BY JACKIE MACKENZIE
A Highland education chief has welcomed Scottish Government funding to help attract teachers to rural and island schools – but says it is not enough to make a difference.
Skye Highland councillor John Finlayson, chairman of the authority’s education committee, spoke out after Scottish education secretary Màiri McAllan set out her priorities in Holyrood last week.
Among them was a new £1 million pilot fund to support teachers taking up posts in rural and island communities with relocation and housing costs, to help attract teachers to hard-to-fill posts and encourage them to remain long-term.
This is alongside wider ongoing national work to deliver a teacher job guarantee for a minimum of three years for newly-qualified teachers, and reduce class contact time
But Councillor Finlayson said: “While I am delighted that finally consideration is being given by the Scottish Government to the unique and widespread challenges that rural authorities face, with the recruitment and retention of teachers for some subjects, £1 million pounds shared among the many councils who will be eligible to receive funding is not going to make the difference required.
“The added pressures that are also associated with a further reduction in class contact time for all teachers which will see a further 90-minute reduction to 21 hours maximum class contact time, means more teachers will be needed across the whole country which, I believe, will mean it will be even harder for rural authorities to recruit staff.”
Councillor Finlayson also believes that graduate teachers should be designated schools, where the need is greatest, rather than choosing where they want to work themselves.
“Huge challenges lie ahead for authorities like Highland,” he said, “and I personally believe that when teachers graduate and are guaranteed a job to complete their probationer year, they should be assigned to schools that have vacancies and require staff, and not have the wide freedom of choice that currently exists.”
In her statement to parliament, Ms McAllan also confirmed councils would receive up to £2.8 million to help address school meal debt, to ease the cost of living for families that need it most, while work continues to expand free school meals.
In addition she set out plans to improve attainment, attendance, behaviour and curriculum, including streamlining guidance so that councils and schools can deliver more consistently on national policies.
