Spending on supply teachers across UK schools has soared to £1.4 billion, with academy trusts alone accounting for £847 million in the 2023–24 academic year, according to new analysis by Sky News based on Department for Education (DfE) data.
This marks a near doubling of agency staff costs since 2014–15, driven by chronic teacher shortages, rising staff absences, and recruitment struggles.
Headteachers say a qualified supply teacher now costs upwards of £200 per day, with specialist roles such as physics demanding £300–£400. School leaders warn they are being financially squeezed, with limited choice and mounting pressure to fill classroom gaps.
Students are bearing the brunt of the crisis. One pupil reported having a different supply teacher for every lesson, while a Year 10 student shared that five different teachers in a single week led to poor behavior and disrupted learning.
The data reveals that vacancy rates for classroom teachers remain three times higher than they were a decade ago.
Worryingly, twice as many teachers left the profession last year than entered, while wages have struggled to keep pace with inflation. Since 2015, teacher pay has risen by 30 percent, compared to a near 50 percent increase in the cost of living.
Agency fees are further inflating school costs. A supply teacher with a £30,000 salary could end up costing a school nearly £37,000 through agency charges, a 23 percent markup that rises with seniority.
In response, the Department for Education claims it is addressing the shortage by recruiting 6,500 expert teachers, with over 2,300 additional secondary and special school teachers already placed this year.
More than 1,000 teacher trainees have accepted roles starting in autumn 2025, and an ‘agency supply deal’ has been introduced to help schools access more cost-effective staffing.
However, the teachers’ union NASUWT says fewer than half of schools are using the government’s supply scheme. The union is urging investment in local, in-house supply pools to give schools greater flexibility and reduce their dependence on private agencies.
