A call has gone out for retired teachers to return to the classroom to help with the Covid “staffing crisis” in schools.
Whole year groups have been sent home to work in some schools this term because staff are off ill or self-isolating and there are no supply teachers available.
Gary Williams, director at New Directions, Wales’ largest education recruitment company, said hundreds of bookings are being lost each day because there aren’t enough supply teachers to fill them.
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After 25 years in the business he said recent years had been the toughest with a lack of supply staff even before the pandemic and the situation was not sustainable.
“There is plenty of funding for Covid cover but there is not enough cover to meet demand. There is a staffing crisis full stop,” he said.
“We have more bookings than there are staff to fill them. We have a record amount of people going out. We are losing 200 to 300 bookings a day because we don’t have people to fill them. There’s just not enough supply cover for teachers or teaching assistants.”
This time of year is often the busiest because of seasonal colds and flu, but Mr Williams said heightened demand began in September and has not let up since. His agency is responsible for around half of all supply cover in Wales.
“There are peak times of the week when people are off. When teachers take lateral flow tests on Sunday and then again on Wednesdays people go off. By Thursday/Friday we have no people left to send out to cover them.”
Mr Williams said New Directions fills around 2,500 bookings each day. That has now escalated to between 3,000 and 3,500 with between 200 to 300 they cannot fill. Covid has also led to his staff being off themselves.
“Around 10% of our staff are going off themselves so it impacts us too. Some are off ill with Covid and other things. At one point we had 15% off.
“It is fairly full. We used to call this winter term madness but it’s been like this all year.
“If you haven’t got staff pupils do remote learning but in the long term that’s not sustainable. I know that. I am governor of two secondary schools and have two children at school, one doing GCSEs. There’s no quick fix.
“We are now actively looking for more retirees. We need retired educationalists to come back and help. Come back and do some supply.”
How much are supply teachers paid?
Mr Williams said supply teachers get £148 a day, as well as statutory sick pay, but schools can increase that if they want.
Private companies provide supply cover to schools with ongoing debate about the amount they charge schools and pay those on their books.
The current shortage of supply staff during the pandemic has also highlighted the issue.
There are about 4,500 school supply teachers and 8,500 school learning support staff working for 50 agencies in Wales, according to data from the Education Workforce Council Wales.
Unions said people are being put off by poor pay and conditions for supply.
UCAC and the Nasuwt have said they would like all supply teachers employed directly by local authorities or schools, and for an online booking system to be put in place to facilitate the process for all parties.
Supply teachers don't necessarily get statutory pay and conditions and aren't allowed to be part of the pension scheme. The risk of having to self-isolate and not be paid at all, or catching Covid at work and having to live off statutory sick pay is also a factor, said Neil Butler from Nasuwt Cymru.
The Welsh government has said it is committed to reviewing its current model for supply teachers.
Based on the latest information provided by local education authorities the “vast majority” of schools are offering full on-site provision to learners, a Welsh Government spokesperson said. But "a small number" of schools had moved to remote learning for some learners for a short time due to staff absences, they added.
“The situation continues to change on a daily basis. We will continue to monitor the position closely and are in regular discussion with local authorities, WLGA and Unions to maximise learning and minimise disruption.”
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