Going to be having a good moan this week!
Firstly, we have met several youngsters recently who are being 'sold short' ! "How?" you ask.
" A shortage of qualified staff available to teach them in their schools," I respond.
Despite the Government's insistence that enough teachers are being trained - and their figures showing that a large percentage of newly qualified teachers are available for employment - there are schools which do not have specialist teachers for partucular subjects. So young people striving to get the necessary Higher or Advanced Higher qualifications are finding themselves studying in school either without a specialist or with a cover teacher who does not necessarily have experience in the subject being covered.
Bad enough - but when you hear about the experience of one of our tutors - it beggars belief. Our tutor - a highly qualified and able, and GTC Registered, teacher, with wide experience in state and independent schools, is readily available to go in to a local school where there is an identified need for Advanced Higher work, but is being prevented from doing so - by red tape!
The Headteacher would want an immediate appointment - but when my tutor spoke to the local council, where he was once employed and previously also on their supply list, he was told that supply teacher recruitment had now been outsourced to 'My Job Scotland'. He was told that it would take "several months" to process, including an interview, and that he would need to pay £59 for a new security check - even though he already has an "enhanced disclosure" certificate. The school and the children need him now - and he is available now - so this bureaucratic nonsense helps no-one!
Secondly, and related, the pledge made four years ago of smaller class sizes, lower pupil-to-teacher ratios and the maintaining of teacher numbers across the board has to be kept if Scottish education is to have any chance of keeping up with other countries which have caught us up and, in some cases, have overtaken us - and left us behind!
Next moan - on the day that the "Red Weather Alert" - and the subsequent winds - has meant that many schools, businesses and people across our country have been affected, I witnessed the collapse of significant branches from a very old tree in our village. A few months ago a branch from the very same tree crashed through a house, causing tens of thousands of pounds worth of damage, serious disruption to the householders, to say nothing of stress and anxiety. Despite obvious fears about the likelihood of this recurring the local council and others refused to take responsibility - and it has happened again today! Albeit nothing like as serious, it has still caused structural damage to the same house - and the resultant disruption and upset will still be felt as keenly, if not more so, One can only feel sorry for the residents, who have every right to say, "Told you so!" to their council. Shameful!
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