Hundreds of probationary teachers feel they have “no hope” of gaining permanent employment as yet more get added to ever-growing supply lists.
More than 3,000 newly qualified teachers across Scotland qualified at the end of summer term, but a lack of permanent posts has left many facing unemployment.
Sean Kenny, from Dunfermline, says he was told two days before the end of term that he had been unsuccessful in securing a contract.
He now faces a summer of job hunting in a bid to find a teaching position for August.
Leeona Graham, also from Fife, says she too was informed on the last day of term that she was not being offered a contract.
Job crisis
In an open letter to education secretary Shirley-Anne Somerville, teachers detailed how “cohorts” of qualified teachers have been left facing unemployment or zero-hour contacts.
This, they say, is down to “an influx year-on-year of new probationer teachers flooding the system”, and leaves them with” no hope of achieving permanent employment.”
And with an increase in probationers across Scotland expected again next year, calls are being made for the Scottish Government to do more to address the crisis.
“It’s soul destroying”
Sean Kenny, a primary school teacher, is facing the prospect of being unemployed in August.
After working through the pandemic during his probationary year, he was informed two days before then end of term he had not secured a permanent contract.
This was despite receiving an email in March stating he had a “successful interview” the previous month.
The 32-year-old said: “The email (in March) did state that it was not a job offer but the expectation is then hopefully they will try and place you.
“We were told it was quite competitive, but I don’t think I realised to the extent to which that was meant.”
Sean has spent the best part of six years training to be a teacher, having spent a year at college before a further four at university and then onto his probationary year.
But it was only until a week before his interview in February that first he became aware there could be an issue with securing a permanent job.
We were told it was quite competitive, but I don’t think I realised to the extent to which that was meant.”
Sean Kenny, newly qualified teacher.
He now faces the prospect of being jobless come August or, as he puts it, “celebrating a temporary contract only to go through the whole woeful process again next year.”
He said: “It was heart-breaking to receive that email. To have that in the last two days when it’s really the last time you are spending with the class, it’s soul destroying.
“I find it beggars’ belief that with the in-class teaching time missed, that we are in a position where teachers are not being utilised.
💥Last Reminder💥Mass tweet to the education secretary TOMORROW – Thursday 8th of JULY! ⭐️ Copy and paste the Google doc link to the open letter in your tweet and ⭐️ tag the Ed. Sec and @ScottishTempor1
⭐️ Use the hashtag #letusteachhttps://t.co/yJ7LMPCV3r— Scottish Temporary Teachers (@ScottishTempor1) July 7, 2021
For Sean, the blame lies with the Scottish Government, who he says is focused more on the number of teachers rather than the reality of the situation.
He said: “The education secretary’s recent comments about probationers being celebrated was a really poor choice of words.
“For me, the Scottish Government appear to relish celebrating numbers rather than the futures and wellbeing of those in the teaching profession.”
Yearly increase in probationers
What those numbers show is that there has been an increase in probationary teachers across Scotland almost every year since 2013.
Figures from General Teaching Council of Scotland (GTCS) show that the number of teachers on the teacher induction scheme (TIS) has increased by more than 30% over the past eight years.
The numbers show that in the 2013/14 school year, a total of 2,247 teachers were on the TIS. This had increased to 3,116 by the 2020/21 school year.
Provisioner figures also indicate that probationer numbers will go up by over 500 to 3,617 in 2021/22.
In Fife, there has been an increase of more than 80% in this eight year period; rising from 136 in 2013/14 to 248 in 2020/21.
In Dundee there has been increase of more than 30%. However, Angus and Perth and Kinross have both seen a fall in the number of probationary teachers on their books.
“I broke down”
Leeona Graham is another of the 3,116 teachers in Scotland who undertook their probationary year last year.
However, the mum-of-two was informed on the last day of term she had not been successful in securing a contract for next year.
She said: “I kind of knew that there wasn’t going to be that many jobs available so I thought I might not get a permanent job but maybe a Covid recovery position and it should be okay.
“But when I got the email through I kind of broke down.”
Like Sean, Leeona questioned why so many teachers were coming into the system when there appears to be already too many for the number of positions available
She added: “If they are just going to keep churning (teachers) out, because what is what feels like is happening, then the job situation is going to get even worse
“I can remember sitting in the kitchen last year and the advert came on about getting into teaching and I thought they are still advertising for teachers so it will be fine.”
When I got the email through I kind of broke down.”
Leeona Graham, newly qualified teacher
The 40-year-old now finds herself on the supply list, but with already more than 2,000 teachers in the same position, she worries opportunities to teach will be few and far between.
She said: “It’s quite a depressing situation to be in, I’ve got bills to pay.
“I’ve heard of teachers being on supply for years and some have only worked a couple of days.
“I can’t possibly continue like that even though I love teaching.”
What is the Scottish Government saying?
In statement, a Scottish Government spokesperson said the government was doing “everything they can” to maximise the number of jobs available for teachers.
They said: “While local authorities are responsible for the recruitment and deployment of their staff, we are firmly believe we will need all possible teaching resources at our disposal to compensate for any loss of learning suffered since the start of the pandemic.
“We are working closely with COSLA regarding the employment of teachers for the next academic year, and will continue to do everything we can to maximise the number of jobs available for teachers, including permanent posts.
“Since the start of the pandemic we have committed over £200 million of funding to support the recruitment of additional teachers and support staff to aide education recovery
“As part of our commitment to supporting the recruitment of 3,500 additional teachers and classroom assistants, funding will be provided to local authorities to increase teacher numbers by 1,000 and classroom assistants by 500 within the first 100 days of this parliamentary term.
“We have also committed to a reduction in class contact time for all teachers. This in itself should create a need for more permanent teachers and we will work closely with our SNCT partners to achieve this.”
