Commenting on the report in Tes Scotland that Scottish schools are spending up to three years trying to recruit headteachers, Scottish Labour’s education spokesperson Iain Gray said: “This is the latest evidence of the teacher shortage all across Scotland, and the crisis in headteacher recruitment in particular.
“There are 4,000 fewer teachers under the SNP and we know that it will now take up to three years to deal with the shortage.
“John Swinney has been told there is a problem with teachers’ pay generally and for senior posts especially. Many teachers already feel the headteacher’s role means too much responsibility for too little return.
“Not only is the Education Secretary not listening, he is proposing to pile yet more responsibilities onto headteachers, with no additional resources or salary rise.
“Mr Swinney’s governance review also appears to want to normalise the idea of headteachers managing several schools, instead of addressing the issue.
“This will only worsen a situation which is the result of years of SNP mismanagement of education, with a government that has been too distracted to get on with the day job.
“Only Labour has a plan to stop the cuts and invest in education, building a country for our youngsters that works for the many, not the few.”
NOTES
The Tes Scotland report can be read here: https://www.tes.com/news/school-news/breaking-news/scottish-schools-spending-three-years-trying-recruit-headteachers
West Dunbartonshire Councillor Martin Rooney 