Teaching vacancies advertised by primary and secondary schools across Bournemouth, Christchurch and Poole rose significantly last year, new figures suggest.

The Association of School and College Leaders said teacher shortages are at a "crisis point" and urged the Government to address falling recruitment and retention.

Data from teaching jobs site TeachVac shows primary and secondary schools in Bournemouth, Christchurch and Poole posted 674 vacancies through its website over the course of last year – up by 68% on 401 the year before.

Of these, 158 were advertised by primary schools and 516 by secondary schools.

Across England, teacher vacancies increased significantly in 2022 as the profession faced increasing recruitment and retention pressures following the coronavirus pandemic – job listings on TeachVac increased from 64,283 in 2021 to 107,104 last year.

The City of London – which has a very small residential population – was the only area to see the number of advertised teaching vacancies decrease.

Some jobs can be listed more than once if they are not initially filled, and not every teaching vacancy is posted to the TeachVac site.

Across the country, the increase in teacher vacancies through TeachVac was largely driven by state schools, where job advertisements increased by 68% in 2022, compared with 52% for independent schools.

In Bournemouth, Christchurch and Poole, state school advertisements jumped by 69%, while private school vacancies rose from 31 to 50.

The Department for Education said there are 24,000 more teachers working in state-funded schools than in 2010.

A spokesperson said tax-free bursaries worth up to £27,000 and a new £3,000 premium encourage trainees to teach subjects including maths, physics, chemistry and computing.

They added: "We are making the highest pay awards in a generation – 5% for experienced teachers and more for those early in their careers, including an up to 8.9% increase to starting salary."