Some pupils are on a short week and teacher unions are balloting for industrial action.
Yet the government says the teacher shortage is being hyped by the media. Before Christmas a handful of schools resorted to sending some pupils home for part of the week. They are now back on full timetables. This term, a school in Swindon is sending some pupils home for two periods a week and another, in Ipswich, delayed the start of term for a couple of days. Curiously both can be true.