A TRADE union leader has warned that schools in St Helens are in crisis over the pressures being put on all teaching staff.

The warning comes, after a Freedom of Information request revealed that the borough spent almost  £2.6m on temporary agency and supply teachers in the academic year 2015/2016, to fill in for absent teachers.

Chris Keates, the general secretary of the NASUWT, blamed both the need for teacher recruitment and the need for supply staff firmly at the feet of the government.

The figures for St Helens primary schools showed they spent £1.386m, while secondary schools spent £1.040m, special schools spent £160,107 and a nursery spent £4,171. The total spend amounted to £2.591m

The Star asked the local authority to detail how many permanent teachers were off sick over the academic year among the compliment of 1,546 borough teachers.

In response, St Helens Council said 94 teachers were absent on long term sick for four weeks or more. It added that over the academic year 2015/2016, there were a total of 106 periods of absence of four or more weeks.

Ms Keates told the Star: “There cannot be any doubt that schools are in the midst of a serious teacher recruitment and retention crisis, driven by the adverse impact of the government’s policies on the school workforce.

“Year-on-year cuts to teachers’ pay, workload spiralling out of control, demoralisation and denigration and the consequence is an unacceptable toll on teachers' health and wellbeing.”

Ms Keates said the amount spent in St Helens was a reflection of the need many schools were facing in a challenging environment.

She explained: “Supply teachers are a vital resource for schools and they are the backbone of the school system. The expenditure reflects the fact that schools in the area recognise the educational value of using qualified teachers to fill in where staff are absent. However supply staff themselves are often exploited despite their important role.

She added: “Unless government and employers start to value the workforce and address the pressures on them, the situation will only deteriorate further.

“The losers will be our children and young people whose education is being jeopardise by callous and exploitative workforce management.”

A St Helens Council spokesman added: "Schools operate within a system of devolved financial management. This means that each school is responsible for managing its own budget and making decisions about all aspects of school expenditure, including staff recruitment.

 "Schools will make decisions on a day to day basis about how best to provide staff cover arrangements in respect of, for example, maternity absence, training and sickness.

These arrangements will include the use of temporary staff."