​It arrives every year and it always feels slightly sudden. One minute it is Sports Day and the summer term is winding down. The next it is the last week of August and the list of things still to do feels much longer than the time available.

The schools that start September with confidence are not the ones that worked harder in August. They are the ones that asked the right questions in June and July, and acted on the answers. This blog sets those questions out clearly. Some will prompt a reassuring tick. Others might prompt a phone call.

Either way, it is better to know now.

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Question One: Do We Actually Have Enough Staff?

This sounds basic. But TeacherTapp's 2026 Teacher Recruitment and Retention report found that 21% of primary teachers now report their school is inadequately staffed with suitably qualified teachers, despite job advertisements falling. Fewer adverts does not mean better staffing. It means shortfalls are being absorbed internally, and that is not a sustainable position to carry into a new academic year.

Start with a curriculum-led staffing model rather than a historical one. Map what your timetable requires for 2026/27, then map what you have. Identify every confirmed role, every uncertain one, and every gap you already know exists. Focus particular attention on your non-negotiables: safeguarding, SEND, exam classes, and attendance leads.

If gaps exist, the time to address them is now. The best candidates for September roles are being matched and secured during summer term, not during the first week back.

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Question Two: Are Everyone's Checks Complete?

Your Single Central Record is the first document Ofsted inspectors request. A poorly maintained SCR immediately raises questions about the wider safeguarding culture of your school, regardless of how strong your teaching or leadership may be.

Before the end of term, check every entry. Ensure all enhanced DBS checks are current, right-to-work verification has been completed using one of the three authorised methods, prohibition order checks are recorded with dates, and all references are documented correctly. Every entry needs a date. A tick or a yes without a date is not compliant.

Pay particular attention to supply and agency staff. All agency workers placed at your school must appear on your SCR with confirmation from the agency that required checks have been completed, including the date that confirmation was received. If you use Link3 Recruitment, we provide this documentation as standard in a format ready to record.

KCSIE 2026 comes into force in September and brings significant changes. Annex A is removed, meaning all staff including support staff, site staff, catering staff and administrators must read Part One of KCSIE in full. A new supplementary "Part One: Overview for all Staff" document becomes mandatory reading. Your induction checklists and annual safeguarding declarations need to reflect this change from day one of term. Volunteer regulations have also tightened: from September 2026, supervised volunteers who teach, train, instruct, care for or supervise children may now be classed as undertaking regulated activity, which changes what checks are required.

Ofsted's approach to safeguarding is binary. It is either effective or it is not, and an ineffective safeguarding judgement affects your overall inspection outcome regardless of everything else.

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Question Three: Do We Have a Cover Plan?

Every September brings unexpected absences. Staff illness, delayed starts, personal emergencies and the ordinary unpredictability of school life mean that your staffing plan for September needs to include a contingency layer, not just the headcount you need when everything goes to plan.

The schools that handle this best have an established relationship with a supply agency before the new term begins. Pre-vetted candidates who already understand your school can step in quickly and with minimal disruption. Schools that make their first call to an agency in the second week of September are starting that relationship at the worst possible moment.

From September 2026, academy trusts must procure supply and temporary staff through the RM6376 Supply Teachers and Education Recruitment framework. If your trust has not yet established a relationship with an approved framework supplier, that conversation needs to happen before term starts, not during it.

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Question Four: What Happens If Someone Is Absent?

This is distinct from having a cover plan. It is about the system behind the plan: who makes the call, who manages the booking, who checks the compliance paperwork, and who communicates with the class when a familiar face does not appear.

Schools with clear protocols for managing absence, including who contacts the agency, how quickly, and what information is needed to place a compliant candidate, experience significantly less disruption than those working it out case by case. Build that protocol now, brief the relevant staff before September, and make sure whoever is responsible for supply bookings knows the RM6376 requirements and how your approved agency relationship works.

If your trust uses a Lot 2 managed service arrangement, this process becomes considerably simpler. A single point of contact manages everything, from sourcing the candidate to confirming compliance documentation, across all the academies in your trust.

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Question Five: Is Our Safeguarding Culture Ready, Not Just Our Paperwork?

Ofsted has moved explicitly away from a checklist-compliance model toward assessing whether safeguarding is a lived culture within a school. That means staff confidence in reporting concerns, consistent processes, timely action, and visible leadership accountability matter as much as documentation.

Before September, ask yourself honestly whether every member of your team, including new starters, supply staff and non-teaching staff, will be able to explain the school's safeguarding approach with confidence. Plan your INSET days around this. Brief new staff before they are in front of pupils. Ensure your DSL is visible and accessible from day one.

The most inspection-ready schools are not the ones with the biggest folders. They are the ones where safeguarding is understood, evidenced and embedded at every level.

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Ready to Talk Through Your September Staffing?

At Link3 Recruitment, we work with schools and academies across the Midlands to make sure the staffing side of September is as well-planned as everything else. As an approved supplier on the RM6376 Supply Teachers and Education Recruitment framework across both Lot 1 and Lot 2, we are positioned to support your trust compliantly from the first day of term.

If any of these questions have prompted a conversation you need to have, we are here.

Get in touch with the Link3 Recruitment team today. Visit: www.link3recruitment.co.uk | Call: 0115 6972550

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Link3 Recruitment is an award-winning education recruitment agency and approved supplier on the RM6376 Supply Teachers and Education Recruitment framework across both Lot 1 and Lot 2, working with nurseries, primary schools, secondary schools, academies and Multi-Academy Trusts across the Midlands.