A new analysis lays bare the extent of the teacher recruitment difficulties faced by non-selective secondaries in selective areas, showing that they are up to five times more likely than neighbouring grammar schools to plug gaps with temporary staff.

The findings come as experts have warned that government proposals to increase the number of grammars could affect teacher recruitment in nearby non-selective schools.

A TES study of Department for Education data on teacher recruitment in selective areas shows that in the largest selective authority, Kent, there were 19 temporarily filled posts in its 29 secondary moderns in November 2015. Across its 32 comprehensives, there were 12 such posts, compared with just four across its 32 grammars (see graphic).

The average rate of posts filled by temporary teachers in secondary moderns in the county was 1.27 per cent, more than five times that of grammars, which was just 0.23 per cent.

In neighbouring Medway, there were no vacancies or temporarily filled posts in the area’s six grammar schools, according to the DfE data - but there were 11 temporarily filled posts and six vacancies in its 11 comprehensives and secondary moderns.

The analysis of government data comes as TES figures on secondary recruitment trends show that it is harder to fill vacant roles in selective authorities. The problem is particularly acute in Kent and Medway, where the proportion of posts filled after being advertised is 6 percentage points lower than the national average.

“[Having grammar schools] does have a distorting effect on the teacher recruitment market,” said Ian Bauckham, past president of the Association of School and College Leaders and executive head of the Bennett Memorial Diocesan School, a non-selective secondary in Tunbridge Wells, Kent.

“Selective schools will disproportionately attract highly qualified teachers who are keen to teach high-achieving students,” he added. “In selective areas, grammar schools have lower vacancy rates and higher rates of qualified teachers than non-selective schools.

“You can’t run a school with absolute vacancies. You have to have somebody in. So you play with whatever you can - they might not be a qualified teacher. There is a hidden vacancy rate.”

A post is counted as temporarily filled when it is covered by a teacher on a contract of more than a term but less than a year. Heads say that having a high number of such posts can be an indicator of recruitment problems.

They have also pointed out that while the vacancy and temporarily filled job rates may seem small, they are the tip of the iceberg in terms of the recruitment crisis.

Distorting impact

Mr Bauckham added: “There are teachers who are incredibly motivated by and have a moral passion for teaching children who are socially disadvantaged or they perceive as having been disadvantaged by the education system.

“You really can’t say that all teachers in secondary moderns are bad and all teachers in grammar schools are great. That is absolutely untrue. But there is nonetheless a distorting impact on the teacher recruitment market of selective schools.”

The latest figures are in stark contrast to a recent TES poll which found 56 per cent of teachers said they would not be prepared to teach in a grammar school, while 29 per cent would be happy to.

Expanding the selective system would “polarise” teacher shortages, said John Howson, a teacher recruitment expert and visiting professor at Oxford Brookes University.

“All the evidence suggests that if there are not enough teachers to go round and no other form of rationing, then the secondary moderns are more likely to lose out than the grammar schools,” he added. “If you work in Kent or Buckinghamshire, which have fully selective systems, if you don’t go and work in a grammar school, you are unlikely to encounter the top 25 per cent of the ability group, you are less likely to encounter a significant A-level group…and that may be less attractive to you.”

Nationally, 0.7 per cent of posts in comprehensives are temporarily filled and the vacancy rate is 0.2 per cent, according to DfE workforce statistics for November 2015.

In Kent and Medway combined, 0.8 per cent of posts in comprehensives and 1.2 per cent in secondary moderns are temporarily filled, and the vacancy rate is 0.4 per cent for comprehensives and 0.5 per cent for secondary moderns.

‘If there aren’t enough teachers, secondary moderns lose out’

Earlier research by Education Datalab revealed that non-selective schools in selective areas were also more likely to employ unqualified teachers. In a blog published in June, the organisation’s director, Rebecca Allen, said: “These differences in the qualification profile of grammar schools and other schools in the same areas is stark: grammar schools have much larger numbers of very experienced teachers and very few unqualified teachers.”

But Jim Skinner, chief executive of the Grammar School Heads Association, said grammars were not directly responsible for the recruitment difficulties of non-selective schools in selective areas.

“Teacher recruitment at the moment is a major concern for all schools,” Mr Skinner added. “Grammar schools are finding it very challenging to recruit at the moment. The figures may be to some extent the consequence that, generally speaking, grammar schools have a lower turnover of teachers.”

A DfE spokesperson said of the findings: “Our proposals are about creating more good schools in more areas, giving every child the opportunity to fulfil their potential.

“Teaching remains a popular and rewarding career. The number of teachers entering our classrooms continues to outnumber those who retire or leave and there are more teachers returning to the profession year on year.”