800 primary teaching posts lost in a year

Primary schools lost 800 teachers last year.

The figure is contained in the latest official survey of teacher numbers published today.

It is the first government recognition of the actual number of teachers lost during last year's budgets crisis.

Education Secretary Charles Clarke said the bulk of the teacher losses were down to falling rolls in primary schools, due to population trends.

Overall teacher numbers rose by 4,200, reflecting an increase in staff in secondary and special schools.

But today's figures show that only 1,800 of those were fully qualified.

Mr Clarke said, however, that recruitment from abroad was declining.

"We are making progress and we will continue to press down that route," he said.

He said today's statistics were "broadly speaking encouraging," adding: "They show that although there were major issues, as we were all aware last year, over funding, that the long-term impact both on overall teacher numbers was not as negative as some had feared."

Mr Clarke said the problems created by last year's funding crisis had been exaggerated.

"People concentrated on the number of teaching posts lost, not on those created at the same time," he said.

Teacher vacancies dropped slightly but there are still 2,450 vacancies across the country.