By Grant Smith

TOO MANY head and deputy head teachers at Scottish schools are spending too much time in classrooms because of staff shortages, it was claimed yesterday.

The Headteachers’ Association of Scotland said its members were being taken away from their important management duties by the need to cover for unfilled vacancies and a lack of supply teachers.

It carried out a survey during a week in mid-March. Of the 129 members in 28 education authorities who took part, 95 said they had taken classes over and above their normal teaching commitment.

An HAS spokesperson said, “For those senior staff affected by taking cover classes this represents a substantial erosion of time which should be used for managerial duties, including supporting staff in dealing with instances of indiscipline.”

The association had warned in February that difficulties in recruiting teachers were evident at secondary schools nationally.

The spokesperson explained, “The HAS is aware of the steps being taken to attract additional recruits to the teaching profession and appreciate the initiatives currently under way.

“It is also aware that the Scottish Executive is evaluating the impact of the national agreement on working practices of teachers.

“However, the agreement also highlighted the need for employers to ensure that sufficient staff are employed to meet the requirements of a 35-hour working week and, for example, that staff are employed to look after lunch supervision.”

It was clear from the results of the survey that education authorities still had “a substantial amount of work to do” to ensure those conditions were fulfilled.

One of the senior teachers who responded reported spending six hours supervising two to four classes at a time because the school could not get supply teachers.

Another said, “Staffing generally and supply staff in particular is still at crisis point.

“We are currently employing a 69-year-old chemistry teacher and have had no physics teacher for two years, despite numerous adverts.”

A third told of arriving at work at 7.30 am each day, never having a break and still having work to do at home.

“Clearly the impact of staffing shortages and the apparent inability of many Scottish local authorities to provide additional staff for bus, lunchtime and playground supervision is having a major impact on the work/life balance of senior managers,” the spokesperson said.

“We recognise that the effective operation of schools still relies heavily on the goodwill of staff who work well beyond their contractual time. This is a matter that must be addressed now.”