The man responsible for the increasingly influential Pisa tests recently told ministers that autonomy was a crucial element of any successful schools system.

Andreas Schleicher, division head and coordinator of the Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development's Programme for International Student Assessment, said the most successful models find a way to instil local autonomy. 

Under the coalition autonomous academies have become widespread, now outnumbering traditional secondary schools, but there has been much debate about whether flexibility has come at a cost. Indeed, Mr Schleicher warned MPs that autonomy needs to be tempered by strong public accountability.

The most recent Department for Education census figures reveal a significant rise in the number of unqualified teachers operating in the UK. Academies possess the autonomy they need to hire anyone they wish even if they have no formal teaching qualifications and it appears they are doing exactly that - with great gusto. In less than two years, the number of people in frontline classroom jobs without qualified teaching status (QTS) in academies and free schools rose by 2,600 to nearly 8,000. This means that nearly six per cent of the 141,000 full-time teaching staff at autonomous schools lack teaching accreditation. 

How can this be a positive shift?

Education secretary Michael Gove believes the freedom to employ industry experts without QTS is beneficial, as it brings external expertise into the classroom. But what about the expertise of teaching? Is autonomy providing a fair trade-off of skills? Specialist teaching recruiter TLTP Education believes the ability to hire staff without standard qualifications is undermining the best interests of both pupils and the teaching profession.

"I can't think of any other sector where you would claim to be aiming to raise standards by not employing qualified staff," explained Darryl Mydat, managing director of TLTP Education. 

"It is not something that will not sit well with parents, it demotivates qualified teachers who have worked hard to achieve a recognised standard and does little to enhance the reputation of the profession. There's more to being a great teacher than simply knowing your subject – any experienced teacher will tell you that. We would urge the education secretary to think again."

At a time when the teaching profession is under threat due to rows about pay, pensions and working conditions the government's attitude could be very damaging. As skilled teachers leave the classroom they are not being adequately replaced, the subsequent rise of unqualified teachers facilitated by autonomy is actually having a negative impact on the level of expertise in the education system. This cheapens the sociological standing of the teacher, further limiting the supply of high quality graduates to the profession, meaning more vacancies may need to be filled with substandard teaching staff.

Mr Mydat wants the government to end the cycle by admitting the rise of unqualified teachers is harming the British schools system and urges ministers to do more to encourage former qualified teachers to back to the profession.

"We all know there is a shortage of teachers but recruiting unqualified staff is not the answer. More can be done to attract teachers back to the profession. We know experienced teachers who have left the profession, for whatever reason, who would be interested in returning if the route back was made easier for them," he explained.

The unchecked rush for autonomy has weakened the teacher talent pool and now the country is not in a situation where it can afford to make life difficult for experienced, qualified teachers who want to return to the profession. Some level of accountability needs to be restored and schools need to be encouraged or even incentivised to create the right blend of newly qualified and experienced teaching staff that is required to stop the rot.