£36m spent on supply teachers

During the academic year 2005/06, the bill was £5.5 million in Dudley, £7.4 million in Sandwell, £6.6 million in Walsall, £4.3 million in Wolverhampton and £12.2 million across Staffordshire. This is an increase of around four million pounds from the £31.7 million classroom total spent during 2002/03.

Elsewhere, schools in Shropshire spent £7.1 on supply teachers – up from £6.9 million four years ago.

Part of the spending increase has been attributed to new arrangements aimed at reducing teachers' excessive workloads.

Since September 2005, permanent teachers, some of whom work between 54 and 60 hours per week, have been guaranteed about two hours per week away from the classroom to prepare for lessons and catch up on marking.

The agreement has forced schools unable to afford extra full-time staff to either ask teaching assistants to take classes or pay for supply staff. The NUT prefers schools to pay for children to be taught by qualified supply teachers than classroom assistants.

The latest figures, disclosed by Schools Minister Jim Knight, show the bill has risen from £846 million to £886 million, nationally.

Liberal Democrat education spokeswoman Sarah Teather said additional funding ought to be made available for the staff cover.

A spokesman for the Department for Education and Skills said there were more teachers in schools than at any time since 1980 and said the reforms were ensuring teachers could focus on teaching.

He said: "It removes administrative tasks from teachers, gives them ten per cent of the timetable to plan, prepare and asses work outside of the classroom and limits the amount of time they can be asked to cover for absent colleagues."