SECTION 172(1) STATEMENT - CONSIDERING ALL KEY STAKEHOLDERS
We, the board of directors of Protocol Education Limited, believe that we (individually and together) have taken decisions and acted in a way we consider most likely to promote the success of the company for the benefit of its members during the year ended 30th November 2024. We believe that to maximise value and long term success we must take account of what is important to all the company's key stakeholders and maintain a reputation for high standards of business conduct.
During the year ended 30th November 2024 the board of directors has considered key stakeholders in four main groups:
Employees
During the period, the Company has introduced Communities to help employees support each other, to advise, share questions and experiences on a number of topics such as Mental Health and Equality, Diversion and Inclusion. The Communities are an exciting and important step towards fostering a more inclusive workplace and culture.
We believe the best ideas come from the people living and breathing the work every day. That's why we launched the Bright Ideas Exchange: an open space for collaboration, conversation, and collective problem-solving. The sessions bring our people together from across the business to explore meaningful topics, share fresh perspectives, and help shape our future.
The Company continues to review and adapt its benefits offerings, with several new benefits being added to the scheme in 2024. There has also been an additional focus on communication, to ensure that all employees fully understand the benefits on offer.
The new group-wide intranet was introduced in 2024 and has been a great success. The site allows senior management and employees to share information and news and connect easily with colleagues all over the business.
Our Educators
Part of our role is to provide tutors, teachers and learning support staff with the tools they need to deliver the best service to schools. The Company has stringent vetting and safeguarding frameworks in place, alongside robust processes for compliance and educator development. We continuously look for ways to improve our systems, both for efficiency and user experience, and our systems are continually reviewed and updated to enhance our vetting processes.
We provide Educators with access to tools designed to enhance their career, at the same time as preparing them for success. Our Educators have access to advanced learning and development through apprenticeships, Team Teach and to free online courses to develop their skills. The group also runs a programme, aimed at addressing teacher shortages by attracting and supporting bright graduates considering a career in teaching and wishing to gain practical experience before enrolling in formal teacher training.
We offer support to our Teaching Assistants who may be new to educational settings - we have developed support literature, guidance and insight into the teaching assistant role through a series of expert webinars.
School Clients
We are passionate about education and we recognise the important role we play in helping schools and pupils achieve the best possible results. We commit to quality, always aiming to provide the best services, the best Educators and the best value. We strive to be the leading provider of education support in the market, making sure we have sufficient staff, locations and Educators to meet all of the services and support needs at our client schools. We are committed to being 'expert' at what we do by training our staff to understand the schools market and the importance of fulfilling the special and often unique requirements of each individual school. Customer experience and service are at the heart of our business and we strive to deliver the best possible user experience for all our school clients - from professional, efficient service to well-developed, intuitive apps and websites to ease administrative burdens.
Our staff build excellent relationships with our client schools, going beyond providing great service by giving time to help out with fundraising, school talks and workshops and event support such as sports days and school fetes.
Suppliers
We understand how important it is to our suppliers that their invoices are paid promptly. Our average payment days and percentage of invoices paid late is a focus for the business. We maintain good relationships with all our suppliers, large and small, and we are pleased with the regular communication and connections developed during the period.