The Education Space provides cost-effective back-office support to the education sector.
Founded in 2012 by school leaders as Newham Partnership Working (NPW), our mission is straightforward: to deliver reliable operational services that allow educators to focus on their students.
More than a decade later, we now partner with over 400 schools and multi-academy trusts. We supply a comprehensive range of back-office solutions, managed and delivered by qualified industry professionals with deep experience across various school support disciplines.
From day-to-day administration to strategic guidance, we understand the specific operational demands of school trusts and work alongside you to streamline your services so you can make the most of your resources.
The Education Space is a not-for-profit, schools-owned organisation providing back-office and operational support to the education sector. Formed by headteachers, we deliver cost-effective services that manage administrative burdens so that teaching staff can focus on their pupils.
We support schools and trusts across four main areas:
School Office Operations: We provide HR and payroll management, recruitment, IT and MIS support, bursar services, and professional governor support featuring AI-assisted minute-taking.
Safety & Compliance: We help schools meet statutory requirements through Data Protection (DPO) services, our TESSA Health & Safety management platform, and independent audits for fire doors, playgrounds, and portable appliances (PAT).
School Management: Our team offers safeguarding support, critical incident response, procurement assistance, and independent monitoring for school catering and cleaning contracts.
Strategic Consultancy: We provide project management for academy conversions, IT digital transformations, and Integrated Curriculum and Financial Planning (ICFP). Furthermore, our Extended Leadership Service (ELS) provides multi-academy trusts with dedicated experts for in-person strategic planning, comprehensive board-level reporting, and tailored strategies for scaling and operational efficiency.
Our goal is to provide trusts with reliable, straightforward expertise to ensure operations run efficiently, safely, and compliantly.
The Education Space partners with multi-academy trusts to alleviate operational pressures, allowing your leadership to concentrate on educational excellence. We help you achieve this through three core approaches:
Expertise Across the Board: Managing a trust requires a diverse skillset. We provide immediate access to a deep pool of industry professionals across HR, finance, IT, governance, safeguarding, and safety compliance. From everyday helpdesk support to our Extended Leadership Service (ELS) for strategic board-level planning, we provide the specialised knowledge required to support every facet of your operations.
Flexible Delivery Models: Trust structures vary, so our services are designed to adapt. Whether you need a fully outsourced back-office, a hybrid (co-sourced) arrangement to support your in-house team, or interim "Role as a Service" cover, our support scales alongside your trust.
Economies of Scale (VfM): As a not-for-profit, schools-owned organisation, our priority is delivering genuine Value for Money (VfM). By sharing services and utilising our procurement experience, we help your trust achieve economies of scale. We streamline processes and consolidate resources, ensuring your funding is spent efficiently and effectively.
