Schools are facing the worst shortage of teachers for decades with the latest figures revealing that up to 40 per cent of teachers with three years experience are leaving the profession.

In a Guardian interview, Ofsted chief Mike Tomlinson said the crisis was the worst since he entered teaching in 1965 and called on the government to do more to retain teachers.

"I think over my period of time in education this is about the third major cycle of this sort. I do think this is probably the worst of the three - more widespread," he told the newspaper.