'No cover' threat from teachers

The union says almost a quarter of posts are vacant

Teachers at a north London school have voted to take industrial action against staff shortages.

Members of the National Association of Schoolmasters Union of Women Teachers (NASUWT) say they will no longer cover for vacancies at Christ Church school in Barnet.

It is necessary to take such action to shake the government out of its incredibly complacent attitude towards the teacher supply crisis

Nigel de Gruchy, teachers' union leader

This means that from next Tuesday, teachers are threatening to begin industrial action in the deepening row over teacher shortages.

"While this might cause short-term inconvenience to pupils and parents, it is necessary to take such action to shake the government out of its incredibly complacent attitude towards the teacher supply crisis," said the union's general secretary, Nigel de Gruchy.

The union says that last term there were eight vacancies out of a staff of 42 - and that in response the union's 22 members at the school will now refuse to fill in for absences.

Until now the union says that the gaps in staff in London schools have been covered by temporary teachers, often from overseas, but that these too were now in short supply.

'Papering over the cracks'

And Mr de Gruchy said that teachers "have reached breaking point and are now no longer prepared to paper over the cracks".

This is the latest stage in a series of claims and counter-claims over teacher shortages, with the result of the ballot coming on the same day that a local authorities' organisation said that the problem had been exaggerated.

Last week, teachers and head teachers' unions claimed that there was a severe problem with staff shortages.

And Essex County Council wrote to the education secretary warning that the quality of teaching could be threatened by a lack of suitable staff.

But the government repeated its argument that there were 7,000 more teachers than two years ago and that recruitment was on the increase, aided by higher pay and a new advertising campaign.