Early Years Foundation Stage (Miscellaneous Amendments) and Childcare Fees (Amendment) Regulations 2021 — House of Lords, 2021-07-13
Topic: Education
David Stephen Geoffrey Pollock (Labour, Centre-left): This Motion expresses regret at many aspects of the Government’s approach to education and I wish to express my regret over an issue that does not fall directly under the rubric of the Motion but which is nevertheless a matter of prime importance. It is a matter that I have already raised with the Minister, to whom I have sent a substantial dossier, and with whom I have requested a meeting, although as yet with no response On 22 February, I asked the Government what estimate they have made of the proportion of teacher posts in London and elsewhere in England that are currently filled by supply teacher agencies. I was told that the department does not hold data, but that nevertheless it is recognised that supply teachers perform a valuable role by covering temporary staff absences. What the Department for Education seems to have failed to recognise is that in England, many—if not the majority of—young teachers who are beginning their careers work as supply teachers, who are paid for the hours that they work. The fees charged by their agencies reduce their wages significantly. Schools have an incentive to employ supply teachers because this relieves them of the need to provide holiday or sickness pay, a consideration when budgets are tight. It also facilitates financial retrenchment, since they can more easily reduce staffing costs by releasing the supply teachers These circumstances have arisen at a time when local authorities have been losing control of the governance of the profession, through the rise of independent schools and academies. Hitherto, local authorities were the agents that supplied teachers to schools. Nowadays in England teachers are supplied by commercial agencies which have incentives that are not always well aligned with the best interests of education By coincidence, the Lords Secondary Legislation Scrutiny Committee, of which I am a member, has received notice of a statutory instrument that proposes a 10% reduction in the hours to be worked by early-career teachers. This is intended as a means of reducing the wastage whereby a large proportion of young teachers leave the profession within a few years. This allowance is confined to those who have obtained permanent posts, who are in the minority, and it does not take much thought to understand that it poses a disincentive to appoint teachers to permanent posts. I marvel at the obtuseness of the officials at the Department for Education who have proposed this policy. I regret that I did not take the opportunity to pour scorn and derision on it in a Grand Committee, when it could have been called into question In response to an inquiry from the Secondary Legislation Scrutiny Committee relating to the statutory instrument, the Department for Education stated: "Supply agencies … are private companies and as such have discretion over individual pay—the teacher’s terms and conditions (including pay) will be a matter between the supply teacher and the agency by which they are employed." This seems to indicate that in the present circumstances, neither the Government nor the local authorities have any leverage to apply to the problem. They are simply ignoring the problem. I believe that the circumstances that are revealed are undermining the teaching profession and are the principal cause of the wastage whereby a large proportion of young teachers leave the profession within a few years of joining There is an urgent need to address this problem and I believe that some steps that could be taken are self-evident. I would welcome an opportunity to acquaint the officials at the Department for Education with the devastating facts that I have learned. I also hope to discuss with them the possible remedies.