Less than two years after it was set up as a one-man business Astro Education has expanded across two counties with a team of four staff and has ambitious plans to grow further.

The Stoke-on-Trent based business specialises in recruitment and retention for the education sector including connecting schools with high-quality teaching and support staff.

It works with primary schools, secondary schools, colleges and specialist SEN provisions across Staffordshire and Cheshire.

It provides both day-to-day supply staff and long-term placements covering a wide range of roles including qualified teachers, teaching assistants, SEN specialists, pastoral staff, cover supervisors and administrative professionals.

Founder Tim Howarth, who worked in the insurance industry before moving into recruitment, has added a former headteacher and teaching assistant into his team. They currently have a workforce of around 100 educational professionals.

Tim said: “From the outset, our mission has been to build a recruitment business that prioritises relationships, reliability and fairness. Schools rely heavily on agency support to maintain continuity for their pupils yet many report challenges around cost, inconsistent candidate quality and poor service from traditional recruitment providers.

“Astro Education was established specifically to address these issues. Our approach focuses on transparent pricing, high compliance standards and careful candidate matching to ensure that both schools and staff benefit from a supportive and professional recruitment experience.

“Although we are still a young business, our growth since launching has been significant. Within less than two years we have developed a strong and expanding client base across Staffordshire and have begun extending our reach into Cheshire.”

Wherever possible Tim tries to put back into the communities his business serves including sponsoring football kits for Excel Academy and sponsoring an early years practitioners event.

“I want people to want to work with us,” he said. “I’m creating a brand that is a transparent, responsive and ethical alternative that genuinely supports the education community.”

Astro Education has entered the Small Business of the Year, Start-up Business of the Year and Growth categories of University of Staffordshire Business Awards and Tim Howarth has entered the Entrepreneur of the Year category.