Teacher supply agencies are making millions of pounds while sending schools unqualified and inexperienced staff, a special Schools Week investigation has found. Jessica Hill reports… The recruitment crisis and soaring sickness have led to big profits for teacher supply companies, with an analysis of annual accounts showing the country鈥檚 seven largest agencies recording 拢68.4 million in gross profit. But the recruitment squeeze has led to a scramble for staff, with hundreds of agency adverts for unqualified teachers to run classrooms, and a spike in demand for cover supervisors, who have less experience. While some supply staff report earning as little as 拢50 a day, one company claims an agency recruiter could earn more than 拢100,000 a year with paid-for holidays abroad. Previous all-staff trips included to Ibiza and Mallorca. Schools Week reveals how the recruitment crisis-driven rise in supply cover has led to a 鈥渄eregulation鈥 of the profession鈥檚 graduate status by the back door… Share of supply staff spirals The government has failed to hit its secondary teacher target for nine of the past ten years, with estimates suggesting just half of the required teachers will be recruited for September. Meanwhile, 3.2 million teaching days were missed because of sickness last year, up 56 per cent on the around 2 million pre-Covid and more teachers are quitting the profession 鈥 leaving schools struggling to staff their classrooms. A TeacherTapp and SchoolDash report this week found half of primary teachers reported at least one class in their school was being taught by a temporary agency or non-qualified teacher. In secondaries, 22 percent of teachers said their department lacked suitably qualified teachers, up from 20 per cent in 2019. DfE workforce data this week shows the number of temporarily-filled posts increased to 3,308 as of November (five per cent of all roles), compared to 2,247 the year before (three per cent). But with fewer teacher recruits, where are all the supply staff coming from? Schools take on ‘cover supervisors’ A search on Jobs site for supply teachers in England last month brought up 9,447 ads. Worryingly, more than 1,000 specifically mentioned 鈥渦nqualified school teacher鈥. While academies are allowed to employ unqualified teachers, maintained schools are not. But many are, often taking them on as 鈥渃over supervisors”, but then expecting them to teach. Cover supervisors often have no teaching qualifications apart from a one-day agency training course, or teaching assistant credentials. analysis of job advert boards from 5,238 secondary schools and sixth-form colleges in 2021-22 showed a 102 per cent increase in cover supervisor mentions since 2018-19. One head of a maintained school, who employed an unqualified teacher on a cover supervisor rate for months to teach design and technology, said deregulation was happening 鈥渂y the back door out of necessity鈥. Marios Georgiou, who founded the agency Step Teachers in 2000, believes demand for cover supervisors initially came from schools in a bid to save money. Their pay is typically between half and a third of a supply teacher, he said. But 鈥渕ore and more, it鈥檚 because there aren’t the teachers to send鈥. 鈥淚t’s scary. I don’t think parents are aware how many of their children鈥檚 lessons are covered by someone who just sits there.鈥 The situation is having an impact on pupils鈥 education, and is making some children less inclined to want to attend school. Tia Carr, 16, left her secondary school last year for Leeds City College鈥檚 14-16 provision, after feeling disillusioned at being taught by a string of supply teachers. 鈥淚 remember every lesson I had was a substitute teacher who wasn’t trained in any subjects,鈥 she recalled. 鈥淪o we鈥檇 sit there and do nothing鈥nd they鈥檇 pile us with homework to do at home because they didn’t want to teach us in lessons. 鈥淚n my last year I did no work because teachers couldn’t be bothered鈥here were fights every single day, which made me feel unsafe.鈥 Agencies hunt for unqualified teachers Three-quarters of supply teachers worked through agencies in 2021, rising to 89 per cent last year, survey data from the NASUWT union shows. Despite marketing themselves to schools as providers of trained teachers, Schools Week found some supply agencies are actively seeking out unqualified teachers. A LinkedIn advert from Prospero Teaching specified it was looking for an 鈥渦nqualified supply teacher鈥 for secondary schools in Camden, north London. 