Minutes

Councillor Joan Watkins asked:

The issue of the use of “Supply Teachers” is becoming a matter of concern for students and Parents in terms of the quality of Education Provision in our Secondary schools in particular.  Can the Cabinet Member provide information as follows:

A. Details of each Secondary School’s employment of supply Teachers in 2017 How many sessions were purchased?

b. What was the cost to each Secondary School in employing “Supply Teachers “in 2017

C. Given that there may be situations whereby the use of “supply Teachers is necessary in some situations Would  she agree that considerable use of “supply Teachers” may have a detrimental impact on student  learning as it impacts on continuity and student confidence not to mention already stretched School Budgets?

Councillor Gail Giles responded:

A.   Details of each Secondary School’s employment of supply Teachers in 2017 How many sessions were purchased?

The Local Authority offers schools the opportunity to use the National Procurement Service’s framework for temporary workers including supply teachers. However, schools can, under Contract Standing Orders, use an agency of their own choice. On this basis, the Local Authority does not hold information on the number of sessions purchased by each school, only details of overall spend.

B.   What was the cost to each Secondary School in employing “Supply Teachers “in 2017?

The breakdown of each secondary schools cost related to supply spend is provided below:

C.   Given that there may be situations whereby the use of “supply Teachers is necessary in some situations Would she agree that considerable use of “supply Teachers” may have a detrimental impact on student learning as it impacts on continuity and student confidence not to mention already stretched School Budgets?

The Staffing in Maintained Schools (Wales) Regulations 2006 places the responsibility for making decisions regarding how the school workforce is organised, deployed and managed onto school Governing Bodies.  It isa matter for the Governing Body (or Headteacher if the Governing Body has delegated this responsibility) to determine the need for temporary cover and how best to meet this need. 

The local authority acknowledges that supply teachers provide essential support to schools, especially for emergency cover and schools will be mindful of cost and quality when engaging supply cover.   It is also important to note that Education is in a period of significant change which requires time for bespoke staff development.

In order to minimise the use of supply staff, the local authority provides; 

·         HR support around the Management of Attendance to reduce sickness levels.

And works in collaboration with;

·         The Education Achievement Services to ensure that staff Professional Development can be commonly provided during whole school INSET closure days, after school and in twilight sessions.