Question to the Department for Education:

To ask the Secretary of State for Education, what recent estimate he has made of the number of schools that requested supply teacher cover since 1 September 2020.

The Department does not hold the data requested centrally.

The Department collects information on teacher numbers from the School Workforce Census but does not hold live information on the use of supply teachers.

The Department has published guidance for schools for reopening which gives advice on how they can meet their workforce challenges, including advice on engaging supply teachers. The guidance can be found here: https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/actions-for-schools-during-the-coronavirus-outbreak/guidance-for-full-opening-schools#school-workforce.