11 supply teachers brought from UK to cover Jersey staffing shortages

Jersey's government has recruited 11 supply teachers from the UK to provide cover for 'up to two terms' due to staffing shortages on-island.

The Education Minister says they are filling in on short-term contracts, while work is ongoing to train and recruit permanent teaching staff.

As of January 2023, around 1 in 25 vacancies for teachers and teaching assistants in Jersey are currently unfilled.

Jersey's government says those figures include newly-created positions as well as existing jobs.

The 11 supply teachers will provide cover for staff illnesses as well as fill in for staff taking parental leave. The Education Department says they are being housed in "short-term accommodation" rather than being put up in hotels.

£1.3 million has been set aside by the government to provide additional training and professional development opportunities for teaching staff this year.

Last year saw a substantial increase in the number of trainee teachers taking part in the island's 'Jersey Graduate Teacher Training Programme':

The JGTTP is run by the government to train teachers on-island, rather than sending students overseas to complete a PGCE.

Deputy Inna Gardiner, Jersey's Education Minister, acknowledges teachers are under pressure from a 'worrying' number of factors:

"Locally, schools and colleges are dealing with the impact of a range of winter illnesses including colds and flu, scarlet fever and COVID-19. In addition, school staff are rightly making use of longer periods of parental leave to spend time with their children in those vital early days. I’m pleased to see so many parents taking up this offer, and I acknowledge that staffing in schools and colleges will need time to adjust to this change.

"While this is a worrying combination of factors, I want to reassure parents and students that we are ensuring that all students are taught by qualified teachers while retaining the smaller classroom sizes that are so valued."

She added that while there is 'no one solution' to the issue, her department is working to make sure schools have the teaching staff they need.

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