Fife failing to fill teaching posts

More than 150 jobs had to be readvertised

Fife is struggling to fill vacant teacher posts.

New figures show more than 150 jobs had to be readvertised this year after failing to attract suitable candidates, compared to only 59 in 2016.

The rate throughout the kingdom was the highest of all the Scottish local authorities.

Mid Scotland and Fife Conservative MSP Liz Smith called on the Scottish Government to give extra support to Fife Council to help it tackle the recruitment crisis.

A Scottish Government spokesperson said it provided £88 million every year to help councils maintain teacher numbers and had taken “decisive action” to recruit and retain staff.

Fife’s head of service Shelagh McLean insisted the kingdom was actively recruiting and said the current vacancy level represented a very low percentage of the overall staffing complement.

Fife is facing a teacher recruitment crisis, according to new figures.

More than a hundred teaching posts have had to be readvertised in the last two years as the kingdom struggles to fill vacancies.

The data, obtained under a freedom of information request by the Scottish Conservatives, shows 151 posts have been readvertised this year compared to just 59 in 2016.

The rate was the highest of all the local authorities in Scotland.

Fife also recorded one of the largest year-on-year percentage increases.

By contrast, school bosses in Perth and Kinross managed to reduce the number of readvertised posts by 35% between 2017 and 2018.

Across Scotland nearly 3,000 teaching posts were re-advertised over the past three years.

Dubbing the statistics “alarming” Mid Scotland and Fife Conservative MSP Liz Smith said they showed poor workforce planning.

“Teachers already face significant workload pressures and a failure to recruit enough teachers is adding to this burden,” she said.

“More teachers are retiring early and a high percentage are leaving the profession entirely.

“We need more places at university to meet demand and we need a government that listens to those already working in the profession.

“For Fife to have the highest number of readvertised posts in Scotland is concerning and the council should be given additional support from the Scottish Government to bring this number down in the coming year,” she added.

A Scottish Government spokesperson said it continued to provide £88 million annually to support councils to maintain teacher numbers, and there were 543 more teachers in 2017 than in 2016.

Nearly 2,900 newly qualified probationer teachers started on an induction scheme in 2017 – 231 more than last year.

The Scottish Government has also launched its Teaching Makes People campaign and made bursaries available so career changers could train in priority subjects.

Shelagh McLean, Fife’s head of service, said the local authority was actively recruiting, taking every opportunity to advertise posts and attract more teachers to Fife.

“We employ 4,200 teachers in Fife schools so our current vacancy level is a very low percentage of our overall staffing complement,” she said.

“The number of vacancies is slightly higher than we would normally expect, reflecting the national position, but we have made good progress in filling primary vacancies.”

Teachers already face significant workload pressures and a failure to recruit enough teachers is adding to this burden. LIZ SMITH MSP

Picture: Andrew Cowan. MSP Liz Smith has called on the government to provide additional support.