HUNDREDS of 11 and 12-year-olds are being sent home after a Sussex school lost nearly 10 per cent of its teachers.
As The TES published a near-record 512 pages of jobs this week, Bognor Regis community college has moved to a four-day week for Years 7 and 8 for a month to safeguard teaching for exam-groups.
Its 300 Year 9 pupils were also on four days this week but should be back on track next week. The school has 10 vacancies and is struggling to find supply teachers to fill the gaps.
Overall, 900 pupils will be affected. Each year group will take a different day off and pupils will be given work to do.
Head Les Savins said: “We are only going to do this for a short time. It will last only four weeks.”
West Sussex has agreed to pay for accommodation for supply teachers prepared to come to Bognor to provide a few weeks’ cover.
Colin James, the assistant education director, said: “South coast supply agencies have been stretched to meet current needs. Many schools are saying they could ... find themselves in this situation.”
The disclosure comes as recruitment advertising in The TES is at near-record levels, reflecting the scale of the problem facing schools. This week is the post-Easter peak for schools to advertise for new staff and today’s 644-page TES is the second biggest ever.
Bognor parents are angry that they will have to make arrangements to look after their children. Richard Shepheard, whose daughter is in Year 9, said:
“What are they going to do? Are there going to be kids in town unsupervised causing problems?”
Maureen Jones said her daughter, in Year 7, was sent home without work. She said: “She had some maths, which she finished in 15 minutes. ” Today’s TES is the second biggest ever, reflecting the sheer scale of staffing vacancies.
