The summer holidays are likely to offer little rest to School leaders who see the new year beginning with Teacher shortages in key areas of the curriculum.

To add to the difficulties, new GCSE assessment systems are beginning in many Subject areas.  Although there are still teachers out there looking for jobs for September, most are now in post and it could well be January before schools have a chance to address the problems they are facing.  And, as we know, recruitment mid year often presents problems with contracts and sufficient candidates to offer schools a choice.

The problem has been caused by a combination of events:

• A natural shortage as pay and working conditions deter graduates from entering the profession
• A growing exodus away from teaching for more experienced staff as they seek career changes
• The rise of academies being able to more easily adapt their pay structures to address needs leaving other schools with a lack of candidates
• An increase in pupil numbers
• Specific key area teacher shortages, such as in computer science, geography and religious studies as the perception grows that these are ‘lower profile’ subjects

So, what will schools do to cope?

Each school will have problems unique to them, and will need to develop their own strategies to deal with these, but some general ideas that schools will look to employ might include:

Prioritisation

Schools will need to prioritise their existing staff resources around areas that they see as the most important for their school.  This may well be examination classes.  However, such a move creates a problem in the longer term, as younger pupils may not receive the same quality and consistency of background study in their subjects on which they would look to build as they themselves move towards examination age.

Supply Teachers

There is going to be a large demand on longer term supply cover.  There is nothing wrong with this where a teacher can be found who is prepared to commit to a lengthy period of work, but it can be an expensive option for schools, where budgets are already squeezed to suffocation point.  It also creates a dilemma for supply teachers.  These professionals, by their nature, often do not want long term commitments to a specific school.  Clearly, some do, but for many it is the flexibility and ability to say ‘no’ to work that is the attraction of being a supply teacher.

Multi tasking teachers

Most teachers can offer a second subject to a good level, if perhaps not GCSE in all cases.  There is going to have to be some swotting up by teachers as they find themselves in front of classes teaching a subject in which they are not completely comfortable.

The problem really comes when the teacher shortage area is a very technical one, such as computer sciences or music.

Reduced management time

Pressure will inevitably be put on teachers to increase their teaching load, perhaps at the cost of some management time, as Heads look to ensure classes have appropriate teachers.

Increased class size

Again, it seems that class size will have to increase if there are fewer teachers available to deliver the curriculum.

Teacher sharing

Some creative timetable managers will be getting together and looking at sharing staff.   This can be a solution to staffing problems, but is fraught with other difficulties.  Who ends up actually employing the teacher?  What happens if something goes wrong?  Travel time can be an issue.  However, where the geography works, sharing can be something schools look towards implementing.

Narrowing of the curriculum

It has to be faced that if staffing is just not available, some subject areas might be lost, or more likely, their delivery reduced.  It could be that they are offered to fewer classes, or not to all year groups.  It could be that their curriculum allocation is lowered to allow the staff schools actually have available to give as many pupils as possible some experience of their curriculum area.

What is very likely to happen is that there will be pressure on teachers to teach more, to teach other subjects and to change their timetables.   At a time when the Government values teachers to such an extent that their pay offer is below inflation, goodwill is going to be stretched to breaking point.