School 'left without adequate support for too long' according to Nairn Academy parent council

Parents shared their worries over “increased anxiety” and the impact on “education and welfare” on students at a Nairn school as it faces a staffing crisis.

As pupils prepare for the Christmas holiday break, a shortage of teachers has hit Nairn Academy, forcing the school to reduce attendance for senior pupils to three days a week - which went down to two days last week.

With six roles being advertised and long-term staff absences, the current situation has sparked concerns among parents and carers.

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In a statement sent to the Inverness Courier, a Nairn Academy Parent Council committee spokesperson said: “The Parent Council recognises and shares the concerns of parents, carers, teachers and pupils regarding the ongoing staff shortages and pressures at Nairn Academy.

“Whilst we have been reassured that the Senior Management Team are doing the best they can under incredibly difficult circumstances, we do feel that shortcomings in the support from Highland Council are highly evident.

“There is no doubt that the education and welfare of our young people is being impacted, with parents providing anecdotal evidence of lower-than-expected attainment and increased anxiety about school.

“We are aware of the unique difficulties involved in recruiting staff to Highland but feel that for too long now our school has been left without adequate support from the council.”

Last week the struggles were raised in Holyrood by Inverness and Nairn MSP Fergus Ewing, who urged Education Secretary Jenny Gilruth and the government to look at ‘creative solutions’ to tackle what he fears may become an endemic problem for schools in rural Scotland.

He said that covering travel costs and making it easier for teachers from outside Scotland to teach in the country should be considered among solutions to the widespread issue of teacher recruitment.

“What is clear is that without radical change, and actually doing things differently, the existing shortages are only going to become worse and more serious,” he said.

“As a parent pointed out, it is great that there will be a new school in Nairn but not much use if there are no teachers to teach the children.”

In August, the Inverness Courier reported that Highland Council had the most education vacancies in Scotland with the local authority, offering a disproportionately high number of temporary contracts.

In his most recent newsletter, Nairn and Cawdor councillor Paul Oldham said he has also been receiving a “steady trickle of emails from concerned parents” about the Nairn Academy situation.

He said that, although adverts have gone out and closed last Monday, not that many teachers are looking to move at this time of year.

“I believe that the council's Central Education Team are providing all the support they can and are treating it with the urgency it deserves,” he said.

“I have also had several people comment in emails on the way exit interviews are undertaken, something which also came up at the last Parent Council. The current system is that the employee's line manager (so the head teacher in this case) does the interview. This is not what I'm used to in the IT industry where either HR or a more senior manager undertakes the interview so I will be talking to the chief executive about that when we next speak as it seems to me that this is worth reviewing right across the council.”

The parent council will meet again in mid-January, and they said they hope to have “an updated position” from both the school’s senior management team and the Highland Council.

Highland Council has been contacted for comment.

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