Labour candidate Jenny Marra has waded into a Dundee teaching row branding a lack of staffing “simply not acceptable”.
The Courier revealed that children from St Paul’s RC Academy had been grouped in a gym and shown a DVD rather than taught in classrooms.
It’s understood the school has resorted to such measures intermittently in the past.
Ms Marra, insists that efforts must now be made to resolve staffing issues across schools in Dundee and Scotland.
Revealing that she would be taking up the issue directly with Dundee’s director of education, Michael Wood, she said: “The reports from St Paul’s on classes not taking place because no teachers are available are simply not acceptable.
“We know that since 2007 there are 4,000 fewer teachers across Scotland.
“We know that in Dundee there is a chronic shortage of supply teachers and that there are shortages in subject areas.
“Children go to school to learn and it is simply not acceptable that they are watching DVDs in the dining hall when they should be in class learning.
“Dundee already has a huge challenge with the attainment gap without pupils watching films during teaching time.
“I will be looking for an early meeting with the Director of Education to discuss teacher numbers across this city and what is being done to solve it.”
In an email seen by The Courier, Mr Wood admitted St Paul’s had been impacted by short-term absences in recent times, but insisted that pupils would only be brought together in “exceptional circumstances”.
Dundee City Council said they are doing all they can to plug staffing gaps. A council spokesman added: “If any parent or carer has any concerns about their child’s education, they should contact the school to discuss these with staff directly.”