Rise in unqualified teachers exposes ‘recruitment crisis’ in state schools

♦ Numbers of unqualified teaching staff have risen by 62 per cent in four years, as head teachers struggle to cope with a crisis in recruitment.

More than half a million pupils in state-funded schools are being taught by unqualified teachers, according to analysis by the Labour Party, with the number of unqualified teachers rising from 14,800 in 2012 to 24,000 in 2016.

Labour claims that up to 613,000 children are taught by unqualified teachers, assuming an average class size of 25.5 children.

Previously, state-funded schools could only employ people with Qualified Teacher Status, but in 2012 rules were changed to allow free schools and academies to recruit professionals such as scientists, engineers and musicians, as well as experienced teachers from overseas.

Earlier this month, it emerged that the Department for Education (DFE) planned to spend £10 million on hiring 600 foreign teachers in an attempt to address the “acute” shortage of teachers in maths, physics and modern languages.

The DFE has failed to meet its targets for recruiting maths and physics teachers every year for the past five years.