Supply Teachers

Part of 1. Questions to the Cabinet Secretary for Education — Postponed from 8 November – in the Senedd at 1:32 pm on 15 November 2017.

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Photo of Leanne Wood Leanne Wood Plaid Cymru 1:32, 15 November 2017

In recent weeks, I've received many representations from supply teachers, and it's clear that the system that currently exists is uneven, chaotic and exploitative. Agencies are driving down pay rates to such an extent that one supply teacher is now getting less than she was able to earn as a newly qualified teacher two decades ago. Now, that can't be right. Nor can it be right that profits are being made on the back of supply teachers' poor pay and conditions. Now, as Cabinet Secretary, there is something that you can do about this; you don't have to wait for the devolution of pay and conditions. So, will you commit to righting the wrongs of the past by introducing a centralised system for supply teachers in Wales, for the whole of Wales, for all supply teachers, like the ones that exist already in Northern Ireland and Scotland, so that we can finally deliver fair play for this important but often marginalised sector in our education system?