鈥淣o previous experience鈥 was required. The agency, which has been working in education for more than 20 years, markets itself as having 鈥渁n extensive network of registered and qualified candidates鈥 and 鈥渢he ability to provide any number of qualified staff鈥. Agency TeacherActive states online 鈥渁ll teachers must have QTS鈥 [qualified teacher status]. But a recent advert for a primary teacher in Birmingham says that while that was 鈥渄esirable鈥, it would 鈥渃onsider unqualified teachers鈥. It did not respond to a request for comment. Agency says advert was ‘misleading’ Protocol Education has also advertised for 鈥渆nthusiastic unqualified teachers鈥 for schools in Kent. Protocol told Schools Week the staff it provides are based on the requirements of schools it works with. Meanwhile Prospero said it had 鈥渋dentified which consultant was responsible for this advert and they have apologised for constructing a misleading advert, which wasn’t their intention鈥. However, the advert remained live after our enquiry. The government set up a national pool of 鈥渢rusted” supply teacher agencies in 2018, to ensure schools have 鈥減rotections in place 鈥 including guarantees [the agencies] will have adequate qualifications and have undergone the right level of background checks鈥. But we found at least 15 of the 113 鈥渁pproved鈥 agencies on the list are actively recruiting unqualified teachers. ‘I sent away two 18-year-olds鈥 Jamie Barry, the head of Yew Tree Primary School in Walsall, said supply teachers from agencies now 鈥渄on’t have strength in their teaching ability or planning you’d expect teachers to have. Jamie Barry 鈥淲e’ve taken them because sometimes you just have to take who鈥檚 available.鈥 Glyn Potts, the head of Newman RC College in Oldham, said he 鈥渟ent away鈥 two 18-year-olds an agency recently sent to his school. 鈥淭hey鈥檙e just chaperones with a DBS who are normally very young.鈥 But one trust chief executive told Schools Week they would 鈥渢ake anyone at the moment because we just need adults in the classroom鈥. Teacher vacancy rates nearly doubled in the academic year up to February compared with pre-Covid, NFER research found. Tanya Ovenden-Hope, an education professor at Plymouth Marjon University, describes the rise of untrained teachers as 鈥渙ne of the [sector鈥檚] biggest problems鈥 [that] denigrates the status of teaching鈥. Tanya Ovenden Hope 鈥淚f you bother to get your QTS and you’re working alongside people that haven’t, but you鈥檙e getting paid the same amount of money, where鈥檚 your motivation?鈥 However, Neil Carberry, chief executive of the Recruitment & Employment Confederation (REC), says agencies 鈥渨ould say that the drive for unqualified teachers is coming from schools鈥. 鈥淪chools are asking for people to fill slots, and we know there aren’t enough teachers out there. So they’re saying, look, what can we do with for instance a TA with some experience?鈥 ‘Schools looking for teachers without experience鈥 Schools Week tested out agencies鈥 willingness to take on unqualified candidates by purporting to be such a jobseeker. A recruiter from Hays Specialist Recruitment said a 鈥渓ot of secondary schools are actually just looking for teachers who have not got teaching experience, so you would not necessarily have to have a teaching qualification”. “As long as they’ve got teaching experience, they’re happy to employ them.鈥 When asked whether this was for a cover supervisor or teacher, we were told 鈥渁s a teacher鈥. A job advert from agency GSL Education said it was 鈥渓ooking for an unqualified music teacher鈥 for an academy in Southend-on-Sea, Essex. After calling the company, we were told there were 鈥渕ore schools [in that area] that could also have some [positions] available鈥 as an unqualified teacher. GSL did not respond to a request for comment. A Hays spokesperson said a 鈥渟peculative conversation about possible opportunities does not determine registration with Hays 鈥 which follows strict protocol with an education consultant鈥. Prospective candidates would be required to attend an interview where their 鈥渄epth of experience, background, skills, and qualification would all be discussed, and appropriate references sought鈥. Profits soar after Covid lull New analysis of government data suggests schools spent 拢974 million on supply teachers from agencies in 2021-22, up 