Schools in Sussex shelled out £21.1 million on supply teachers in 12 months.

Government figures show the money was spent on temp staff in the county during the school year 2005/6 - up from £18.4 million the previous year.

The 14 per cent hike has been attributed to new arrangements aimed at reducing teachers' excessive workloads.

Since September 2005, permanent teachers have been guaranteed about two hours per week away from the classroom to prepare for lessons and catch up on marking.

It has forced schools that are unable to afford extra full-time staff to choose between asking teaching assistants to take classes or paying for supply teachers to come in.

In 2004/5, spending on supply teachers in Brighton and Hove stood at £2.9 million, according to the Department for Education and Skills figures.

In 2005/6, the first year in which teachers were guaranteed planning, preparation and assessment (PPA) time, the bill rose to £3.8 million.

In East Sussex it increased from £6.5 million to £7 million and in West Sussex it rose from £8.9 million to £10.2 million.

The National Union of Teachers (NUT) said the new workload agreement was designed to reduce instances of teachers working 54 - or even 60 - hours per week.

Although the agreement permitted teaching assistants to take classes, many schools chose to pay for qualified supply staff instead, something the NUT supported.

General Secretary Steve Sinnott told The Argus: "We would prefer schools to hire teachers full-time, rather than paying money to supply agencies, but it's better that children are taught by qualified supply teachers rather than unqualified people."

Sarah Teather MP, education spokeswoman for the Liberal Democrats, said: "We are concerned that schools are having to cover PPA time with supply teachers when the Government has allocated no extra funding to cover it.

"Schools are between a rock and a hard place - they either cut other things to pay for supply cover or they use teaching assistants or even parents to lead classes."

A spokesman for the Department for Education and Skills said there were more teachers in schools than at any time since 1980 and said the workforce reforms were ensuring teachers could focus on teaching.

He said: "It removes a whole range of administrative tasks from teachers, gives them ten per cent of the timetable to plan, prepare and assess work outside of the classroom and limits the amount of time they can be asked to cover for absent colleagues, all helping to benefit pupils."

What do you think about the amount of money being spent on supply teachers? Leave your comments below.