UNION WARNS ON FUTURE TEACHER SHORTAGES

The Scottish Secondary Teachers’ Association today warned local authorities not to risk future teacher shortages by reducing management posts in schools.

“Many local authorities, for reasons best known to themselves, have recently decided to reduce the number of management posts in secondary schools. This particularly affects Principal Teacher posts, although senior management posts are also being reduced.

These reductions, now and in coming years, will not only reduce the effectiveness of school management in the short term, but are also likely to store up future problems for recruiting staff”, said David Eaglesham, General Secretary.

“With almost half of secondary teachers due to retire within 10 years, there will already be a serious recruitment problem over that period. Doubling the impact of this will be a smaller recruitment pool of potential staff”.

“Those local authorities who compound this problem by laying waste to their career structures in schools will find it even more difficult to recruit new staff as teachers will opt to work in authorities who do offer some prospect of career advancement through management posts. Where such a choice exists, the losers will be the authorities who are currently destroying management structures. Ironically, they may then have to repeat the 1970’s strategy of creating new management posts simply to attract new teachers.”

The Association believes that acting wisely now will avoid storing up such problems for future years.

Further details from:

David Eaglesham
General Secretary