Question to the Department for Education:

To ask the Secretary of State for Education, what the average (a) cost per hour and (b) signing bonus is of agency-provided teaching staff in (i) Oxford, (ii) Oxfordshire, (iii) South East and (iv) England.

School leaders are best placed to determine the workforce required to meet the needs of their pupils. Headteachers have the freedom to contract supply staff to suit them, the school, and its pupils. Schools can contract supply staff in a variety of ways, including through supply agencies and the rate of pay depends on who employs a supply teacher. State maintained schools or local authorities who directly employ supply teachers must pay in accordance with the statutory arrangements for teachers laid down in the ‘School Teachers’ Pay and Conditions’ document. If a supply teacher is employed by a non-maintained school, a multi academy trust (MAT) or agency, the 'employer' can set the rates of pay and conditions of supply. Agency Worker Regulations provides that all workers on assignments that exceed 12 weeks are paid on equal terms as permanent staff after the 12th week.

Agency-provided staff are subject to the same legal requirements as permanent staff employed at the school. For teaching staff this includes having Qualified Teacher Status (QTS). In deploying staff, headteachers should be satisfied that the person has the appropriate skills, expertise, and experience to carry out the work. This includes ensuring that safe ratios are met, and specific training undertaken for any interventions or care for pupils with complex needs where specific training or specific ratios are required.

Supply agencies are private businesses and are not required to report data to the government.

Information on expenditure by schools on agency supply staff is published in the annual LA and school expenditure statistic which can be found here: https://explore-education-statistics.service.gov.uk/find-statistics/la-and-school-expenditure.

This includes data for local authority-maintained schools in the 2020/21 financial year. School level data is also published on the Schools Financial Benchmarking website which can be accessed here: https://schools-financial-benchmarking.service.gov.uk/. This includes data for local authority maintained schools in the 2020/21 financial year and academies in the 2019/20 financial year.

Ofsted’s role is to inspect and report on the quality of education pupils are receiving, and their safeguarding. Where a school is judged Inadequate by Ofsted, the department may intervene to ensure that the school can benefit from the support of a strong trust. As announced in the Schools White Paper, the department is currently consulting on plans to support schools with two consecutive Ofsted judgements below Good to join strong trusts.

In August 2018, in conjunction with the Crown Commercial Service, the department launched the agency supply deal, which can be accessed here: https://www.gov.uk/guidance/deal-for-schools-hiring-supply-teachers-and-agency-workers.

​The deal supports schools to get value for money when hiring agency supply teachers and other temporary school staff. Supply agencies that sign up to the deal agree to certain standards, including the elimination of ‘temp-to-perm’ or ‘finders fees’, where a supply teachers has been in post for 12 weeks.

We are reviewing that framework, and have consulted interested parties, including schools, agencies, and trade unions.