Covid chaos sees £570k set aside for supply teachers

Tuesday 19 April 2022

The Government has budgeted £568,000 to source supply teachers and education staff this year as covid continues to sweep through the workforce and cause disruption.

Treasury Minister Deputy Susie Pinel signed off the extra Education spending to cover the rest of 2022 earlier this month, and her Ministerial Decision was made public last week.

She also agreed to earmark £523,000 to cover additional cleaning requirements, and £917,000 for “equipment, infrastructure, and hygiene consumables” to provide a “safe environment for children.”

The Ministerial Decision also predicted a £233,000 hit to income-generating activities as a result of covid. 

“CYPES generates income from, amongst other things, Highlands’ private course fees, canteen sales, and venue hire. While the economic recovery is underway demand for CYPES income generating activities remains lower than pre-pandemic levels. It is estimated that the income deficit will reduce in 2022 compared to previous years but will remain a significant financial pressure,” a report explaining the decision explained.

The recently-released 2021 Teachers' Survey demonstrated the impact of the pandemic on staff and students.

60% of teachers and 86% of senior leaders said that covid had negatively affected their work/life balance, and 80% of teachers had noticed an increase in stress, anxiety, and panic attacks amongst pupils since the start of the pandemic.

The Government has not refreshed its covid statistics for schools since 7 April, when there were 22 confirmed cases reported in schools, affecting students and staff.

At that point, one in 10 primary school students was off school, and two in 10 secondary school students was off.