MORE THAN half of Cornwall schools have signed up to a teacher recruitment service which could save the region thousands of pounds.

Schools across Cornwall are being urged to use the Department for Education (DfE)’s free job search and listings service, launched in April 2019 to address the expenditure of up to £75million on teacher recruitment advertising.

While 57 per cent of the region's schools are already using Teaching Vacancies, more cost savings could be made when all Cornwall schools sign up. By using the service, schools can save money on teacher recruitment advertising so that they can reinvest it in the classroom.

With the service used by job-seeking teachers across the country, Teaching Vacancies is helping schools attract new talent into the region with any advertised roles visible to job-seeking teachers nationally.

Jacobstow is a small primary school with around 86 pupils. Penny Maloney, recruitment officer at Jacobstow said: “We aim to keep our costs down for recruitment advertisement as we feel funds should be invested primarily in the education of pupils.

"Teaching Vacancies is a hugely beneficial tool in supporting our recruitment needs and allowing us to keep those costs down whilst also extending the pool of applicants for us to choose from.

"We know that Teaching Vacancies is a trusted resource because it’s an official government platform – that takes out a lot of the stress and pressure from recruiting new staff.”

A DfE spokesperson said: "We are delighted with the uptake of Teaching Vacancies and the positive impact this promises for our schools. If schools and job seekers continue to use the service, we can change the way recruitment happens in schools and make a real difference where it matters most.”

Schools and teachers interested in finding out more should go to: gov.uk/teaching-vacancies