Survey reveals extent of short-term teachers in Scottish schools

One parent wrote in the survey that her daughter has had six teachers already this year – four of whom were in a three-week period.

Children in Scotland face a constantly changing group of short-term staff that is impacting their learning, teachers’ groups say.

They warn that these pupils suffer disrupted learning, struggle to build relationships with tutors and may suffer from stress and other emotional problems.

The warning comes from teaching unions and Scottish Teachers for Permanence (STFP), a grassroots group which campaigns for more stability for teachers.

Some 90% of people who took part in two online surveys organised by STFP said their school does not have enough permanent teachers. It also found that 80% had noticed high staff turnover or regular changes at their local school.

And 97% said that the lack of permanent jobs for teachers affects pupils and their learning.

STFP member James Orr, a teacher on a short-term contract, said he was not surprised at the results of the survey.

He said: “Most teachers are extremely good at building relationships with kids really quickly – even I could walk into a school and, by the end of the day, have really good relationships, but the hard thing is when you have to leave three days later and those kids are saying: ‘I’ve just built this relationship with you and I feel safe and secure, so why are you leaving?’ It’s this constant revolving door.

“The class which I teach at the moment has 11 supply teachers. It’s not happened to me but it happened to some of my friends where they’ve just got an email at the end of the day saying: ‘Oh, sorry, we don’t need you tomorrow.” The STFP said: “The volume and clarity of these responses show a deep frustration with the status quo – and a shared understanding that the current system is not working.

“This overwhelming consensus suggests a clear public understanding that unstable employment doesn’t just impact teachers – it directly influences the quality and continuity of education in schools.”

One wrote: “My child had four teachers over three weeks. She’s now had six this year – and we’re not even in the last term. During the time with three teachers, she was just doing revision because none of them knew (at which stage) she was (at) in her learning.”

The Scottish Government had previously promised to recruit 3,500 teachers – with universities taking on more undergraduates.

However, the vacancies in schools has not kept up, with the number of teachers in Scotland declining in recent years. Many primary staff have found it increasingly difficult to secure work. It’s a similar case for secondary teachers, with too many qualifications in some subjects and not enough in others.

Many teachers have had to take short-term contracts and put their name on the temp lists within their council areas which is causing stress and financial pressure, but it’s also impacting children’s education.

In early 2024, 9,500 teachers in Scotland were on temporary contracts. Edinburgh had the highest number, with 523 teachers on temporary contracts, followed by Aberdeenshire with 489.

The Scottish Government has acknowledged the issue and allocated £145.5 million in the 2024/25 budget to protect teacher numbers and support councils in offering more permanent contracts.

But, critics claim more comprehensive reforms are needed.

Scotland’s largest teaching union, the EIS, said: “The prevalence of short-term and temporary contracts within teaching is bad for teachers, bad for pupils, and bad for Scottish education.

“For pupils, the significant number of teachers on short-term contracts – around 20% – leads to more frequent changes to arrangements for their learning, which can be unsettling and confusing for many young people.”

Mike Corbett, from NASUWT Scotland, said it was nonsensical that we have an increasing proportion of teachers on temporary contracts.

He said: “This smacks of a short-termist approach to teaching as a profession and to our wider education system more generally, where the main concern is saving money now by hiring new recruits on temporary contracts, rather than investing for the long-term in pay and working conditions likely to help retain skilled teachers in our schools.

“In the long run, this approach not only costs more public money overall, it robs young people of the benefit of the experience and knowledge teachers can only provide once they are fully established in their careers.”

The Scottish Government said: “Local authorities are responsible for the delivery of education and for local workforce planning. To support them with this, the Scottish Government is providing £186.5 million to restore overall teacher numbers across the country to 2023 levels.

“The education secretary met with the Scottish Teachers for Permanence group and had a positive discussion about the steps the Scottish Government can take to support teachers in finding permanent teaching roles. This includes looking at how we can make the Teacher Induction Scheme work better for all parties.”