Schools start to use fewer supply teachers

The number of lessons being taken by stand-in supply teachers has fallen substantially in state schools during the past year.

Figures from the Office of National Statistics, published today, also show there are 9,400 more teachers employed in schools in England, a rise of 2.3 per cent on last year. The number of short-term supply teachers has been cut by 2,100 to 17,500.

Publication of the figures follows a warning from the former chief schools inspector Mike Tomlinson in his annual report earlier this year that an over-reliance on supply teachers risked undermining the Government's drive to raise standards in schools.

The biggest drop in the use of supply teachers has been in primary schools, where the number has gone down by 1,900. In secondary schools, the reduction is only 170, despite the fact that most of the extra teachers (6,500) are working in this sector. The figures show increased recruitment across most subject areas, although modern foreign languages is continuing to cause concern.

Vacancy rates have also fallen by 440 to 4,540, with London in particular showing a drop from 3.5 per cent of all posts vacant to 2.6 per cent.

Ministers say the drop in vacancies follows a decision to set up a team of troubleshooters to help out where staffing difficulties threaten to put pupils on a four-day week, and this only happened in a handful of cases. The introduction of "golden hellos'' for teachers training in shortage subjects and a £13,000 salary for graduates who train on the job – plus the repayment of student loans – are thought to have helped to ease the recruitment crisis.

Despite the improvement Estelle Morris, the Education Secretary, believes more still needs to be done to raise staffing levels. She is offering to increase the number of classroom assistants as part of negotiations to reduce teachers' workload.