings can be viewed using the links below. Confidential information discussed during the network will not be shared. These are only available to Natspec members and you will need to log in / sign up to the member area to access the resources. If you have any problems, please visit our accessing member benefits page to see more information.

• Employment law update March 2024
• Employment law update November 2023
• Employment law update March 2023
• Employment law update October 2022
• Employment law update May 2022
• Employment law update January 2021
• Employment law update September 2020

Meeting notes

Agenda, notes and presentations from all previous HR network meeting are available in the HR managers folder in the Member SharePoint area. Confidential information discussed during the network will not be shared. These are only available to Natspec members and you will need to log in / sign up to the member area to access the resources. If you have any problems, please visit our accessing member benefits page to see more information.

• Notes from the March 2024 meeting

Salary benchmarking

Members who take part in Natspec’s salary benchmarking exercise receive full results of the salary range and median salaries for the following job roles:

Education Staff: CEO / Principal, Deputy Principal, Senior Leadership/Dept Head, Senior/Lead Tutor, Tutor, Support Worker/LSA, Quality Manager, Transition Manager, Student Welfare Officer

Office and Admin staff: Business/Marketing Manager, Recruitment/Admissions Officer, Administration Officer, Finance Officer

Care Staff: Care Manager / Residential Manager, Deputy Care Manager, Lead or Senior Residential Support Worker, Residential Support Worker

Therapy Staff: Clinical services manager/Head of therapies, Highly specialist/lead physiotherapist, physiotherapist, Highly specialist/lead occupational therapist, occupational therapist, Highly specialist/lead speech and language therapist, speech and language therapist, Highly specialist/lead creative arts therapist, creative arts therapist, Therapy assistant/associate practitioner/technician/apprentice, Psychologist, Psychology Assistant, Counsellor.

If you are part of a member college and would like to check our last results, please download below. If you have any queries, please email beth.mobbswhite@natspec.org.uk or raise them in the next network!

Natspec Salary benchmarking results 2023 Natspec Salary benchmarking results 2022 Natspec Salary benchmarking results 2021

College policies

Natspec collects college HR policies from the websites of member colleges, and makes these available to HR network members so that they can be used as examples when colleges are creating or updating policies.

Specialist colleges must make certain policies publicly available as a requirement of their ESFA funding contract or as an expectation of inspection agencies such as Ofsted, Estyn or CQC. The policies that would normally be expected to be published include information on safeguarding, admissions, curriculum, behaviour, remote education, complaints, discipline/grievance, bullying, emergency evacuation, personal care, visitors, and equalities.

Explore the college policies library

Job descriptions

Network members share job descriptions in order to support each other during recruitment. The library of job descriptions is growing and examples can be viewed or downloaded for college principal, various education staff roles, finance and business administration staff, health and therapy roles, and care staff.

Explore the job description library

Natspec jobs board

Member colleges receive discounted access to advertise vacant roles on the Natspec website.

If you would like your job to appear on this board, please fill out the form on the jobs page.

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