Underqualified teachers take half of jobs

SCHOOLS are having to fill half their vacan- cies with teachers who are inexperienced or lack relevant subject expertise, according to a report from the Government’s spending watchdog.

The National Audit Office found the proportion of secondaries reporting at least one teacher vacancy rose from 16 per cent in 2010 to 23 per cent in 2015.

In primary schools, vacancy rates rose from 4 per cent to 7 per cent over the same period.

The NAO surveyed 486 schools and found they were able to fill only around half of their vacant full-time posts in 2015/16 with qualified teachers with the correct ‘experience and expertise’.

Schools generally filled the remainder with less experienced teachers or those with different subject specialisms.

However, 9 per cent of primary school posts and 11 per cent at secondary schools remained unfilled.

The Department for Education said that there were now 15,500 more teachers in schools than there were in 2010, and there were ‘significant sums’ being spent on recruitment.