18 per cent on the 拢825 million in 2016-17. According to the NEU Supply Teachers Network, 365 supply agencies are operating in the sector this year. Of the top 10, based on the NEU member survey, seven operated solely in education. Those seven alone increased their yearly turnover by an average of 28 per cent and posted 拢68.4 million in gross profit, our analysis of their most recent annual accounts covering year ends in 2021 or 2022 shows. Supply Desk, which posted 拢3.7 million profit for the year up to December 2021, said 鈥渄emand for short-term sickness cover and鈥atch-up learning supported the post-closure recovery of trading volumes鈥. Tradewind Recruitment, which posted 拢11.3 million profit in the year ending August 2021, said it was also 鈥渆xpecting to report strong growth next year鈥. Teaching Personnel, part of the Hood Topco Group, posted the biggest gross profit of education-specific agencies that year (拢21.9 million), with its turnover up 26 per cent on the previous year to 拢108.8 million. Prospero Group, which also recruits for health and social care, posted a 拢18.8 million profit in the year to 2022, up 207 per cent on the previous year. Gross profits at TeacherActive rose 62 per cent from 拢6.8 million in 2020 to 拢11 million in 2021. A loss of 拢2.6 million at Protocol Education for the year ending November 2020 rose to a 拢6 million profit in the year ending November 2021. Commission and paid-for holidays The profit boom means recruiters can be paid handsomely. Smile Education is offering a new regional recruitment consultant 鈥渦ncapped commission鈥, with 鈥渢op billers earning 拢100k+鈥. Employees also have a paid-for holiday abroad together once a year, the advert stated. Private agencies have taken over market share from local authority supply pools. The NEU’s supply teachers survey found only 2 per cent secured work from council pools in 2021, down from 11 per cent in 2010. 鈥淲e could put [supply] back into local authorities鈥 hands,鈥 says Carberry, 鈥渂ut the local authority wasn鈥檛 getting up at 6.30am to find someone to fill your vacancy for a teacher who鈥檚 been up all night vomiting. The agency [worker] absolutely is.鈥 His members are reporting more 鈥済ood, experienced teachers coming out of schools to work for agencies鈥 because 鈥渆mployment relations in schools have got worse 鈥 not through the fault of heads. But because we’ve underfunded our schools.鈥 Daniel Dawkins, a director of Aspire People agency, says teachers are 鈥渓eaving in droves to come to agencies鈥 because of 鈥渢here is a lot of pressure on them in schools鈥. An ad by Engage Education for a primary cover teacher in Bradford says the teacher can make a 鈥減ositive impact鈥 while 鈥渁voiding the responsibilities of being a full-time class teacher鈥. 鈥淚f it gets tough, they can move on,鈥 Dawkins says. Almost all agencies also offer 鈥渞efer a friend” bonuses of between 拢75 and 拢500 for introductions to teachers. But Carberry says no one changes jobs because of a refer a friend fee 鈥 鈥渢he teacher who made that decision was already thinking about it鈥. Poor schools lose out in supply 鈥榙ating game鈥 Daniella Kemp, an experienced supply agency teacher in London, compares agencies to a 鈥渄ating agent鈥 matching candidates with the right schools. But, as in the dating game, that leaves some schools more attractive than others. A TeacherTapp survey found 79 per cent of teachers knew of problems their school had getting supply staff since September. But this rose to 89 per cent in schools with lower Ofsted ratings. And while 78 per cent of teachers in the most affluent schools reported problems, it was 85 per cent for those in the most deprived areas. 鈥淓very candidate has a list of schools they won鈥檛 go to,鈥 says Dawkins, with placements in deprived areas 鈥渕ore difficult鈥 to fill. Potts, whose school is in Greater Manchester鈥檚 most deprived borough, estimates that 90 per cent of his emergency teaching cover is unqualified teachers. Supply teacher rates as little as 拢50 a day But as agencies rake in millions, how much are they paying their supply staff? Supply teachers employed directly by a maintained school or by a council鈥檚 supply pool must be paid 1/195th of the annual pay rate they would receive if directly employed. However, there is no mandated rate for temporary agency supply, meaning their rates are normally lower and vary wildly. While the government鈥檚 2022 school