On the face of it, the £8.2m spent on providing supply cover through private companies for teachers in Bradford’s schools does seem a significant figure, and one that possibly needs closer examination.

But when it is divided between the large number of different schools that come under the overall banner of the education authority, then perhaps it is not as bad as it initially seems.

And what is clear is that the figure has shown a significant reduction over the last two years, as it stood at £10m in 2010-11.

There will be varied reasons why schools have a greater need for supply than others, but classes always need to be covered and it is impossible to legislate for people going off sick.

What needs to be investigated closely is how much of that it is due to stress and pressure on teachers, and whether the demands constantly made on them are too unreasonable.

Having said all of that, anything that can be done to alleviate the situation would be welcome, and it does seem a little strange that so much is being paid to private firms.

However, Coun Ralph Berry’s suggestion of sharing resources among schools needs carefully looking at before it goes any further. If the pool of staff he is suggesting schools share as supply cover is simply intended to come from the existing resources, that can only increase the strain on teachers. If, however, he is talking about a pool of supply teachers employed by schools but in addition to current staffing levels, then there may well be merit in the idea.

What is clear though is that although this is a significant cost, there can be no shortcuts taken with the education of our children, and any measures to alleviate the problem must put the schools and their pupils to the fore.