Angry Teachers Lobby Supply Agencies at Waste of Public Money

Supply teachers from Leicester and Leicestershire lobbied local supply agencies in Leicester city centre on Wednesday 1st June about the waste of public money and cuts in pay and conditions in supply teaching. Supply agencies lobbied included Hays, Capita, Reed, and Protocol.

Schools are paying commercial recruitment agencies millions of pounds a year In order to hire supply teachers.  The closure of many Local Authority supply pools has led to a massive increase in the use of agencies, many of whom charge schools up to £1000 per week per teacher.

At the same time, agencies are driving down pay and conditions for supply teachers, who have no access to teachers’ pensions and are employed on precarious short term contracts.

Members of the National Union of Teachers (NUT) and supply teachers from Leicester highlighted the fact that the money allocated for education is being lost to recruitment agencies and to asked for a fair deal for thousands of supply teachers in the region.

Local NUT officer, Simon Robinson, explained: “Schools are paying hundreds of pounds a day for supply teachers.  Up to half of the money paid to agencies does not go to the teacher – most agencies will take up to £100 per day commission.”  He continued:

“Every school and every student depends on skilled and motivated supply teachers when regular teachers are absent. Supply agencies are breaking this system.  They are siphoning off massive amounts into their own profits while driving down supply teachers’ pay and conditions and ultimately driving them away from supply teaching, leaving children to be taught by poorly motivated supply teachers or unqualified staff when their regular teacher is absent.”

The NUT is campaigning for supply teachers to have the right to the same pay, conditions and pensions as other teachers and for steps to be taken to cut out the involvement of supply agencies, saving schools hundreds of thousands of pounds in the Leicester region alone.