Subsy, an on-demand platform for connecting schools and supply teachers, has acquired Airsupply Solutions.
The two companies have merged and agreed to operate under the Airsupply brand, though the terms of the acquisition are undisclosed.
Airsupply connects schools and headteachers without the use of third-party agencies, which seeks to help reduce costs to schools and pay teachers more. The company raised £250,000 from early-stage investor Forward Partners in May last year. Agencies are charging schools thousands of pounds each year to find supply teachers, so these two companies hope that merging will provide the scale and momentum they need to continue to provide an alternative.
Subsy, which came out of Founders Factory’s incubator programme, offers schools 24/7 access to verified supply teachers across the East of England using a mobile platform. It hopes to provide product enhancements and commercial leadership to the new organisation.
Airsupply was co-founded in 2016 by Karin Hogsander and Raza Khan, with the intention of making it easier and cheaper for schools to access staff as they need them. Two years on and Airsupply claims to match teachers with schools across Essex County Council, Waltham Forest, Croydon and Redbridge. Supply teachers are given detailed information on the school and lesson they are required to teach. The two companies hope their merger will provide a greater pool of candidates for schools to choose from.
Duncan Verry, formerly of Subsy and now CEO of newly merged Airsupply, said: “A digital solution provides the transparency and speed that schools and teachers need.
“The current model of agencies charging higher and higher levels of commission is unsustainable and something we are tackling with our knowledge of education, unique relationships and skilled team and by putting schools and teachers at the centre of what we do,” Verry added.