FEWER teachers were working at schools across Barnsley last year than they were in 2022, new figures have revealed.
The school leaders’ union NAHT called for the next government to commit to urgent action to address the ‘recruitment and retention crisis facing schools’.
Department for Education figures show there were 1,751 teachers working at the 91 state-funded schools in Barnsley as of November, down from 1,776 the year before.
Yet across England, the school workforce has increased ‘marginally’ by around 300 teachers to 468,700.
This includes some teachers without qualified teacher status.
The figures show around 44,000 qualified teachers joined the school workforce, down 3,900 from the number of joiners the year before.
Meanwhile, 43,500 qualified teachers left the state school sector.
Paul Whiteman, general secretary at NAHT, said: “These alarming figures are stark evidence of the recruitment and retention crisis facing our schools and the need for whoever forms the next government to commit to urgent action to address this.”
He said there are 18,000 more pupils in schools this year, while fewer new teachers have joined compared to previous years.
He added that teacher vacancies are causing difficulties delivering the full curriculum, with subjects taught by non-specialists and supply teachers.
Teacher vacancies in state schools in England have more than doubled in the past three years, reaching an all-time high of 2,800 in November.
In Barnsley schools, 15 teaching roles needed to be filled - in line with the year before.
All of these were for classroom teachers.
There were also ten positions that were temporarily filled.
Pepe Di’Iasio, general secretary of the Association of School and College Leaders, said: “What these figures show, and what all school and colleges leaders know only too well, is that it is becoming increasingly difficult to fill teacher vacancies.
“Often this requires advertising roles several times and making use of supply staff in the intervening period, all of which has a financial cost attached.
“Teachers are the education system’s most precious resource and the next government cannot afford to be so complacent.
“We need a comprehensive plan to address the recruitment and retention crisis and ensure schools and colleges can attract and retain the teachers they need to maintain a high standard of education for all pupils.”
Classroom teachers’ median pay in Barnsley saw an increase of seven per cent since 2022, reaching £41,300.
However, this was less than the average for England, which was £43,800.
The DfE said: “The number of teachers entering and leaving service both fell though the number of entrants continues to be higher than for leavers.
“This, combined with changes in working patterns and an increase in unqualified teachers, resulted in a marginal increase to the number of teachers in England.”
