Around 5,000 teachers in Scotland are on temporary contracts, according to figures obtained by the Scottish Conservatives.
Responses to Freedom of Information requests by the party revealed that 4,951 teachers were employed on temporary contracts as of June 1 2023 – although the true figure is likely to be even higher, as three councils did not respond.
This comes against the backdrop of delayed education reforms, plummeting teacher morale and escalating classroom violence.
Scottish Conservative shadow education secretary Liam Kerr MSP has slammed the figures, saying that “teachers have been pushed to breaking point” on the SNP’s watch.
He added that the Scottish Conservatives’ New Deal for Teachers would “put an end to this culture of temporary contracts and give school staff more security”.
Scottish Conservative shadow cabinet secretary for education Liam Kerr MSP said: “Our teachers are the backbone of Scotland’s education system, but they have been badly let down by 16 years of SNP neglect.
“Standards have slipped across the board, classroom violence has spiralled out of control and we have seen an alarming number of stress-related absences among school staff on the SNP’s watch.
“And now it has emerged that thousands of teachers are stuck on temporary contracts. This just adds to the intolerable strain that teachers are already operating under, as it fuels job insecurity, while denying pupils stability and continuity.
“Our teachers have been pushed to breaking point under the SNP as they are continually overstretched and under-resourced.
“The Scottish Conservatives’ New Deal for Teachers will put an end to this culture of temporary contracts and give school staff more security.
“The Scottish Conservatives recognise that teachers must be supported in their invaluable work and that it is vital to recruit and retain the very best people.”
NOTES:
There are almost 5,000 teachers on temporary contracts. Scottish Conservative research has found that 4,951 school teachers were employed on temporary contracts as of the June 1 2023. This figure is likely to be higher as 3 councils did not respond. (FOI Available On Request).
Over 6,000 teachers and school staff were signed off with stress or poor mental health during the last academic year. Freedom of information requests reveal that 6,135 members of school staff missed days of work as a result of stress or poor mental health (Scottish Daily Express, 24 January 2023, link).
Teachers went on strike in Scotland for the first time in 40 years. From November 2022 to March 2023 teachers went take part in 23 days of strike action overpay for the first time in 40 years. (BBC News, 25 November 2022, link; Education Institute Scotland, 7 February 2023, link).
In 2021-22, there were almost 20,000 recorded physical or verbal attacks on teachers and school staff. Data reveals there have been at least 19,517 instances of verbal or physical abuse aimed at school teachers or staff in the last academic year 2021-22. (Scottish Daily Express, 6 December 2022, link).