Following a comment on the NSTN Facebook page:

‘The bottom has been knocked out of the supply market by schools opting to save money by using TAs and cover supervisors for lesson cover. It’s very meagre times indeed for qualified teachers holding out for framework rate. I know colleagues with QTS who are now resorting to accepting TA and cover supervisor roles through agencies to try to make ends meet.’

I set up a poll on the NSTN Facebook page. There were 220 respondents, of which 178 are currently on supply. They break down as follows (a bar chart of the results can be seen below):

74% of members who responded have worked, on average, less than 3 days a week during the Autumn half term. 12% had been offered no work at all up to the poll being taken, which was posted just after Christmas on 29th December.

There are a number of teachers (15%) who are almost fully employed and just over a quarter (26%) are averaging more than 3 days a week. This is reflected in both the Facebook and WhatsApp groups, where some people report there being plenty of work to which there are multiple responses of ‘Where?’.

The remainder of the respondents (42) have either got full-time contracts, are not working at the moment or have left education altogether.

When NSTN Association members were asked if they had any evidence of TAs covering classes, they wrote:

Witness 1

I have witnessed on SEN school using level 4 LSA staff who would ordinarily be used as one to ones covering classes on both long term and short term cover. It’s a school I’ve been at regular for the last 2 years, been there almost weekly. However, this academic year I’ve had only 3 days. This is a SEN school in the East Riding of Yorkshire area.
I’ve also witnessed several schools in North Yorkshire utilising TA staff to cover staff absence. I was at a school recently that had 63% of teaching staff off poorly, they had 2 supply teachers in, myself and another gentleman. The rest of the classes were covered via TAs. In the same LA, another school with 2 classes (32 children) had myself in one class and a supply TA teaching the other class.

Witness 2

This is standard practice in Primary schools since the introduction of PPA time, lessons are covered by higher level teaching assistants. However, I have noticed that often now TAs will cover sick days and other occasions where in the past a supply teacher would cover. It’s happening more due to tighter school budgets. (Cheshire East and Cheshire West)

Witness 3

I work primarily in Merton and Kingston. The academy using two TAs as cover for a teacher is in Kingston but there are several schools in Merton that use TAs and HLTAs to cover PPA and sickness on a regular basis. I can think of three or four schools at least that used to use me regularly and now have no work for supply, most tell me they have not used a supply teacher all last term.

Witness 4

I have 30 years plus experience, a B.Ed Hons and the agencies I find myself forced to register with, instead of LEA supply pools, this year are only sending me emails to work as a TA or HLTA. I am M6 on the scale and have persistently refused to take work as a TA or HLTA but agencies saying that schools are only doing such requests as there is no money to pay supply teachers. I am Tyne and Wear but it’s all across the North East this is happening.

Witness 5

Milton Keynes LEA- so many schools are now not using supply and are getting TAs to cover or have employed cover teachers to take up the slack – in these cases supply is only used when the sickness or lack of teachers exceeds the availability of these individuals. Indeed certain schools have prided themselves as not having used supply for this academic year (I know this as I was a governor at one school – part of a trust) and yes, I did put a case forward for denigrating the teaching profession and that children are not receiving an education delivered by qualified teacher – but the school operated only in terms of money and argued that using people already in the school provided continuity of provision.

There was far more witness statements provided but the fact that Witness 5 saw Governors congratulating one another because they had saved money by not employing supply teachers tells you everything you need to know.

NSTN members and supply teachers in general need to contact their MPs and let them know that classes are being covered by unqualified staff and not teachers with QTS.