Desperate schools turn to unqualified teachers

THOUSANDS of pupils have been taught by unqualified teachers due to recruitment problems and a shortage of fully trained supply teachers.

- Jonathan Walker

Demand for temporary teachers has exploded since the pandemic but a fifth of those being used do not have qualified teacher status, an official inquiry has revealed.

A Sunday Express probe identified recruitment agencies advertising supply teacher posts with a promise that qualifications are not necessary.

The Department for Education now says it is spending £233million to recruit 6,500 more expert teachers after schools in England spent £521million on agency staff last year, up from £485million in the 2019-20 academic year.

We discovered an agency advertising a vacancy for "Unqualified Supply Teacher" for a south-western school with a "likely duration" of a year.