11th November 2015 1:00
By Blue Tutors
The National Union of Teachers has warned that teacher shortages are costing schools dearly in temporary supply teachers. The union confirmed that schools in England spent £733m last year bringing in additional staff to cover shortages. Teachers’ unions said that schools are being forced to waste money intended for children’s education because of the failure to recruit teachers. NUT leader Christine Blower said that supply teacher agencies and tutoring agencies are making millions of pounds during a time when teachers’ salaries are continuing to drop.
The government is launching a TV recruitment campaign to attract a new generation of teachers amidst concerns that schools are unable to recruit enough staff. The Department for Education’s advertising campaign is intended to help with recruiting an additional 35,000 trainee teachers each year. There are particular shortages of Physics and Maths tutors, and the government is offering increasing incentives to recruit teachers in these fields. Bursaries of up to £30,000 are available for Physics and Maths teachers entering teaching.
The National Association of Head Teachers had also raised concerns that they are increasingly forced to rely on expensive supply agencies. The cost of bringing in supply teachers is often compounded by the fact that agencies often receive very little notice when cover is required. Supply agencies typically take between 15 and 30% of the fee paid by schools, meaning that relying on supply teachers is extremely expensive. Heads have warned that if the problem continues, class sizes will have to increase. Shadow education secretary Lucy Powell said that ministers need to take urgent action to tackle recruitment.