Nursery staff face move into schools
● Nursery teachers could take primary subjects, and class sizes may increase
A council has warned it may have to move nursery staff into primary school classes due to a teacher shortage. Clackmannanshire Council also said some children in the right catchment areas may be turned away, while class sizes could rise beyond the maximum limits.
The shortage could also have a “major impact” on school improvement and moves to close the attainment gap, the local authority added.
The issue was raised in a briefing note from the council’s education department and highlighted by the Scottish Conservatives.
Nursery teachers could be drafted in to take primary school classes because of a staffing crisis, a Scottish council has warned.
The measure is contained in a risk assessment briefing note on teacher shortages from Clackmannanshire Council outlining the crisis which may face its primary education service when pupils return next month for the 2017-18 academic year.
The council, which has 18 primary schools, said it is short of 13 primary teachers needed to maintain the national pupilteacher ratio and to meet the expected increase of 90 extra pupils in the new school year.
The report from Anne Pearson, the council’s chief education officer, lists other emergency measures the council may have to take.
These include the possibility of some schools being unable to hold classes for certain year groups, turning away children in catchment areas, and class size limits probably being breached, with some breaking the 30-child limit.
In February, the council employed 25 teachers where they “appointed all applicants who met our minimum standard”. A recruitment campaign in May failed to attract suitable candidates.
While the council said it has enough teachers to fill vacant posts at the start of term, this relies on staff not leaving and no staff absences. There is also potentially no cover for teachers who may leave or are absent for reasons such as maternity leave.
Liz Smith, Scottish Conservative education spokeswoman, called for the Scottish Government to take urgent action to prevent any of the council’s emergency measures having to be implemented.
She said: “The SNP must take serious heed of these warnings, and act urgently to ensure these scenarios coming down the track don’t play out.”
Larry Flanagan, general secretary of teaching union the Educational Institute of Scotland, said the move would increase the attainment gap by downgrading pre-school children’s education.
A spokeswoman for the Scottish Government said: “All primary teachers registered with the General Teaching Council for Scotland are fully qualified to teach in both primary and early years settings.
“Local authorities are free to assign staff as needed and it is not uncommon for teachers to work across both nursery and primary school settings as required.”