Modern slavery statement

Our commitment

Teach First is committed to continuously improving our practices to ensure that modern slavery and human trafficking are not present within our own organisation or our supply chains. We strive to act ethically and with integrity in all our activities.

This Statement is made pursuant to section 54 of the Modern Slavery Act 2015 and constitutes Teach First’s Modern Slavery and Human Trafficking Transparency Statement as of January 2025.

Our Statement explains the steps we have taken to date and how we plan to continue developing and implementing a proactive approach to the prevention of modern slavery.

Organisational structure and supply chains

Teach First is a national charity that operates within the education sector, recruiting, training and developing teachers and school leaders to carry our vision forward of ensuring ‘Every child fulfils their potential’.

Contractual governance and operational delivery of all our programmes are maintained through teams based at our headquarters in London and offices across England. All teams report to the Charity’s Executive Committee, headed by the CEO, who are responsible for the day to day running of the Charity and ensuring it complies with all relevant legislation. They report to the Trustees who are legally responsible for the Charity’s activities.

Our suppliers are predominantly UK-based providing us with services relating to; marketing, recruitment, venues, events, IT delivery and support, offices, agency workers, consultants, training, travel, professional services, office supplies, furniture, IT hardware and other materials used in our day-to-day operations.

Policies in relation to slavery and human trafficking

Teach First is committed to continued policy development to ensure that we keep up to date with all changes in legislation, including full compliance with the Modern Slavery Act.

We have following policies that support us in ensuring we are compliant with the Modern Slavery Act:

• Child Safeguarding Policy
• Equity, diversity and inclusion Policy
• Data Protection Policy
• Anti-Fraud, Bribery and Corruption Policy
• Whistleblowing Policy
• Grievance Policy
• Recruitment & Selection Policy
• Pay Policy
• Procurement and Contracting Policy
• Discrimination, Harassment and Bullying Policy
• Acceptance and Refusal of Donations Policy
• Incident Management Framework

Due diligence processes

The nature of our business means we are predominantly a consumer of services, therefore the risks of modern slavery in our supply chain are relatively low. However, we have implemented a number of measures to proactively manage this risk:

• All our key sub-contractors are required to demonstrate adherence to employment legislation to ensure the welfare and well-being of all employees on programmes are protected.
• For all our key sub-contractors and suppliers, we carry out detailed financial and legal due diligence checks for all large supply arrangements as part of the procurement process.
• Our contracts include an anti-slavery clause requiring suppliers to state they are complying with the Modern Slavery Act and we reserve the right to audit their compliance.
• Our procurement team completes an annual risk-mapping exercise of current supply chains which includes a RAG rating of all key suppliers in relation to the risks of modern slavery.
• Any suppliers identified as being from high-risk industries or locations will be monitored by our procurement team while they remain part of our supply base.
• All Teach First staff are required to complete a range of relevant compliance training annually.
• We are an accredited Living Wage provider committed to paying the current living wage to all directly employed staff and third party contracted staff.
• For recruiting temporary workers, we utilise the services of reputable agencies with whom we have agreed Terms and Conditions for each appointment and which are reviewed annually.

Risk assessment and management

We manage risks in accordance with our risk-management policy. All key organisational risks are recorded on a risk register that includes an assessment of their likelihood and impact; tracks the internal controls in place and actions taken to reduce, eliminate or mitigate against them; and sets future mitigating actions that would further reduce the likelihood and impact of the risk materialising.

The Executive Committee has accountability and responsibility for the risk register. The Trustee Board holds overall accountability for ensuring that effective risk management arrangements are in place. It is supported in this role by its Finance and Audit Committee which reviews risks escalated from the executive on a quarterly basis. A professional internal audit team are employed to undertake an annual programme of work intended to test the effectiveness of the internal control and risk management systems.

The procurement function assesses and review areas of operations where the Act could be contravened through ongoing supply chain management. Risk is evaluated against criteria including country of origin, sector, transaction type and contractual relationship. Any suppliers identified as being from high-risk industries or locations will be reviewed and where risks are identified they will be escalated to the COO and Director of People & Governance. If required, suppliers will be contacted to agree a time-bound action and improvement plan which will be closely monitored on a regular basis.

Key performance indicators to measure effectiveness of steps being taken

To date, there have been no reported incidents of modern slavery by Teach First or suppliers to Teach First in 2024/25.

Training on modern slavery and trafficking

We deliver training to relevant staff on the following policies which helps support us in ensuring we are compliant with the Modern Slavery Act:

• Child Safeguarding Policy
• Equity, diversity and inclusion Policy
• Data Protection Policy
• Anti-Fraud, Bribery and Corruption Policy
• Whistleblowing Policy
• Grievance Policy
• Recruitment & Selection Policy
• Pay Policy
• Procurement and Contracting Policy
• Discrimination, Harassment and Bullying Policy
• Acceptance and Refusal of Donations Policy
• Incident Management Framework

Planned activities

Over the next 12 months we will continue to build on the work already done to further develop our anti-modern slavery policies and procedures. Planned activities include:

• An updated Procurement and Contracting policy incorporating responsible procurement principles (including a Supplier Code of Conduct) which will raise awareness across the organisation via internal communication channels and externally via our website.
• Implementation of a supplier/relationship management framework to clarify roles and responsibilities and provide guidance on effectively managing key supplier contracts across the organisation.
• Providing specific Modern Slavery Act guidance to key individuals and teams across the organisation who are responsible for managing significant contractual relationships.