workforce report found the average teacher salary was 拢42,358 鈥 equivalent to 拢217 a day 鈥 a NASUWT supply teachers survey found 1 per cent were paid less than 拢50 a day. The survey from last year found about 25 per cent of respondents were paid between 拢51-拢119 a day and 50 per cent between 拢120-拢149 a day. Schools pay between 拢40 and 拢60 on top to agencies, according to Oliver Parsons, who runs the digital supply booking platform Teacher Booker. Schools Week was unable to obtain rate cards for agencies. But the Mowbray Education Trust says the average rate it is charged by agencies for a teacher in primaries is 拢215, and between 拢220 and 拢260 (both plus VAT) in secondaries, although it is charged 拢299.98 for one teacher it uses regularly. One secondary recently paid an agency 拢305 for an experienced RE teacher, which the head describes as 鈥渙utrageous 鈥 but what choice do we have鈥. ‘Something wrong with the current model’ Parsons says rates are 鈥渁t the agency鈥檚 discretion and have little to no bearing on a teacher鈥檚 actual experience鈥. 鈥淭here is clearly something wrong with the current agency model that is keeping teacher wages low in order to maintain margins and competitive pricing.鈥 Stuart Irving, chief negotiator for the National Supply Teachers Network, claims it has been a 鈥渞ace to the bottom on standards鈥 since council supply pools have all but disappeared. 鈥淏ecause the market is not regulated, everybody is just chasing price. A lot of schools are no longer checking the quality of the teachers they are getting.鈥 However, Dawkins says agencies pay 鈥渢he same and sometimes better鈥 than teachers get working directly for schools 鈥渂ecause it鈥檚 a competitive market鈥. According to Agency Worker Regulations 2010, after 12 weeks agencies have to start paying candidates the same as they would get if employed directly for the school. But Niall Bradley, the NEU Supply Teachers Network鈥檚 chair, claims some try hard to get out of it, sometimes wrongly telling candidates they are ineligible because they 鈥渄on鈥檛 have a form tutor group or don鈥檛 do planning鈥 or moving them on to other schools. In the last four years, the NEU has claimed 拢250,000 in backpay for its members over the issue 鈥 拢94,000 of which has been since the start of this academic year. Every claim put in has been paid out. Some agencies also charge schools a fee when they take candidates on permanently, usually set as a percentage of their salary. The NASUWT says this can be in excess of 拢10,000, which 鈥渄enies supply teachers access to permanent work鈥 and can be 鈥渆xtortionate and inappropriate鈥. Shifting market But technology is providing schools with new ways to avoid high fees. Gross profits at Zen Educate, which provides an app for schools and teachers to connect with 鈥渘o teaching agencies necessary鈥, rose from 拢1.3 million to 拢3.3 million last year. The company also raised 拢11.2 million from investors. My New Term, an applicant tracking system and advertising service that schools can subscribe to without finders鈥 fees, is now used by 130 trusts, compared with 15 three years ago. The Academies Enterprise Trust expects its agency spend will be 拢180,000 this year, down from 拢1 million in 2021-22. The trust set its 57 schools the task of eliminating any agency spend, which one school has all but done by combining classes. Meanwhile, Potts is trying to curb his reliance on agency cover by appointing and training up two graduates with 鈥渁spirations of becoming teachers, who alarmingly couldn鈥檛 get on a local ITT course鈥. 鈥淲e can’t get teachers by recruitment, we can’t get cover teachers of any worth. So we’re trying to find better avenues. That’s something a lot of schools are now doing.鈥
Sandy Cameron 9 June 2023 “However, Neil Carberry, chief executive of the Recruitment & Employment Confederation (REC), says agencies 鈥渨ould say that the drive for unqualified teachers is coming from schools鈥.” Of course, because they need bodies in classes if the alternative is no supervision at all. The UQT scale was not intended to fill vacancies but to allow schools to recruit promising candidates on a temporary basis while they worked towards qualification. The rise of academies and their escape from DfE control enabled them to misuse this facility wholesale. Now the landscape is changing, and getting UQTs to fill in is no longer just a temporary solution to a temporary problem.
