Payroll services for schools and academy trusts

School payroll means two statutory pension schemes (Teachers’ Pensions and the LGPS for support staff), term-time-only contracts and monthly returns that generalist bureaus simply cannot file. This is specialist territory.

What makes schools payroll different

• Teachers’ Pension Scheme. Tiered contributions, the Monthly Contributions Reconciliation and annual returns require TPS-accredited software and experience.
• LGPS for support staff. A second, different scheme with its own bandings and returns runs in parallel for TAs, caretakers and office staff.
• Term-time-only pay. Annualised salaries for term-time contracts (including correct holiday-pay treatment after the Harpur Trust ruling) are a frequent error source.
• Academy trust consolidation. MATs need school-level cost reporting rolled up to trust level, with ESFA-compatible outputs.

What to look for in a provider

Shortlist education specialists – Dataplan Education by IRIS supports over 650 schools and MATs, and several local-authority traded services still offer schools payroll. Confirm both TPS and LGPS returns are included, not extras.

Pricing follows the wider market – see what outsourcing costs (£4 – £10 per employee per month fully managed) – but sector add-ons matter more than the headline rate, so always compare like-for-like quotes.