Matt Nixson reports on the crisis facing schools after outgoing Ofsted chief Mike Tomlinson revealed recruitment was at its lowest level since 1963.

WHEN headteacher Liz Fletcher heard a good maths teacher might be looking for a job she did not hesitate to act.

She got on her computer and contacted the woman - in Australia.

Numerous emails later and Ms Fletcher is looking forward to welcoming her new teacher to Patcham High School in Brighton.

Hiring staff, even someone highly recommended, without meeting them is unusual.

But desperate times call for desperate measures.

Competition for teachers, particularly maths experts, has reached fever pitch.

Waiting for the teacher, who is English, to return home might have meant Ms Fletcher lost the opportunity to hire her.

She said: "I have been a headteacher for 13 years and it has never been so difficult to get a full staff.

"Much more of my time these days is taken up looking for ways to get experienced teachers.

"It's all about looking for new tactics.

"I didn't want to wait for this person to return to England because there is such a scarcity."

Patcham High School will enjoy a full complement of permanent staff in June.

But it is in the minority.

Education bosses deny there is a crisis but most schools in Brighton and Hove rely on supply teachers to fill gaps.

But supply teachers might not have specialist maths knowledge, vital for numeracy lessons.

Across England the picture is depressing, with one in every 25 secondary posts filled by a supply teacher.

Outgoing Ofsted chief inspector Mike Tomlinson this week warned teacher shortages had "clear implications" for the quality of lessons, especially the Government's drive to raise maths standards.

Mr Tomlinson believes overall teacher recruitment is at its worst level since 1963, with maths particularly hard hit.

The number of maths teachers in England fell from 40,500 in 1983 to 25,200 in 1997.

Figures for this year have not been released but the number could be as low as 20,000.

Quite simply, with increasing emphasis on maths in schools, the figures just do not add up.

The shortage is expected to increase during the next decade as many members of staff reach retirement age.

More than 60 per cent are already aged over 40 and the recent 3.5 per cent pay rise, taking starting salaries to £17,628, was condemned by teaching unions as insufficient.

Ms Fletcher is frank about the reasons behind the decline in maths teachers, describing it as a vicious circle.

She said: "Maths graduates can earn a lot more money doing other things in the commercial sector.

"If you don't have good role models teaching, you won't get people wanting to go to university to study maths and so on."

So how worried should parents be?

David Hawker, director of children, families and schools on Brighton and Hove City Council, says there is a recruitment shortage - but not a crisis.

He said: "About a year ago we did a straw poll of secondary schools and, on average, each school had one maths post filled by a non-mathematician.

"That's not as dire as it sounds. A lot of teachers have maths as their second subject and informal soundings are that people are finding it is getting better."

Last term the city had 82 vacancies, all but ten of which have now been filled.

However, the winter term is traditionally quiet in terms of staff turnover.

The difficulty is younger pupils are more likely to be taught by inexperienced or non-specialist teachers because schools are throwing resources at students facing exams.

Mr Hawker remains confident the council will ride out the recruitment problems.

A number of schemes are already helping to attract more teachers to the city.

Last Tuesday, the council teamed up with landlords at a recruitment fair in an attempt to offer favourable rents to teaching staff and combat high house prices.

The council is offering "welcome back" bonuses of £4,000 to those who return to the profession.

Discounts on student loans are being offered for shortage subjects like maths and science and the city is teaming up with Brighton and Sussex universities to attract newly-qualified teachers.

Most radical, perhaps, is the appointment of Josh Beattie as recruitment strategy manager, working full time to ensure city schools employ and retain enough staff.

As part of a a public-private partnership, Mr Beattie is employed by Hays Education Personnel but half his salary is paid by the city council.

Hays has an exclusive contract with the council to supply teachers.

The new system seems to be working well.

However, Mr Hawker says: "We're not complacent.

"We know there is a national shortage and some schools have had difficulties but by and large Brighton and Hove is a good place to work.

"We have got good schools and a supportive local authority with good opportunities for people working in our schools."