§ Mr. ClappisonTo ask the Secretary of State for Education and Employment what his most recent assessment is of the proportion of teaching posts in(a) primary and (b) secondary schools, occupied by agency or supply teachers; and how many were so occupied for each of the last three years. [131719]
§ Ms Estelle MorrisThe numbers of short-term (i.e. contracts of less than four weeks) agency or other supply teachers employed on the third Thursday in January 1997, 1998, 1999 and 2000 in the maintained nursery, primary and secondary sector in England are as follows:
Nursery/primary Secondary January 1997 Number of agency/supply teachers 8,300 4,400 Percentage of all qualified teachers 4.2 2.3 January 1998 Number of agency/supply teachers 8,300 4,000 Percentage of all qualified teachers 4.2 2.1 January 1999 Number of agency/supply teachers 8,900 4,500 Percentage of all qualified teachers 4.5 2.3 January 2000 Number of agency/supply teachers 10,500 5,300 Percentage of all qualified teachers 5.2 2.7 Note:
Figures are rounded to the nearest 100
The numbers of short-term supply teachers employed will vary because of the effect of seasonal factors. Many local authorities explained that the growth in the January 2000 supply teachers was due to the flu epidemic.
There was a growth of 6,900 full-time equivalent regular teachers in the maintained schools sector between January 1998 and January 2000.