MATHS teachers should be considered key workers and be eligible for cheaper housing to help avert a recruitment crisis, a councillor has said.

City schools are finding it hard to recruit and retain experienced teaching staff because of workload pressures says a new report to be discussed at Monday’s children, young people and skills committee.

A recent survey revealed 36 unfulfilled teacher vacancies across 12 city schools with a particular difficulty reported in recruiting maths teachers.

Children and young people committee chairman Tom Bewick said including newly qualified maths teachers within the council’s affordable and key worker housing policy was now being considered to stop them being priced out of the city.

Green councillor and secondary school teacher Alex Phillips said the profession was being placed under “excessive strain” because of the Government’s “ideological zeal to privatise our education system”.

The report highlights a brighter picture compared to the nationwide picture with newly-qualified teachers – schools were reported to have few problems recruiting with a high completion rate in the first year.

Just ten out of 161 NQTs in the city have left their post in their first academic year.

Senior leadership was also in stronger health in the city with just two schools currently without a permanent headteacher appointment.

The council said it has lead a citywide drive on maths and supported maths teacher recruitment with events and increased university support and was considering a recruitment campaign encouraging retraining as a teacher.

Cllr Bewick said: “It’s important to recognise that Brighton and Hove is a place of skyrocketing rents.

“It is very hard for first time buyers, particularly on average incomes, to get on the housing ladder.

“For this reason, I have raised with the council's chief executive and lead member responsible for new homes the idea of extending our affordable and key worker housing policy to newly qualified maths teachers."

Cllr Phillips, Green spokeswoman on children and young people, said: “The current recruitment crisis affecting schools is the symptom of a national Government which is blinded by an ideological zeal to privatise our education system.

“Teachers are increasingly placed under excessive strain by a Government that seeks to micro-manage their performance, continually adding new administrative burdens as assessment standards chop and change.”

“We need to put our faith in teachers to use their skills to inspire and encourage genuine learning and self-improvement”.

A Department for Education spokeswoman said the Government was increasing funding for schools offering School Direct places in maths and physics to boost starting salaries and increasing bursaries.

She added: “The latest figures, for teacher training starting in September, show that teaching remains a hugely desirable profession, refuting the negativity from those who talk it down.”