Supply teachers fill in for 34,000 days in Shropshire schools
Supply teachers were employed in Shropshire Council's schools for more than 30,000 days over the past three academic years, it has emerged.
Figures revealed following a Freedom of Information request show that schools under the control of the local authority hired supply staff for the equivalent of 34,360 days since the 2013/14 academic year.
However, the use of supply staff is falling, with teachers used for a total of 12,737 days in 2013/14 – down to 10,434 days in the past academic year.
Today, union bosses said continued cuts to pay and conditions for teachers are among the main reasons for the need to frequently employ supply staff.
Chris Keates, general secretary of the teachers' union NASUWT, said: "There cannot be any doubt that schools are in the midst of a serious teacher recruitment and retention crisis, driven by the adverse impact of the Government's policies on the school workforce.
"Since 2010, there have been relentless attacks on teachers. Year-on-year cuts to teachers' pay, workload spiralling out of control, deprofessionalisation, demoralisation and denigration.
"The result is that resignations are up and applications to teach are down, leaving schools to increasingly rely on supply teachers to fill the gap. Supply teachers are a vital resource for schools and they are the backbone of the school system.
"The expenditure reflects the fact that schools in the area recognise the educational value of using qualified teachers to fill in where staff are absent. They should be congratulated for not resorting to putting even more pressure on existing staff to cover for absence.
"There are however separate issues which the local authority should examine about what are the contributory factors driving staff absence.
"There is little doubt stress and excessive workload will be high on the list."
Shropshire Council says schools are likely to have a pool of supply staff it has used over time who have developed a knowledge of an individual school, limiting the impact on learning at schools.
Chris Mathews, Shropshire Council's commissioner for education improvement and efficiency, said: "Headteachers and governors have responsibility for ensuring 'quality first' teaching and learning, including where this is provided by supply teachers. Headteachers and senior leaders will monitor the quality of supply their teaching. If this is monitored well then any adverse impact is reduced."
Telford & Wrekin Council says it does not hold the data for its region and each individual academy would hold its own figures.
