Sponsorship and staffing for September: are you prepared?

As we approach the final term, many schools and trusts are already asking the same question: “How do we stay ahead of our workforce and sponsorship obligations before September?”

With continued changes to UK immigration compliance and increasing scrutiny on sponsor activity, early planning is best practice.

Now is an ideal time to:

• review your Certificate of Sponsorship allocation and start preparing CoS assignments for September starters;
• check visa expiry dates for sponsored staff whose permission expires over the summer;
• assess whether new or restructured roles meet the sponsorship criteria;
• assess whether any upcoming changes to duties for current sponsored workers would require a new CoS, and ensure all reporting responsibilities on the SMS are completed on time.

These steps help schools and trusts avoid last‑minute delays, compliance risks, and staffing gaps at the start of term.