Born in 1946 and brought up in Cupar, Fife, I was educated at the local school - Without them our education system would collapse and our youngsters would be deprived of the schooling that gives them increased choice and opportunity in life. It is a profession that should never be undervalued.
It is with this sentiment that I address the ongoing teacher shortage in the North East, and why I brought it up recently with Education Secretary Angela Constance. I asked her specifically about what is being done to address the fact that there are schools across Banffshire and Buchan Coast that are in desperate need of teachers that can either not be found, or fail to be retained in the area.
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| Ordiquhill School |
She said that the government is working with local authorities and universities to develop routes into teaching that help people stay within their local areas. The numbers of student places for initial teacher education have been increased at the universities of Aberdeen, Dundee and the West of Scotland to help facilitate this. The University of the Highlands and Islands has also been brought on board as an initial teacher education provider.
A summit was recently held in Aberdeen to look at the problems surrounding teacher recruitment in the North East, with representatives from six local authorities along with the Education Secretary there to discuss strategies.
The Government has been working on the problem – student teacher intake targets have been increased in each of the last four years, £51 million has been invested in safeguarding teacher posts, and a teacher recruitment campaign has been launched.
Funding has also been injected into Aberdeenshire via the University of Aberdeen for their part time distance learning PGDE course. This has been developed so that people can train as primary teachers while continuing in their jobs. The positive response that this has received from local authorities means that it is now being looked into for the secondary teaching sector.
But while all these irons are in the fire, no one is resting on their laurels - and I am very well aware that teachers are needed and we must do all that we can to encourage them to come north.
At the summit in Aberdeen, officials from the Granite City, Aberdeenshire, Moray, the Highlands, the Western Isles, the Orkney Islands and the Shetland Islands joined forces to explore what can be done in the face of unprecedented low numbers of applicants and increased pupil numbers.
The councils involved have already tried to attract larger numbers of applicants by offering "Golden Hello" payments and free accommodation to new teachers, but vacancies remain across primary and secondary schools.
Ms Constance said at the summit that the ongoing national marketing campaign was specifically targeting subjects that have proved hard to fill, such as science, technology, engineering and maths.
She commended the work already being done across North East communities to ensure that high quality teachers are recruited and reiterated that these efforts were very much supported by the Government. The quest for realistic long-term solutions will be pursued so that schools and pupils in the North East are resourced to deal with the teacher shortage.
The six local authorities at the summit have spent about £1million altogether on advertising, and have launched a number of initiatives including innovative financial incentive packages and housing support.
I may be biased but I can personally recommend the North East as a fantastic place to live and work. I hope that teachers will be attracted to all that we have to offer, and to a way of life that is second to none. We will work to ensure that the generation growing up in our rural communities are not let down by a lack of resources and are inspired by the teachers who will start them on their educational journey.
