Funding enables council to recruit teachers

Moray Council will recruit more than 20 new teachers to plug gaps in the region’s classrooms after receiving a government grant of £1.2 million.

The local authority’s chief executive, Roddy Burns, said the extra cash will allow the council to hire 23 teachers and nine support staff – which should help close the area’ s attainment gap.

Moray MSP Richard Lochhead welcomed the funding , which comes after years of teacher shortages blighting the region and at a particularly “challenging” time for school staff.

He said “This has undoubtedly been an incredibly challenging year for teachers, school staff, and young people across Moray, and it’s important that the authorities continue to do what they can to ensure our local schools have the support they need going forward.

“Earlier this year the Scottish Government committed to making funds available to local authorities to cover additional costs in schools associated with Covid, and also for the recruitment of extra teachers and support staff to help mitigate any gaps in learning caused by school closures earlier in the year.

“I recently met with the chief executive of Moray Council and one of the many issues we discussed was the reopening of schools and the need to ensure that the workforce and students receive as much support as possible, following months of upheaval and disruption.”

He continued: “I think parents across Moray will be pleased to hear that, as part of plans for this extra cash, the council intends to recruit more teachers and support staff.”