Insights

Schools are beginning the term with rising numbers of teacher vacancies, the leading specialist recruiters say. September vacancies were up a quarter on two years ago, one company, Eteach, said. Another, TeachVac, saw a 15% rise over two years to the end of August. Eteach boss Paul Howells said he had “never seen so many unfilled posts”, while heads are said to be “moving heaven and Earth” to get enough staff. The government says more teachers are entering the profession than leaving. But it published figures a few days ago suggesting the target for recruiting trainee teachers for 2017 would be missed for the fifth year in a row. As pupils return to class, the number of vacant teaching posts in the 7,000 schools in the UK with which Eteach works has risen to nearly 14,000 – up 24% on September 2015.