£821,000 bill for agency teachers at schools
Primary and secondary schools in England struggling to recruit teachers spent £821 million on supply staff last year, it has emerged. Burton Borough School in Newport was Shropshire's biggest spender, forking out £250,000
Analysis shows the equivalent of £168 was spent on each child nationwide in order to hire extra staff to cover vacancies and absences.
Burton Borough was the county's biggest spender. Others – including the Charlton in Wellington, Wombridge Primary, and St Mary's Catholic Primary in Madeley – spent more than £100,000.
Holy Trinity Primary School in Oswestry spent £96,000, and several others spent more than £50,000.
Stephen Richards, acting headteacher of Burton Borough School, said: "We were aware of the money that we have spent on agency staff this year, but it needs to be made clear that the figure quoted is not solely related to teacher sickness.
"During the past academic year we have had five staff on maternity leave and a small number of staff that have had significant health issues that required operations and long-term absence.
"These are unavoidable absences that were planned for and have all been covered by specialist staff.
"These issues will tend to affect larger schools like ours more."
The latest data for schools in England shows spending on supply teachers accounted for six per cent of the total amount spent on teaching staff wages. The overall figure spent on supply teachers fell by £18 million on the previous year.
Schools in London collectively spent the most on supply teachers.
Aside from London, Yorkshire and Humberside had the highest spending rate for supply staff of £161 per pupil, followed by schools in the West Midlands, which spent £160. Schools in the east of England spent the lowest amount per pupil – £137 for every child.
Government figures for 2014 show that teacher vacancy rates across England stood at 0.3 per cent, which meant about 1,000 posts were vacant.
Unions have expressed concerns about the use of agencies, claiming that some firms are putting the pursuit of profit ahead of providing high quality teachers.
A spokesman for the Department for Education said: "Supply teachers provide a valuable role for schools, and schools themselves are best placed to make staffing decisions to reflect their individual needs.
"It is up to headteachers and governors to decide who is required for the job and this includes how best to cover absences."
