High-flying Birmingham teachers are being 'poached' in a new campaign to fill a shortage of staff in the south of England.

Kent County Council has launched an online initiative to tempt teachers away from the inner city and relocate to the Garden of England.

The council is looking to Birmingham to address a growing shortage of experienced teaching staff in the South East county.

Kent, which has more than 600 schools, has traditionally struggled to compete with higher salaries and easy commute to nearby London.

And with a large number of head teachers due to retire over the next few years, the need for top teachers is more pressing than ever.

The Facebook campaign, called Your Perfect Kent Day, is being launched next week.

In a promotional email, a spokeswoman said: "Experienced teachers of Birmingham are being enticed to a better lifestyle - one in the country, near the southern coast and near to the UK's capital city - to Kent.

"A campaign, launching next week on Facebook, will encourage Birmingham's finest educators to consider the many teaching jobs, including head teacher and leadership roles, within the 'Garden of England'."

But the move has been slammed by one Birmingham MP Khalid Mahmood, who accused Kent County Council of "poaching teachers".

Liz King from recruitment firm TMP Worldwide, which devised the campaign, said other areas were also being targeted by the county.

"If a teacher is going to move schools, they want to do it anyway. What we want to do is give them the opportunity and the option to consider Kent where they may not have considered it before.

"Birmingham is certainly one of the areas we are interested in. We do recognise that Birmingham has some pretty amazing schools and some good teaching talent, those two factors are key.

"There is also a difference between Kent as a county and Birmingham as a city. Birmingham is a metropolitan, very commercial, very vibrant city and then you have the difference of the remoteness of parts of Kent and that countryside aspect."

Kent County Council has the largest education department in the UK, with 14,000 teachers responsible for 300,000 students.

Nearly 1,700 teaching posts were advertised in the county between 2011 and 2012, the figure is expected to rise again during the 2012/13 academic year.

A total of 251 head teacher and leadership posts have been advertised in the past year alone.

Education bosses say Kent needs more experienced male and head teachers as well as specialists in art, languages, English, maths, chemistry and biology, particularly in the east of the county.

The new campaign invites teaching to "look again at Kent", and post their idea of the perfect day in Kent on a specially-designed Facebook page.

The most popular story wins a trip to the county, and footage of the visit will be used in footage will be used for online video adverts.

"This isn't about saying where you live now isn't a nice place to live, rather it is about offering people alternatives," added Ms King. "Kent is a great place for a long-term family lifestyle choice. You have the option of going to London for your cosmopolitan kicks, but Kent has the most phenomenal scenery and lifestyle.

"You can pop off to France for a day trip, and there are so many places to visit in Kent. The career choices are there too, from village schools through to grammar and comprehensive schools."

The campaign has been met with criticism from Perry Barr Labour MP Mr Mahmood, who said Kent County Council should concentrate on training more teachers.

Mr Mahmood said: "A lot of hard work has gone into supporting and developing young teachers in Birmingham, and results show that education in Birmingham is getting better.

"Kent County Council shouldn't be poaching our teachers. They should be looking at national organisations like Teach First if they need to find extra teachers.

"Instead of trying to find senior teachers in Birmingham to fill head teacher posts, why aren't they looking to their own deputy heads and senior teachers to take over?"

Birmingham City Council education chief, Coun Brigid Jones, said: "It is good - but unsurprising - news that Kent County Council thinks so highly of Birmingham's teachers.

"Here in the city there are fantastic opportunities for both newly qualified and experienced teachers in a range of different schools, and we have excellent support from our universities.

"Add to this living in an energetic and cosmopolitan city and I'm confident we will continue to attract and keep a pool of dedicated, professional teachers."