Anonymous 11 June 2023 I have 15 years experience in private and post 16 and can’t find a job which pays enough – the ones that are out there just kill you with the amount of work and you do not have time to make sure that you can do what you need to in order to look after your kids to the best of your ability. I took redundancy from my last job and now agencies are very attractive from September. If I can get put of the profession I will. Not because I want to – I love my job – but I don’t see a way to survive in it….and that devastates me.
john 12 June 2023 Jamie Barry, the head of Yew Tree Primary School in Walsall, said supply teachers from agencies now 鈥渄on鈥檛 have strength in their teaching ability or planning you鈥檇 expect teachers to have. Its a Sandwell provision and not a Walsall maintained school.
Su 29 November 2023 As a level 3 TA, graduate and supply Cover Supervisor who has worked for agencies for almost 10 years in almost 20 different schools. Who also worked in industry before that. Hence, very experienced and I’d say rightly qualified to leave a comment seeing that I am frontline and fully engaged in the actual day to day classroom issues and see alot! May I suggest rather than complain about the situation, collectively we need to be ‘client’ focused. Client here being our young vulnerable pupis and staff. What are all schools doing internally to actively promote health to reduce sickness levels in the first place. It is known that sugar weakens immune systems. Yet time and time again, especially run up to Christmas there are massive sweet boxes in staff rooms, cakes, chocolates, sweets sold to children, fizzy pop in ‘some’ canteens. Chocolate and sweets given as presents or rewards. Some school cultures promote work with less break times for ground staff, TAs etc. As educational establishments it is not rocket science to work out that all these daily overlooked ‘man made habits’, (yes they are habits) increases stress and reduces immunity. Hence, so many factors that once addressed in a disciplined holistic collectively ‘enthusiast’ manner, could help fight current sickness levels, depression, anxiety happening in the first place! In turn LESS reliance on agency staff because staff and pupils feel healthier and happier. Reduced reliance on agency staff equals more money saved and trained staff stays on at the school. A counter arguement is staff also need to be more active, see something out of place or needs doing, do it. Don’t wait for someone else to do it. What I’m suggesting is if there’s no short term immediate solution to this crisis, which let’s be honest, there isn’t, what can ALL staff in ALL schools do from ground level up, instead to take back control and feel more empowered rather than a victim of this. For example, ban the junk food. Better regulation on what’s being offered. Increase break times. Don’t allow children to be taught in classrooms with no windows ( yes, I’ve been in one and I felt clastaphobic so how do teachers and their clients, the students feel)? Rather than stand around classrooms think what can I do to add value when I’m not serving as a TA or having a chat with my peers…sharpen pencils, tidy the book shelves? Be more proactive. Pupils are also learning from what they see, they know when they are being valued and respected or not. Management and leaders should SEEK feedback from supply staff, TAs …ground level staff/ front line staff like myself ‘regularly’, who could provide valuable insight and suggestions on how to improve. However, not many establishments ever show an interest to ask. Instead of complaints let’s turn it to growth mindset attitude, what can be done internally? I was blessed to have the same teacher for all my lessons as a child. Hardly ever had supply. This was over 30 years ago. Then again I don’t think people ate as much junk food then either. Schools were controlled by one head teacher. So even though I did cover via agencies and did put 100% into assisting students. I still always instinctively felt more could be done internally to prevent half the issues happening to begin with. I felt helpless as I don’t have the ‘status’ to say this. Isn’t that sad though that we live in a society where we feel that. Management/ leaders do not always see what’s happening on the front line. It is so important that they are made aware and that’s why I am posting my feedback here. It may or may not help. However, staying silent with a view on this, also doesn’t help.