Primary staffing structures: examples

Take a look at how school staffing structures can vary with our examples from a range of primary schools.

Last reviewed on 28 August 2024
School types: AllSchool phases: AllRef: 3329
Contents
  1. Staffing structures look different from school to school
  2. Mixed-age classes
  3. 1-form entry school
  4. 1-and-a-half form entry school
  5. 2-form entry school
  6. 3-form entry schools
  7. 4-form entry school

Staffing structures look different from school to school

While there are certain roles that schools must have in place, there's no single staff structure that suits every school.

The structure that bests suits your school depends on contextual factors such as:

  • Funding
  • Pupil demographics
  • School improvement priorities

The most important thing is that your school invests in the right mix of staff and high-quality professional development to deliver excellent pupil outcomes. See page 3 of the school workforce planning guidance from the Department for Education (DfE).

Your school should review its staff structures regularly

This should be done as part of annual school improvement, curriculum and financial planning.

To avoid unnecessary staffing changes, your school should aim to plan its staffing over 3 to 5 years, then review this annually.

Effective school workforce planning is not solely about examining the number of staff – it should lead to the more effective and efficient use of your existing staff.