Business studies, computing, home economics, languages, modern studies and physics are among the subjects losing a foothold in Scottish school timetables - or disappearing altogether - because of teacher shortages, a survey shows.
Secondary schools begin each day with an average shortfall of almost three staff, even before factoring in staff absences and medical appointments, finds School Leaders Scotland (SLS).
Even the subjects with the most pupils - maths and English - are affected, with primary teachers often providing cover in S1-2.
Graham Hutton, SLS general secretary, said: “Scotland’s teacher shortage is severely impacting school staffing levels, curriculum offer and pupil attainment. Mathematics and English are disproportionately affected, and rural areas suffer the most vacancies.
“While some schools have adapted, many face reduced course options, increased class sizes and reliance on temporary staff, if they can be found. Addressing these challenges requires urgent intervention through improved recruitment, better retention strategies and policy support.”
SLS is calling for improved salaries and conditions for teachers, more funding for schools to ensure they are properly staffed, and online learning solutions for rural areas in particular.
‘Ongoing struggle to maintain staffing levels’
The survey gathered responses from 147 of Scotland’s 360 state secondary schools - drawn from 31 of the 32 local authorities - as well as some from the independent sector.
It reveals what, after weighing up data on teaching vacancies, SLS describes as an “ongoing struggle to maintain staffing levels”.
Scottish secondaries “begin each day with an average shortfall of almost three staff”, says SLS, even before factoring in staff absences, appointments and other reasons for being away from school. This includes support staff shortages (factoring in both classroom- and office-based support); on average, schools are short of nearly one member of support staff.
SLS says that an average of 38 periods of class cover are needed, when “supply teachers are thin on the ground at best, and non-existent in many areas”.
Meanwhile, SLS calculates that the Scottish government’s proposed extra 90 minutes of non-class-contact time would, in a medium-sized secondary of 1,350 students, require another 7.4 FTE teachers.
Some 23.5 per cent of staff vacancies reported are in maths and 11.7 per cent in English, “which significantly affects attainment, given their importance in national education metrics”.
Many schools forced to shrink curriculum
While 63 per cent of schools reported no changes to their curriculum, more than a third “have had to adjust their curriculum offer due to staff shortages”.
Changes include:
- Computing being removed from the curriculum in 20 schools, while National 4 and National 5 computing are taught by non-specialists in some cases.
- Technical subjects (including craft, design and technology) being removed in nine schools and scaled back in dozens of others.
- Home economics and related subjects being cut entirely from eight schools and reduced in many others.
- Languages such as French, German, Spanish and Mandarin being scaled back in nine schools.
- Business studies (including economics and accounting) being cut in six schools.
- Other subjects - including music technology; media; physics; and modern studies - being removed from or considerably reduced in a smaller number of schools.
SLS says that its survey underlines how staff shortages are “limiting student opportunities in both vocational and core academic subjects”. Teacher shortages have a “direct and serious impact” on students in various ways:
- Fewer teachers can result in bigger classes, reducing opportunities for individual support.
- Exam performance can be affected, including in “core subjects” such as maths and English.
- Schools may have to call on supply staff who are not qualified in the shortage subject, or on primary teachers.
- Teachers’ increased workload could lead to burnout.
- Rural and disadvantaged areas tend to suffer more from staffing shortages, resulting in widening attainment gaps - some 56 per cent of vacancies in the SLS survey are outside the Central Belt and there is a “dire shortage” of Gaelic-medium maths and science teachers.
Ways to address teacher shortages
SLS identifies several ways to address staffing difficulties, including improvements to teachers’ salaries and conditions. It suggests more flexible working conditions and a review of the Teacher Induction Scheme - last Thursday, education secretary Jenny Gilruth indicated that the latter would happen.
It also wants to see a review of teacher registration categories by the General Teaching Council for Scotland, and more diversity and inclusion in the recruitment of teachers.
SLS calls, too, for more “online learning solutions [to] supplement in-person teaching, especially in geographically remote regions”, and increased education funding.
A Scottish government spokesperson recognised “the challenges around teacher numbers, particularly within certain subjects” and that this was “a global issue that is not unique to Scotland”.
They said: “On Tuesday, the cabinet secretary [for education, Jenny Gilruth] met School Leaders Scotland and agreed to host a roundtable with them, the General Teaching Council for Scotland, Cosla and other professional associations to discuss these challenges in more detail.
“The number of teachers in Scotland’s classrooms has increased by more than 2,500 over the past decade as a result of direct funding from the Scottish government. We also continue to invest more per pupil than in England and have the lowest-pupil teacher ratio in the UK. Scotland’s teachers also continue to be the best paid in the UK. And we are also providing councils £186.5 million this year to restore teacher numbers to 2023 levels.”
The spokesperson added: “We are working hard to encourage more students to take up a career in teaching. Our Teaching Bursary Scheme provides funding to career changers wishing to undertake a teaching degree in the hardest to fill subjects. We will be reviewing the scheme this year to ensure it can support more student teachers in key subjects.
“We are also working with Scottish Teachers Advancing Computing Science on wider initiatives to promote teaching as a valued career choice for computing students. Additionally, we are providing £140,000 to Aberdeen University to deliver a pilot programme that enables students with relevant HND qualifications to convert to teaching computing.”
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