Concerns raised over impact of teacher absences on exam results in Powys schools

By Elgan Hearn, Local Democracy Reporter

Concerns have been raised that teacher sickness and the increasing need for supply staff could be affecting pupils’ education and exam prospects in Powys secondary schools.

Councillors have questioned whether pupils are receiving the same quality of teaching when their regular teachers are absent, particularly during crucial examination years.

The issue was discussed at a meeting of Powys County Council’s Learning and Skills Scrutiny Committee on Thursday, as members examined the authority’s latest performance figures.

A report covering April to June 2026 revealed that council staff sickness absence had reached an average of 2.69 days per full-time employee, exceeding the target of two days.

Cllr Angela Davies (Liberal Democrat – Rhayader) questioned the impact of staff absences on schools, raising concerns about workloads, stress and the potential for teacher burnout.

“I would imagine if you’re in a school with children there’s a lot of bugs going around,” she said.

“Is there any link to wellbeing? I have raised issues in the past about the resilience of our staff and burnout because of stress levels due to the workload.”

Interim Head of People Services, Gemma Gabriel, told the committee that Powys had recorded the lowest sickness absence rates among Wales’ 22 local authorities in recent years.

However, she acknowledged that absence levels had risen over the previous five quarters, with anxiety and stress increasingly being cited as reasons for staff taking time off across the council.

Cllr Davies said she was particularly concerned about the financial and educational consequences for schools forced to find replacement teachers at short notice.

“My concern is the cost to schools because getting stand-in staff at short notice is really expensive,” she said.

“The cost is not just financial but pupil attainment, and if their regular teacher is absent then there must surely be an impact.”

She questioned whether schools could realistically find specialist supply teachers at short notice, particularly in subjects where pupils were preparing for important examinations.

“I imagine it would be very difficult to find a supply teacher at short notice who is a subject specialist. The impact on those pupils’ learning must be greater,” she added.

The council’s Director of Education, Dr Richard Jones, acknowledged the concerns but said establishing a direct link between supply teaching and examination performance was difficult.

However, he admitted that replacement teachers rarely offered exactly the same level of provision as permanent staff who were familiar with individual pupils and their learning needs.

“What we are clear on is that when they are not having their normal teacher, in very rare cases do they get the same quality provision that they get from a teacher who is permanently in front of them, who knows their needs,” he told councillors.

Cllr Lauren D'Silva (Liberal Democrat – Llandrindod South) also raised concerns about the availability of specialist teachers during prolonged periods of sickness absence.

She asked whether schools could match supply teachers to the subjects they were required to teach, stressing that this could make a “massive difference during exam years”.

Head of School Improvement and Learning Sally Llewelyn explained that secondary schools often reorganised their existing teaching staff when a specialist teacher responsible for an examination class was absent.

This allowed schools to prioritise pupils approaching their GCSEs and other examinations by ensuring they continued to receive teaching from subject specialists wherever possible.

However, she acknowledged that such arrangements could create a “knock-on effect” for other year groups.

Ms Llewelyn said maintaining a reliable pool of familiar supply teachers was therefore essential.

She added that many Powys secondary schools now employed permanent cover supervisors who could step in when teachers were absent.

Although these staff might not be specialists in the subjects they were covering, their familiarity with pupils offered an important advantage over bringing in someone completely unknown to the class.

“While they may not be a specialist, they are known to the children and have a relationship with them, so the class is not being picked up by a stranger,” she explained.

The discussion highlighted the challenges facing Powys schools as they attempt to manage staff absences while maintaining teaching standards and protecting pupils’ educational progress.

Although council officers could not provide evidence of a direct impact on examination results, they acknowledged the difficulties caused by teacher absences and the importance of maintaining continuity in the classroom.

The committee’s comments and recommendations will now be forwarded to the council's Cabinet for consideration.