About us
SMS Staff Absence Protection is a not-for-profit, mutual staff absence protection fund and part of the Schools Mutual Services family, providing all schools and academies with a dedicated low-cost and practical solution for Staff Absence Protection.
Every school leader knows the feeling: the early morning call, the sudden absence, the scramble to protect learning without stretching budgets or staff wellbeing. SMS Staff Absence Protection was created to make those moments easier, and to give schools a fair, ethical alternative to traditional staff absence insurance.
Our story begins with a simple belief: schools deserve better. Better value, better transparency, and better support, from a partner that understands the pressures of modern education. That belief is what shapes the Schools Mutual Services family, and it’s what drives our dedicated Staff Absence Protection service today.
Built for Schools. Not for Profit.
SMS Staff Absence Protection is powered by Education Mutual, the UK’s largest member owned provider of staff absence protection and an approved supplier recommended for schools by the Department for Education through the CPC framework.
Education Mutual was founded to challenge the status quo. No shareholders. No profit driven premiums. No opaque exclusions. Just a mutual model where schools support each other, and where any surplus is reinvested directly back into the sector.
To date, Education Mutual has reinvested over £1 million into education, funding wellbeing initiatives, resources, and support that benefit staff and pupils nationwide.
A Different Kind of Staff Absence Protection
From the beginning, our mission has been to create a staff absence protection service that feels genuinely supportive, not transactional. Schools and Multi-Academy Trusts choose SMS Staff Absence Protection because:
- We’re ethical and transparent
Everything we do is built around fairness, clarity, and long‑term sustainability. - We’re low‑cost and practical
Our cover is designed around real school needs, not insurance jargon. - We’re sector‑aligned
We listen to school leaders, business managers, and Multi-Academy Trusts to shape a service that works in practice, not just on paper. - We’re powered by Education Mutual
Giving you the confidence of a trusted, nationally recognised provider with a proven track record.
Part of the Schools Mutual Services (SMS) Family
SMS Staff Absence Protection is one part of a wider commitment: to help schools operate with confidence through ethical, cost effective services that put pupils and staff first. Schools Mutual Services (SMS) is a not-for-profit mutual supply staffing agency, created exclusively for the education sector. Their mission is to support the education sector with solutions that are transparent, sustainable, and built around the realities of school life, while ensuring that vital resources stay within education.
SMS are the ONLY not-for-profit supply agency who truly puts staff, pupils, and schools first. If you have a supply vacancy to fill, you can do so on the SMS dedicated supply staffing website here
SMS was founded by executive leaders of Bishop Wilkinson Catholic Education Trust – former Chief Executive Officer Mr. Nick Hurn OBE and Chief Operating Officer Mrs. Louise Levy, and exists to deliver focused, high-quality supply staff solutions with low-cost options, tailored to the needs of schools and academies.
Our Staff Absence Protection service reflects the SMS mission, offering schools a dependable, not for profit alternative that protects budgets, supports staff wellbeing, and strengthens the wider education community.