The use of refugee teachers in schools could encourage closer working ties between schools and agencies, a recruitment company director has claimed.

The government’s call for schools to start recruiting refugees with equivalent teaching qualifications in an effort to ease staffing shortages is being welcomed by some education recruitment firms.

Pauline Chambers, managing director of education recruitment agency Teacher Workline, said: “It is essential that we meet the criteria for registrations, qualification and right to work in the UK. As long as these issues are addressed, I think with the right induction, training, appraisal and evaluation, refugee teachers can add to the diversity of the workforce.”

She added: “I think that if schools and agencies, in partnership with each other, ensure that refugee teachers are properly trained, it will help ease the teacher shortage problems currently being experienced in the UK.”

However, some refugee bodies are warning that such teachers face a number of challenges in finding teaching work because of a lack of recognition of overseas teaching qualifications and a lack of suitable re-qualification schemes.

According to the latest official figures, one in seven new teachers comes from outside the UK. But unofficially it is thought that 10% of teachers in the UK are from overseas, with London schools relying on staff from Australia, New Zealand and South Africa.