Last month over 200 teachers were off with Covid, prompting a huge demand for supply staff
THE number of teachers absent due to Covid is four times higher than it was this time last year.
An FOI request submitted by The Cardiffian has revealed that the number of teachers off with Covid has risen steeply since schools opened in September.
As of January 2022, there were 202 primary and secondary school teachers off in Cardiff compared to just 50 in January 2021.
This has happened despite encouragement for secondary school pupils and staff to take multiple lateral flow tests a week.
The staff absences have put a strain on schools and seen a huge demand for supply cover from companies such as Academic Ltd, based in Fford Pengham.
Cardiff branch manager Dominic Yarwood said: “The demand for supply teachers is greater than I have experienced in the last seven or eighth years I have worked in this industry.
“It has resulted in a national candidate shortage nationally within agencies. It has become more challenging than ever to get the right people for the jobs.”
The shortage of supply teachers is felt across a range of subjects, but The Cardiffian understands that Chemistry, Physics and Maths staff are particularly in demand.
Jeremy Miles, Welsh Minister for Education, said at a press conference: “It has been a challenge for schools to make sure that there is sufficient staffing. We have seen during the autumn term there was a very acute challenge.
“Significant sums of the ‘Renew and Reform Programme’ have been spent on providing additional capacity to respond to Covid more broadly in our schools — the equivalent of 1,800 full-time posts. We will always look at what more we can do.”
The Renew and Reform Programme is the Welsh Government’s education recovery programme with funds of over £160m for the 2021-2022 financial year (April 2021-April 2022).
The data shows that despite a slight dip in absences in December, the number of teachers catching Covid is rising again at rates higher than at any other point of the pandemic.
The December drop is likely to have been due to the Christmas holidays so the January rise was inevitable.
Laura Doel, the Director of NAHT Cymru (National Association of Head Teachers), said: “The latest figures show that schools are still very much in the grip of the pandemic.
“Learner absence, coupled with staff absence rates which continue to cause concern means the delivery of education is still being disrupted across Wales.
“Covid is not over for schools and the Government needs to be mindful of this when forging ahead with yet more education reforms, like reviewing the school day, which is putting increased pressure on an already overburdened profession.”
