Teachers Talk Radio can exclusively reveal that the Department of Education has spent £11,473,268 on its Teaching vacancies website between April 2019 and August 2023.
Following an FOI request from TTR, the following information was provided on spending in this period:
In their response, the DFE said 'the service saves schools money by removing the cost to advertise vacancies'. They added that 84% of state schools in England have signed up for the service,
Our own poll suggested mixed take-up in users of the service:
The Department has been under fire recently due to the RAAC crisis, with schools and teaching unions complaining over under funding of school buildings culminating in the temporary closure of some schools.