SCHOOL SHOCK
Criminals try for teaching roles
More than 40 Kent schools started the new term without a head teacher in post, according to a report by education chiefs.
Kent County Council said 45 schools are without a “substantive” head in place and a wider problem with teacher recruitment is forcing it to look overseas to fill vacancies.
It has not identified the schools in question but it is understood they cover both primary and secondary schools.
County education chiefs insist “robust interim leadership arrangements” are in place but the figure represents an increase over last year.
The higher number this year reflects concerns among teaching unions that schools often find it hard to fill positions because of the growing pressure on school leaders.
Of 56 headship vacancies in Kent advertised in 2016-2017, nearly half failed to find a suitable candidate first time round. That compares with 39 vacancies for head teachers in 2015-16.
Overall, 3,405 teaching vacancies in Kent schools were advertised in 2016-17, for which there were 7,823 applications.
And a continuing shortage of teachers has forced KCC to turn to a further recruitment campaign overseas with plans to appoint up to 18 classroom teachers from Australia next month.
That follows a number of teachers recruited from New Zealand last October.
KCC says international recruitment is only a short-term solution to the wider problems of filling permanent vacancies.
The report coincides with new figures produced by Labour that suggest teachers are more than £5,000 a year worse off on average in real terms than in 2010.
Christine Dickinson, who represents Kent teachers on the National Union of Teachers (NUT), said of the vacancies: “I don’t want to consider where we might be heading. It’s an awful prospect for our children today that they might not be able to get a proper education.
“I think the funding will affect more areas than others but it’s a big enough problem in Kent for it to be critical.”