Young Academics
How Young Academics replaced agency staff with a dedicated relief pool and saved $0.6 million a year
About Young Academics
Young Academics is a family-owned early childhood education and care provider in Sydney, established in 2009. Its educators take a play-based approach to learning, with each child's all-round development at the heart of its programs, and family remains its number one value.
Used in 35 centres across Sydney, Simplifi's casual staff management fills relief shifts across the Young Academics network, drawing on a dedicated pool of more than 420 relief educators.
The Challenge
Before Simplifi, Young Academics relied on recruitment agencies to cover educator absences across its centres. Agency fees were costing the business around $50,000 a month, or roughly $600,000 a year.
In early childhood education, relief cover isn't optional. Centres must meet educator-to-child ratios every day, so every sick day, leave request and vacancy has to be filled. Sourcing that cover through agencies means paying a premium on every shift, with no guarantee the educator who arrives knows the centre, its routines or its children.
The Solution
Rather than keep paying agencies for relief cover, Young Academics used Simplifi's Casual Staff Management module to build its own dedicated pool of relief educators.
When a centre has a gap, it posts the shift in Simplifi. Eligible relievers get an instant notification in the Simplifi app and can accept the shift from their phone, while Simplifi checks qualifications and certifications before anyone is booked.
Because the pool belongs to Young Academics, relievers work across its own centres rather than for an agency. Over time, they can get to know the teams, routines and children they support.
The Results
Agency spend at Young Academics is now virtually eliminated, falling from $50,000 a month to less than $2,000.
- Used in 35 centres across Sydney
- 420+ dedicated relief educators in the pool
- 1,400+ relief shifts posted each month, with an 85% fill rate
- $0.6 million AUD saved in agency fees every year
Just as importantly, relief cover is now something the business runs itself, rather than something it buys in.
Still paying agencies to cover relief shifts?
If agency fees are eating into your budget every month, a dedicated relief pool could change that. Talk to the Simplifi team about building one for your centres.
