Website Cookies

We use cookies to make your experience better. Learn more on how here

Accept

The UK’s only Graduate
careers programme for
Education, Early Years
and Social care

Build tomorrows workforce whilst delivering real stability for children and young adults today.

Partner with us Start your graduate journey

The UK’s only
Graduatecareers
programme for
Education, Early Years
and Social care

Build tomorrows workforce whilst delivering real stability for children and young adults today.

Partner with us Start your graduate journey

Finalist at the Education Awards 2026!

Transforming Young Lives Through Partnerships Award

Trusted by Leaders and Graduates with over 80 5★ reviews on

Shape A Life is the UK’s only dedicated graduate careers programme for education, early years, and children’s social care.

We carefully match passionate graduates to paid, full-time, long-term support, assistant or work experience roles tailored exactly to your setting’s needs – creating consistent, trusting relationships where they matter most.

This is a long-term solution to a national problem – one child finally feeling safe enough to learn, one young person daring to hope again, one steady adult at a time.

This is not supply cover.

This is not short-term fixes.

This is a long-term solution.

Where We Make the Biggest Impact

Explore areas of need

Education

Tailored support and Teaching Graduate Schemes in schools/colleges for SEND, behaviour, inclusion, catch-up and much more – where a steady graduate can be the difference between a child disengaging and one who begins to believe in themselves again.

We needed stronger support for pupils with SEND, SEMH and complex pastoral needs, alongside a sustainable pipeline of future educators. Shape A Life graduates improved engagement, stabilised attendance and strengthened daily operations across our schools. I would recommend them to any CEO seeking immediate impact and long-term workforce development.

CEO, Large Multi Academy Trust

Education

EYFS / Early Years
Foundation Stage

Consistent help in nurseries for attachment, regulation & early development – turning anxious mornings into secure, joyful beginnings.

Ratios can be met on paper, but it is consistency of adult presence that drives attachment, communication and school readiness. Shape A Life offers a structured graduate pipeline that strengthens day-to-day stability in Early Years while building future practitioners from within. For providers focused on long-term quality and sustainable growth, that shift is significant.

CEO/COO, Early Years & Education Sector

EYFS / Early Years
Foundation Stage

Children’s Social Care

Reliable relationships in care settings for trauma-affected children – giving a young person the rare gift of knowing someone will still be there tomorrow.

Shape A Life introduced capable, values-driven graduates who combine strong academic understanding with a genuine commitment to working from the ground up in children’s care. They quickly became consistent, trusted adults in our homes, with several progressing into permanent and more senior roles. If you want to reduce agency reliance and build long-term stability, Shape A Life delivers.

Director & Responsible Individual, Children’s Services

Children’s Social Care

The Challenge we’re solving

Across the UK the same pressures hit hard

Children face frequent adult changes that break trust and slow progress. For example, a little girl who finally opens up only to have her key adult disappear again.

Teams struggle with high turnover and constant short-term fixes leaving exhausted staff firefighting instead of teaching or nurturing.

Talented graduates want meaningful entry points but often face unclear paths and are left wondering if this work is really for them.

Young people bear the deepest cost. Shape A Life changes that. We’ve created a better way – personalised, sustainable, built on real relationships that last.

The Solution

We source and place the right graduate for your specific role, priorities and team – in one consistent setting, full-time and paid.

Children face frequent adult changes that break trust and slow progress. For example, a little girl who finally opens up only to have her key adult disappear again.

Teams struggle with high turnover and constant short-term fixes leaving exhausted staff firefighting instead of teaching or nurturing.

Talented graduates want meaningful entry points but often face unclear paths and are left wondering if this work is really for them.

Young people bear the deepest cost. Shape A Life changes that. We’ve created a better way – personalised, sustainable, built on real relationships that last.

What Sets Shape A Life Apart

We’re building lasting capacity

— not filling temporary gaps.

We’re building lasting capacity. — not filling temporary gaps.

Bespoke & Tailored Matching

We hand-pick and place graduates based on your exact needs, location preferences and priorities – no generic sends, just the perfect fit from the start.

Paid full-time positions

Genuine employment , not volunteering or zero-hours contracts. The average graduate works 35 hours per week

Consistent, long-term presence

Graduates stay for a full placement (often up to a full year and sometimes beyond), fostering deep bonds instead of rotation.

