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EDUCATION unions launched a blistering attack today over the use of private agencies supplying teachers to schools in Wales and the government’s failure to act on pay.
School leaders’ union NAHT Cymru was responding to figures that show 16 councils spent more than £78 million on supply teachers in 2023/24.
NAHT Cymru’s Laura Doel said: “This huge bill is shocking but not surprising — many schools are struggling to make budgets add up, they cannot magic the permanent teachers they need out of thin air.
“No private company should be making excessive profits off the back of this situation,” Ms Doel said.
“These findings must serve as a wake-up call for ministers that recruitment and retention are in a crisis which demands the restoration of pay following the real-terms cuts suffered since 2010,” Ms Doel said.
NASUWT Cymru’s Neil Butler was blunt about the need for the Welsh government to tackle the poor treatment of agency teaching staff.
“We have plenty of excellent supply teachers in Wales who all tell us the same thing: they struggle to get work through agencies who treat them poorly and often undermine their working rights.
“We have always said that the best and most cost-effective way to manage supply teachers is for schools or local authorities to employ them directly,” Mr Butler said.
“If the government wants a supply pool that is cost-effective for everyone, they need to stop enabling predatory agency practices and start empowering schools and local authorities to employ their supply teachers directly,” he said.
National Education Union Cymru’s Nicola Fitzpatrick said: “The sum spent on private agencies is scandalous, compounded by the fact that some local authorities make their schools use agencies because they won’t payroll supply teachers themselves.”
A Welsh government spokesperson said: “We know schools are struggling with recruitment and retention of staff.
“We have generous financial incentives to attract new teachers in priority subjects, have increased teachers’ pay by 5.5 per cent and are working to develop a sustainable model for supply teaching as part of the strategic education workforce plan.”
NAHT Cymru’s Laura Doel hit back, saying: “The government response is missing the point.
“Supply teachers offer valuable, short-term cover, but are not meant to be a long-term option, we need to address the fundamental issues with teacher recruitment and retention.”
