There are fewer teachers working now in Surrey’s schools, more children waiting for special educational needs support plans, and one-in-seven in the county’s classroom are eligible for school meals.

Data released from the Department of Education and other school-related bodies together offer a startling insight into how our public schools are faring, and how they stack up against the rest of England.

When it comes to teachers in the classroom, there are fewer teachers working at Surrey schools, government figures show. Despite the school workforce across the country increasing slightly, thousands of teachers have left the state school sector.

The school leaders’ union NAHT called for the next government to commit to urgent action to address the “recruitment and retention crisis facing our schools”.

Department for Education figures show there were 8,888 teachers working at the 394 state-funded schools in Surrey as of November. This was down from 8,986 the year before.

Yet across England, the school workforce has increased “marginally” by around 300 teachers to 468,700. This includes some teachers without qualified teacher status.

The figures show around 44,000 qualified teachers joined the school workforce, down 3,900 from the number of joiners the year before. Meanwhile, 43,500 qualified teachers left the state school sector.

Paul Whiteman, general secretary at NAHT, said: “These alarming figures are stark evidence of the recruitment and retention crisis facing our schools and the need for whoever forms the next government to commit to urgent action to address this.

He said there are 18,000 more pupils in schools this year, while fewer new teachers have joined compared to previous years.

He added that teacher vacancies are causing difficulties delivering the full curriculum, with subjects taught by non-specialists and supply teachers.

Teacher vacancies in state schools in England have more than doubled in the past three years, reaching an all-time high of 2,800 in November.

In Surrey schools, 61 teaching roles needed to be filled – up from 53 the year before. Of these, 59 were for classroom teachers.

There were also 47 positions that were temporarily filled.

Pepe Di’Iasio, general secretary of the Association of School and College Leaders, said: “What these figures show, and what all school and colleges leaders know only too well, is that it is becoming increasingly difficult to fill teacher vacancies.

“Often this requires advertising roles several times and making use of supply staff in the intervening period, all of which has a financial cost attached.”

He added: “Teachers are the education system’s most precious resource and the next government cannot afford to be so complacent.

“We need a comprehensive plan to address the recruitment and retention crisis and ensure schools and colleges can attract and retain the teachers they need to maintain a high standard of education for all pupils.”

Classroom teachers’ median pay in Surrey saw an increase of 7% since 2022, reaching £42,700. However, this was less than the average for England, which was £43,800.

The DfE said: “The number of teachers entering and leaving service both fell though the number of entrants continues to be higher than for leavers.

“This, combined with changes in working patterns and an increase in unqualified teachers, resulted in a marginal increase to the number of teachers in England.”

New figures also show than four in five children in Surrey faced long waits for special educational needs support plans last year.

Across England, the number of new education, health and care (EHC) plans rose by more than a quarter, but nearly half of all children and young people receiving one experienced prolonged waits before getting it.

The Association of School and College Leaders said failure to match the rising demand with appropriate government investment has brought the special education needs (Send) system “to the brink of collapse”.

An EHC plan is for children and young people who need more support than is available through conventional special educational needs support. EHC plans identify these needs and set out additional support required to meet them.

Department for Education figures show 2,085 children and young people aged up to 25 received an EHC plan from Surrey County Council in 2023. This was significantly up from the 1,020 plans issued the year before.

In Surrey, just 16% of all support plans were provided within the time limit.

Nationally, 84,428 new EHC plans started during last year, up by 27% from 2022. However, the figures show just 50% of them were issued within the 20-week time limit – a slight improvement from 49% in 2022.

Mr Whiteman said: “The number of children needing additional support through education and healthcare plans is now at a record high, but many families are still waiting too long for the assessments, and provision that they need.”

He added: “The current system is simply not sustainable.

“The next government must tackle the Send crisis as a priority.”

Mr Di’Iasio, general secretary of the ASCL, said: “Failure to match rising demand with appropriate government investment has brought the whole Send system to the brink of collapse, with schools being unable to afford the costs of Send provision, a lack of places available in special schools, and local authorities having huge high needs deficits.”

An EHC plan can only be issued after a child or young person has been formally assessed.

Across the country, 138,242 requests for initial assessments were made – 21% more than in the year before. This included 2,947 in Surrey, with 974 of them refused by Surrey County Council.

Overall, 14,245 Surrey children had an EHC plan as of January.

Sarah White, head of policy at the disability charity Sense, said: “Mainstream and early years schools are underfunded and ill-equipped to identify and meet the needs of children with special educational needs and disabilities and the consequences could be potentially devastating for them.

“We also know many children are not getting the support they require even when they have a plan in place.”

Louise Gittins, chair of the Local Government Association’s children and young people board, said: “These record figures are a reminder of the huge pressure councils are under, with the number of EHCPs increasing every year since they were introduced in 2014.

“It is absolutely vital whoever forms the next government brings forward proposals without delay to reform the Send system, with a focus on improving levels of mainstream inclusion, as well as write off councils’ high needs deficits.”

Data also show one-in-seven children in Surrey are eligible for free school meals.

Across England, a record number of children were eligible to receive free school meals as of January, but education sector leaders said the numbers were just “the tip of the iceberg”, as some youngsters living in poverty are missing out on them.

Department for Education figures show there were 23,481 school children in Surrey meeting the eligibility criteria for free school meals at the start of the year, equivalent to 14.3% of all pupils in the area.

This was 766 more than in January 2023 and a record number in the past nine years.

Children in state schools in England can receive free meals if a parent or carer is receiving one of several benefits, including Jobseeker’s Allowance, child tax credits or income support.

Parents on Universal Credit can also qualify for free school meals if their household income is less than £7,400 a year.