Schools in Oxfordshire are increasingly turning to supply teachers to fill staffing shortages according to a supply agency.
Over the last 10 years, Google searches for 'teacher resignation dates' have more than doubled, while there has also been a 32 per cent decrease in searches for 'teaching jobs'.
Meanwhile, Teaching Tomorrow says it has seen a significant increase in demand for supply teachers over the last 12 months.
Teaching Tomorrow co-founder, Adam Shulman, said: "We're definitely facing more calls for supply staff right across Oxfordshire than in the past.
"Whereas traditionally supply staff were used to cover sickness and other shorter absences, we’re now seeing an increased demand for longer-term supply contracts.
"Not only does this help to provide that all-important consistency for children but it also means that schools don’t have to rely on ‘making do’ by shuffling existing teachers and teaching assistants around to fill these staffing gaps.”
In 2022-23, schools spent £485.6 million on agency supply teaching staff, a 17 per cent increase on the previous year.
Due to deadlines around when teachers have to submit their resignations, teaching staff can wait until May to submit a resignation for the current academic year.
By then, most teaching staff, including early career teachers, will have secured contracts for September, meaning many schools then struggle to recruit in time for the start of the new academic year.
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