In short supply: Cover costs soar as teacher shortages and illness bite

Schools have sounded the alarm over “unprecedented” supply cover costs draining budgets amid soaring staff illness and widespread teacher shortages, costing the sector hundreds of millions a year.

Recently filed annual accounts from large academy trusts reveal the toll of the sector’s shrinking workforce.

Separate Schools Week analysis shows maintained schools spent a combined £622 million on supply cover in 2021-22, up more than a third year-on-year.

They spent £171 per pupil on supply costs last year – a five-year high and up from £160 per head in 2019, before Covid.