Sixteen per cent of primary school teachers in Lochaber, Skye, Raasay and the Small Isles were on fixed-term contracts in the 2022-2023 academic year, according to data from Highland Council.
A response to a Freedom of Information (FoI) request made by the Lochaber Times covering 30 primary schools across the area stated there were 23 teachers on fixed-term contracts in the last school year.
This compared to 119 permanent teachers.
Figures could not be provided for contracts within specific schools due to the risk of identifying individuals’ employment status in small rural schools.
Unlike permanent contracts, the council’s fixed-term teaching contracts run to a maximum of two years. According to the council, they are used for maternity cover, or in cases of short-term funding or a change in school roll over a period of time.
Such contracts ‘can give greater security of employment over a period of time and can give access to preferential benefits such as sick leave and maternity pay’, a spokesperson for the council said.
However, an over reliance on temporary contracts has led to concerns about education continuity and job stability. The Lochaber Times submitted the FoI request after being approached by a parent who said the expiration of a teacher’s fixed-term contract at her daughter’s school meant children did not know who their teachers would be after the summer holiday.
This, the parent said, meant it was difficult for parents and the school to plan ahead, and was detrimental to the child’s school experience.
Similar criticisms have also been raised on a national level.
In August, the Scottish Conservatives said its FoI requests to authorities around Scotland had shown 4,951 teachers were on temporary contracts in June. The figure did not include Fife and the Highlands, which had yet to respond to the requests.
That same month, the Educational Institute of Scotland wrote to First Minister Humza Yousaf calling for more job security for teachers.
EIS General Secretary Andrea Bradley stated in a letter that job insecurity meant many were leaving the teaching profession, and the quality of education was being affected.
Scottish Government figures for September 2022, the start of the last school year, showed 13 per cent of full-time equivalent (FTE) teachers were working in temporary posts, which included short-term supply teachers.
The Highland Council spokesperson said that the number of fixed-term contracts depended on year-to-year circumstances, and therefore no plans could be made to reduce or increase their use.
The spokesperson also advised that any parent unsure of who their child’s teacher would be due to a fixed-term contract expiring should contact their area manager.
The Lochaber Times’s FoI request was submitted on June 14. The council provided a response on October 2, apologising for the delayed response.