More than 1,250 teaching posts have gone unfilled and have had to be readvertised in the past two years, according to new data.
The figures uncovered by the Scottish Liberal Democrats show that some authorities had more than a dozen roles being readvertised - with some roles having to be advertised up to 10 times.
In Orkney, one teaching post had remained unfilled since 2019.
Call for three-year contracts
On the back of the data, the party’s education spokesperson, Willie Rennie, is calling for probationers who are prepared to take on hard-to-fill jobs to be given three-year contracts.
He also suggests there should be “teacher premiums” with higher salaries offered to teachers of shortage subjects willing to work in schools struggling to recruit.
The new data comes as teacher education institutions struggle to fill places on secondary courses. For two years running, just half of places on the most popular route into secondary teaching, the PGDE, have been filled.
The figures also follow research published by School Leaders Scotland last week that found a third of surveyed secondaries have had to amend their curriculum because of staff shortages.
The survey revealed:
- Moray was the worst-hit council with 252 roles readvertised in the past two years; Aberdeen had to readvertise 206 roles; Shetland 90; Argyll and Bute 70; Highland 62; and Dumfries and Galloway 61.
- Orkney has a teaching post that has been vacant since 2019. Aberdeen, Argyll and Bute, South Lanarkshire and the Western Isles all had posts vacant for more than 10 months.
- Argyll and Bute had more than 20 roles being readvertised, while Orkney had 38.
- There were struggles to recruit maths teachers in Aberdeen, Angus, Dumfries and Galloway, Dundee, Highland and North Ayrshire.
- Orkney advertised a part-time role 10 times; Western Isles advertised a PE teacher role nine times; a home economics teacher role in Aberdeen was advertised six times; East Ayrshire also advertised a role six times.
Mr Rennie said: “Qualified teachers are enduring years of short-term, zero-hours contracts yet some schools are advertising roles over and over again without success. We must make teaching an attractive role if we are to tackle these shortfalls.
“This data suggests that there are acute shortages in rural areas and in key subjects like maths.”
He added: “Terrible workforce planning has resulted in missed opportunities for so many young people and so many teachers too. If we want every young person to reach their potential, they need teachers who can inform and inspire.”
You can now get the UK’s most trusted source of education news in a mobile app. Get Tes magazine on Android. The iOS version is coming soon
