Sponsor licence support for UK schools, universities and education providers.

The main teaching SOC codes are 2311 Higher education teaching professionals, 2312 Further education teaching professionals, 2314 Secondary education teaching professionals, 2315 Primary and nursery education teaching professionals, 2316 Special and additional needs education teaching professionals, and 2319 Other teaching professionals not elsewhere classified. Each has its own published going rate. The correct code at CoS assignment matters — it drives the salary requirement, the ISC position, and the compliance reference point.

Yes — SOC 2311 (Higher education teaching professionals) is one of the SOC codes named in the ISC exemption list. A university sponsoring a higher education teaching professional on a 5-year CoS pays no ISC, where a school sponsoring a secondary teacher on the same 5-year CoS would pay £6,600 at the standard medium/large sponsor rate. The exemption applies only to the listed SOC codes — schools, nurseries, and FE providers are not exempt.

Yes. There is no minimum size requirement and no formal sector restriction — what matters is the operational maturity of the HR and safeguarding systems and the ability to evidence a genuine vacancy. Smaller independent schools sometimes find the application straightforward; multi-academy trusts more often need help with centralising governance and key personnel across academies.

They are separate regimes but they touch the same evidence. Right-to-work records, contract evidence, and identity verification overlap with the single central record under KCSIE. A well-designed system uses one set of records for both — with clear annotation of which evidence satisfies which regime. We typically design this once and then operate it via the compliance retainer.

Potentially — the new entrant discount has specific eligibility criteria (typically under 26, recent graduate, or switch from Student visa to Skilled Worker). A recently-qualified UK-based teacher candidate may qualify; an experienced overseas teacher in their 30s typically would not. The applicable threshold needs to be calculated against the specific worker before CoS assignment.

Not in formal terms — a nursery operator can sponsor on the Skilled Worker route the same as any other employer. In practical terms, the available SOC codes for EYFS roles are narrower than for primary or secondary teaching, and not all EYFS roles sit at the required skill level (RQF 3+). Take advice on the specific role before assuming a nursery role qualifies for sponsorship.