Our mission is to help teachers and school staff make informed decisions about teaching unions and other professional support, so they can choose backing that fits their needs, values and priorities.
We believe that when school staff feel properly supported and protected, they are more likely to remain in the profession. By making it easier to compare options clearly, using the same framework for every organisation, we hope to help more people find the support they trust and want behind them.
Schools are under pressure, and recruiting and retaining staff remains a major challenge. One reason people leave is that they do not always feel sufficiently supported in difficult moments at work. For many teachers and school staff, the organisation behind them can make a real difference — offering reassurance, advice, representation or protection when it is needed most.
But choosing that support is often not a fully informed decision. Many staff are encouraged to join an organisation early in their career, with little time or opportunity to compare the alternatives or think carefully about what best matches their own values and priorities. Many even choose not to join any organisation at all although we think that is a bit risky!
Teaching Union Match exists to change that. We want to help teachers and school staff make informed, confident decisions about the support behind them. Our aim is not to push people towards any one organisation, but to make it easier to find the backing that feels right for them.
We believe that when more school staff feel protected and supported, more of them are likely to remain in education. That is better for staff, pupils and schools.
If you work in a UK school in any capacity — classroom teacher, support staff, leader, ECT, supply, middle leader, or part of a central trust team — this tool is built for you. We cover all four UK nations because professional support looks very different depending on where you work.
Teaching Union Match was created by the team at Edapt. Edapt is an independent education-support organisation for school and college staff in England and Wales — and it's one of the options listed on this site, alongside the major teaching unions.
We built this tool because we believe school staff make a more important decision than they realise when they choose their professional backing — and they should have a clear view of every option, not just the one they were first told about.
Edapt has no special treatment in the ranking. It's rated against the same value framework as every other organisation. Its rating reflects what it does well (individual protection, apolitical focus, lower cost) and what it doesn't do (collective action, strikes, in-school reps). If your answers favour a trade union, the engine will rank a union above Edapt — that's what it's designed to do.
No organisation pays to appear on this site. There are no affiliate links. Every organisation is rated against the same set of values, using the same scoring engine, with the same questions.
The ranking you see after the quiz is generated live from your answers. We don't have a "preferred" result. If your priorities match a trade union with industrial muscle, that's what the engine will return. If your priorities match an apolitical individual-support service, that's what it'll return.
Clarity about what each organisation actually offers and what they don't.
No sign-up, no email, no phone number. We're not trying to capture your details so you get pestered by email and text every month! We do use anonymous usage data to improve the tool, but it's never tied to you.
We don't favour one teaching union over another. Our suggestions are matches based on values, not an endorsement of quality or position.
We want things to make sense and not get bogged down in jargon. We have enough in that sector as it is!
We're not a broker, an affiliate or a membership site. We don't earn commission if you sign up with any of the organisations listed. We don't tie anything to you — no sign-up, name or email. We use anonymous, aggregated usage data to spot bugs and improve the tool, but it's never linked to you.
What we do try to do is give you a clear, side-by-side view of all your options, with direct links to each organisation, so you can decide for yourself.
Spotted a factual error? Think we've described an organisation unfairly? Notice we've missed someone? Email info@edapt.org.uk. We read every message and publicly correct factual errors.
If you represent one of the organisations on the site and would like us to update your description, we'll consider it — though we keep editorial control so descriptions stay consistent in tone across all organisations.