Warwickshire County Council has launched a supply teacher recruitment scheme called Direct Solutions which will undercut recruitment agencies in the county.

The council has created a list of available supply teachers in conjunction with managed service provider LEA Direct. Previously schools would recruit supply staff through agencies or by consulting a list issued to schools once a term.

Now schools contact Direct Solutions. There is a fixed fee per teacher, per day, which the council claims is “extremely competitive”.

According to Tina Silk, project co-ordinator of Direct Solutions, the aim is to get schools to hire supply teachers rather than use existing teachers to fill in. “There are some schools that can’t afford to keep relying on supply teachers, which is why we’ve kept the management fee low,” she said.