NEU Cymru, Wales’s largest education union, is calling on the Welsh government to ensure sufficient funding is restored to local authorities and schools so that all supply staff are paid according to nationally agreed terms and conditions and wants the Welsh government to promote the benefits of recreating local supply pools to local authorities.
It also wants to stop the growing use of non-qualified support staff being used to deliver lessons and assume teaching responsibilities for absent colleagues in educational establishments across Wales.
Nicola Fitzpatrick, Wales Secretary of the National Education Union Cymru, said:
“Our members are clear that supply teachers provide vital continuity when a teacher is absent and should be rewarded alongside their peers in terms of terms and conditions, including teachers’ pension scheme – they are working hard to teach children, often at short notice, with minimal time to prepare.
“The Welsh government has acknowledged the essential role of supply teachers, yet the current system is inefficient, unfair, and does not serve the best interests of pupils, schools, or the teaching profession as a whole.
“Welsh government and local authorities must prioritise recruitment, retention, fair pay, and workload management for qualified teachers, including supply teachers, to stop reliance on non-qualified staff.
“We will continue to raise these critical issues with the Welsh government.”
The text of the motion to conference on this issue was as follows:
Motion 7. Fair Pay and Conditions for Supply Teachers in Wales
Conference Cymru notes, with disappointment, the closing of work by Welsh government on the National Supply Pool for Wales.
For over seven years, the issues affecting supply teachers in Wales have been repeatedly raised, yet little meaningful progress has been made. Supply teachers continue to face systemic disadvantage due to the outsourcing of supply provision to private agencies. The issues they are facing include:
- Being paid less than their permanent colleagues, often capped at Upper Pay Scale (UPS) 1, regardless of experience or years of service.
- No access to the Teachers’ Pension Scheme (TPS) for supply teachers employed via agencies.
- The use of agencies leads to a lack of transparency, with local authorities unable to track who is working where and when.
- Supply teachers are often only paid for up to 39 weeks of the year, with that pay spread over 52 weeks, regardless of availability or work done.
- Many supply teachers struggle to find consistent work due to schools being locked into contracts with specific agencies, limiting choice and potentially excluding highly experienced professionals.
- The Welsh government has acknowledged the essential role of supply teachers, yet the much-anticipated ‘Teacher Booker' system has effectively collapsed, leaving a gap in equitable support.
- The current system is inefficient, unfair, and does not serve the best interests of pupils, schools, or the teaching profession as a whole.
- The growing use of non-qualified staff, including Higher Level Teaching Assistants (HLTAs), cover supervisors, and learning support workers, to deliver lessons and assume teaching responsibilities in primary, secondary, and ALN settings across Wales.
- That while these support staff make vital contributions, their deployment as substitutes for qualified teachers is often without appropriate training, pay, or professional recognition, driven by systemic recruitment and retention challenges.
The urgent need for investment in recruitment, retention, workload reduction, and fair pay to ensure that teaching remains a distinct and respected profession in Wales.
Conference Cymru believes that:
- Supply teachers deserve equal pay for equal work, with recognition for experience and qualifications.
- The current agency system unfairly restricts access to work and reduces take-home pay through agency fees.
- The NEU has a responsibility to represent all members equally, including those working on supply.
- Pupils’ continuity of education is best supported when schools can select the most appropriate teacher for each situation, not just the ones available via a contracted agency.
Supporting supply teachers fairly and ensuring access to proper pay, pension, and conditions is vital to counteracting the pressures that lead to increased reliance on non-qualified staff.
Conference Cymru calls on NEU Cymru via the executive to:
- Lobby Welsh government to ensure sufficient funding is restored to local authorities and schools so that all supply staff are paid according to nationally agreed terms and conditions, thereby addressing the use of unqualified staff.
- Urgently open negotiations with Welsh local authorities (LAs) with a view to allowing schools to directly source supply teachers, bypassing agencies where appropriate.
- Lobby Welsh government to promote to LAs the benefits of recreating local supply pools.
- Campaign for a return to a publicly managed supply pool or booking system which ensures fair pay, pension rights, and secure employment pathways for supply teachers.
- Work with the Welsh government to ensure better data collection and transparency in how supply teaching is utilised across the country.
- Promote the principle that all teachers, regardless of contract type, should have access to the full benefits of union representation, fair pay, and pension rights.
- Lobby for legislation or government policy which restricts or regulates the role of supply agencies to ensure that the majority of funding for a supply post goes directly to the teacher delivering the education.
- Campaign vigorously against the regular or long-term use of non-qualified staff for teaching duties and challenge any move towards institutionalising this practice.
- Investigate and report on the impact of non-qualified staff being used to teach in Wales, alongside issues faced by supply teachers, to provide a full picture of workforce challenges.