SCHOOLS in the borough spent more than £2.9 million on supply teachers last year according to figures revealed following a Freedom of Information request.

Amounts received for the last financial year show that missing teachers cost taxpayers an additional £392,000 compared to the previous year.

Children’s Minister Ed Balls pictured said during his Warrington visit last week that the flexibility of hiring supply teachers is a good thing.

Cardinal Newman High School topped the list with £187,559 being spent on teaching cover last year.

The total demonstrated a dramatic increase since the Bridgewater Avenue establishment’s 2004 to 2005 sum of £47,000.

John Rimmer, junior president-elect for union NASUWT, said his understanding of the school was that it was achieving the goal set by the Government, which states that teachers should rarely cover lessons from September 2009.

He said: “It enables them to ensure that they are going to sustain the education.”

Taxpayers spent £167,380 on supply days at Bridgewater High School during the past financial year – a £47,240 increase on the 2007/2008 amount.

Padgate High School had a considerable drop in the expenditure from £106,274 in 2004/2005 to £12,822 for 2008/2009.

Pinaki Ghoshal, head of improvement and inclusion at the council, said staff absence in the town was not a concern.

He said: “Overall teacher absence in Warrington is low and in general our schools have sought to keep supply costs low, despite changes in regulation that mean that class teachers should not normally provide cover for absent colleagues.”

Westbrook’s St Philip’s Church Community School injected £80,500 to cover staff absence, followed by Stockton Heath Primary School with more than £63,000.

Old Hall Community Primary School spent the least with only £193.

Other establishments with low totals included Birchwood Primary School £2,792, Woolston CE Primary School £4,095 and Ravenbank Primary School with £4,606.

Mr Rimmer added: “Supply teachers are good and can be very positive in terms of the children’s educational outcome and achievements. But I am aware that some schools use teaching assistants. That is not what they should be used for. They should be used to cover short-term absences.

“For schools where the figures are unusually low you have to ask what the levels of absence are and what the school’s doing to ensure the education is delivered by qualified teachers.”

He said schools which put two classes together when staff are absent need ask how the quality of learning can be maintained.

Mr Balls said secondary schools sometimes struggle to appoint staff to reach certain subjects, but said he didn’t think the issue was a big problem.

He added: “In some parts of the public sector, we have had high vacancy rates, that it quite worrying. But with teaching the vacancy rates are relatively low. Sometimes because of illness or training there will be a need for supply teachers. Having supply teachers and having the flexibility is a good thing.”