NORTHUMBERLAND schools have been stripped of 171 teachers in just a year, according to newly-released statistics.

The Department for Education statistics were published alongside its School Workforce in England report at the end of June, and they show that across the North-East, cuts have been made to teaching staff in publicly-funded schools.

And the biggest drop in the region is in Northumberland, where the 3,042 teachers in 2016 has dropped to 2,871 in 2017 – a 5.6 per cent fall.

Coun. Wayne Daley, cabinet member for children’s services at Northumberland County Council, said: “Recruitment and retention of teachers is a national issue and not just a Northumberland one.

“However, the west and north of the county have, for a number of years, presented as particularly challenging in terms of teacher recruitment and retention.

“It is a key challenge to realise the educational ambition for the North of Tyne area in the proposed devolution deal and all three authorities are working closely together to ensure that the very best teachers nationally choose the North-East to start and develop their teaching careers.”

The figures published by the Government show that the number of teachers in schools across the country fell by over 5,000 between 2016 and 2017.

MP Angela Rayner, Labour’s shadow education secretary, said that the number of teachers has declined for the first time in over six years because of the Government’s failure to give teachers the support they need.

Heavy workloads, staff shortages and increasing pupil numbers have been blamed for increasing pressure on teachers and driving them out of the classrooms.

Ms Rayner added: “As vacancies continue to rise, schools will be left with no choice but spending more and more on supply agencies, which are costing schools hundreds of millions of pounds a year.”

And with schools in Northumberland anticipating a period of change, the future seems uncertain.

As part of Northumberland County Council’s consultation on the future of schools in west Northumberland, it proposed that Bellingham Middle School should close.

This has plunged the future of teaching posts in Bellingham into uncertainty.

While Bellingham First School would become a primary, increasing its age range to four to 11, children in years 7 and 8 would instead go to Haydon Bridge High School – meaning less children would be taught in Bellingham.

And a report presented to the county council’s cabinet on Tuesday revealed that various issues at West Woodburn First School, such as pupil numbers, staffing and finance, could prevent the school becoming an effective primary in 2019.

The report said that there would be only two part-time teachers in post at the school in September, and concerns were raised about whether it could close altogether.

But despite the pressures on teaching in Northumberland and in other parts of the country, the Department for Education said that the number of teachers remains high.

It said there were more than 450,000 teachers in classrooms across the country. However, it admitted there was more work to be done.

“An additional 32,000 trainee teachers were recruited last year, despite an extremely competitive graduate labour market, which shows that teaching continues to be an attractive career,” added a Department for Education spokeswoman.

“Teacher recruitment will always be challenging in a strong economy with record numbers of jobs.

“But we know there is more to do, which is why the education secretary has made it his top priority to make sure teaching remains an attractive and fulfilling profession.

“We are building on our strategy to drive recruitment and boost retention of teachers, working with the unions and professional bodies, and pledge to strip away workload that doesn’t add value in the classroom.”