Rennie reveals 1,250 teaching posts had to be readvertised in two years
Scottish Liberal Democrat education spokesperson Willie Rennie has today unveiled new research showing that more than 1,250 teaching posts have gone unfilled and had to be readvertised in the past two years.
The figures uncovered by his party through freedom of information requests also reveal:
- Moray was the worst hit with 252 roles readvertised in the past two years, Aberdeen has had to readvertise 206, Shetland 90, Argyll & Bute 70, Highland 62 and Dumfries & Galloway 61.
- Orkney has a teaching post which has been vacant since 2019. Aberdeen, Argyll & Bute, South Lanarkshire and the Western Isles all have posts vacant for more than 10 months.
- Argyll & Bute currently has more than 20 roles which are being readvertised, while Orkney has 38.
- Struggles to recruit Maths teachers in Aberdeen, Angus, Dumfries & Galloway, Dundee, Highland and North Ayrshire.
- Orkney advertised a four-hours-a-week role 10 times. Western Isles advertised a PE teacher role nine times. A Home Economics teacher role in Aberdeen was advertised six times. East Ayrshire also advertised a role six times.
Mr Rennie said:
Qualified teachers are enduring years of short term, zero hours contracts yet some schools are advertising roles over and over again without success. We must make teaching an attractive role if we are to tackle these shortfalls.
This data suggests that there are acute shortage in rural areas and in key subjects like maths.
Terrible workforce planning has resulted in missed opportunities for so many young people and so many teachers too. If we want every young person reach their potential they need teachers who can inform and inspire
Scottish Liberal Democrats want to see new three-year packages for probationers who are willing to take on hard-to-fill roles, as well as offering “teacher premiums” to reward the best teachers in schools with the greatest need.
No one believes education is high up the SNP’s agenda. That’s why we need a change of government to get Scottish education back to its best.
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5 Comments
With the emphasis on using School exclusion as an absolute last resort , Scottish teachers are having to face classrooms with unruly pupils to the detriment of others that are fully engaged in learning. A policy that on the surface is well meaning, but in practice cannot be sustained in the long term. Only one pupil in Scotland faced exclusion – you only need to read many teachers comments on the subject realise why so many vacancies remain unfilled.
Education is the bedrock of a successful country. Those willing to learn should be encouraged.Troublesome children SHOULD be dealt with. Those who disrupt will have many reasons for their activity. Away from normal school environment they can be looked at to solve their problems and then be ready to learn.
Before people start jumping to big conclusions about the behaviour of pupils it should be noticed that the biggest problem appears to be in the more remote parts of Scotland…… where not everybody wants to move to or to live. This might not such a big deal as is suggested.
There are two separate problems in staffing Scotland’s secondary schools.
1) a year on year failure to attract sufficient new trainees to fill the number of training places available, especially in already in shortage subject areas
2) more trained teachers than available posts in central Scotland, many unfilled vacancies away from the central belt, and a reluctance or inability of those looking for posts to relocate in order to secure a permanent post.
The solution to both issues comes down to money. Pay for secondary teachers is exactly the same as the pay for primary teachers despite the fact that common levels of pay attract an excess supply of applicants for primary teacher training, but an under supply of applicants for secondary teacher training. Increasing pay for secondary teachers above that paid to primary teachers may help attract more of those attracted to teaching into the secondary sector.
To attract beyond teachers to move beyond the central belt, councils need to pay an additional allowance – which is already done for jobs in the islands.
On the subject of exclusion, when I was a governor of a school in Hornchurch, we had a system where a pupil who couldn’t be dealt with in the classroom was looked after in a room by themselves or in a small group. one advantage was that some of these pupils didn’t much like being separated from their colleagues and improved their behaviour. More flexible and less drastic than exclusion from the school, but at an extra cost in staff and accommodation.