Focused on your real priorities – Targeted, high-impact support in:

SEND & additional learning needs
Behaviour, emotional regulation & SEMH
Attendance & engagement
Literacy, numeracy & learning gaps
Aspiration, identity & future pathways

The Real Changes
We Create

For young people

Expand

Familiar, steady adults → Stronger trust → Better wellbeing, engagement & outcomes

A child who once withdrew now reaches out

A teenager who once shut down now speaks.

A nursery child who once cried at drop-off now smiles.

For setting

Expand

Reduced daily pressure → Greater stability → Space for long-term planning & growth

Teams stop surviving and start thriving. Leaders stop firefighting and start leading.

For graduates

Expand

Hands-on, paid experience supporting children and young people across education, early years, and social care, giving you a clear pathway into teaching, childcare, or social care careers.

Our graduate programme provides real-world experience across education, early years, and children’s social care.

You support children and young people every day while building practical skills and understanding your future career options.

Many of our graduates progress into teaching, early years, and social care roles.

You leave with relevant experience and a clear route into a long-term career working with young people.

Trusted by Leaders and Graduates With over 80 5 ★ reviews

Previous
Next
Shape A Life made my transition from university into education clear and manageable from the start.

They matched me to a school that genuinely fits my goals, giving me the confidence and real experience I needed to grow. I would recommend Shape A Life to any graduate serious about building a career in education.

Graduate Placement, Education
We needed stronger support for pupils with SEND, SEMH and complex pastoral needs, alongside a sustainable pipeline of future educators.

Shape A Life graduates improved engagement, stabilised attendance and strengthened daily operations across our schools. I would recommend them to any CEO seeking immediate impact and long-term workforce development.

CEO, Large Multi Academy Trust
Ratios can be met on paper, but it is consistency of adult presence that drives attachment, communication and school readiness.

Shape A Life offers a structured graduate pipeline that strengthens day-to-day stability in Early Years while building future practitioners from within. For providers focused on long-term quality and sustainable growth, that shift is significant.

CEO/COO, Early Years & Education Sector
Shape A Life made my transition from university into education clear and manageable from the start.

They matched me to a school that genuinely fits my goals, giving me the confidence and real experience I needed to grow. I would recommend Shape A Life to any graduate serious about building a career in education.

Graduate Placement, Education
Shape A Life introduced capable, values-driven graduates who combine strong academic understanding with a genuine commitment to working from the ground up in children’s care.

They quickly became consistent, trusted adults in our homes, with several progressing into permanent and more senior roles. If you want to reduce agency reliance and build long-term stability, Shape A Life delivers.

Director & Responsible Individual, Children’s Services
We needed stronger support for pupils with SEND, SEMH and complex pastoral needs, alongside a sustainable pipeline of future educators.

Shape A Life graduates improved engagement, stabilised attendance and strengthened daily operations across our schools. I would recommend them to any CEO seeking immediate impact and long-term workforce development.

CEO, Large Multi Academy Trust

Strengthening Local Communities

By prioritising local and regional hiring, Shape A Life invests directly in the places that need it.

Building community roots

Consistent local adults strengthen belonging, trust, and family ties for children.

Keeping talent home

Graduates often stay and build careers in their own regions or nearby communities.

Growing a home-grown workforce

We nurture graduates into future local teachers, practitioners, specialists & leaders — future-proofing schools, nurseries & care services where you live and work.

Ripple effects

More engaged communities, reduced disadvantage cycles, stronger neighbourhoods for the next generation.

Strengthening Local Communities

Growing tomorrow’s workforce

The next generation of teachers, early years specialists, educational psychologists, social workers & pastoral leaders is already here — they just need the right start.

Shape A Life provides grounded, real-world experience so they enter the sector resilient, informed, and committed — especially strengthening local and regional teams for years to come.

Partner with us

About

Shape A Life was founded by Neil Poole after 20 years in education recruitment.

After placing thousands of roles, it became clear that short-term fixes were not solving long-term instability. Children lost trusted adults. Teams absorbed pressure. Graduates lacked structured entry routes.

Shape A Life was built to change that.

Meet the team Read our story

About

Ready to Create Lasting Change?

Whether you’re a school, nursery, or social care leader seeking bespoke, sustainable support — or a graduate ready for a tailored paid role in your preferred area — let’s connect.

Please select the most relevant reason for enquiry:*