More than one in ten schools are now using unqualified teachers to take lessons because of the shortage in skilled teachers, a new report into the crisis has claimed. 

The Times Education Supplement (TES) says a survey of nearly 250 heads showed that nearly half of all schools in the UK have unfilled positions in their schools, with many being forced to put unqualified teachers in front of classes because of the skills gap. 

Only a quarter are taking the more beneficial option for pupils of bringing in supply teachers to fill gaps and make sure that the standard of education being delivered does not fall below expected standards. 

In addition to these statistics, the TES report also said that a number of head teachers (one in ten) are now choosing to recruit from overseas because there is not a high enough flow of new qualified teachers coming into the sector throughout the UK.

It also said that one in eight schools are having to ask teachers to switch subjects in order to make sure they can still deliver core classes to pupils. This shows that more funding is needed from the government to make sure that young skilled people are attracted into teacher training nationwide. 

The study showed that the east of England struggles most when it comes to attracting skilled applicants, while London, the south-west and West Midlands have also had some issues with recruitment in recent times. 

The report from TES also said science and maths teacher vacancies are the hardest to fill, and English and IT also suffer from shortages. 

TES Global chief executive Rob Grimshaw said the figures highlighted the problems faced by schools in some areas. "By sharing this data we hope to support a collective and targeted response to difficulties with teacher recruitment in specific subjects and regions," he said.