Angus Council has denied a morale crisis in its education ranks following the departure of two top figures.
A senior education source said the impending move of primary and secondary schools chiefs will leave a “significant hole” in the wider service.
The source said there was “no one to replace” the outgoing officers in the council’s own ranks.
But the council has insisted there will be “no shortage of applicants” to join a service that reported a “buzz” in a recent staff survey.
Fears over the council’s ability to fill key roles in its education leadership follow concerns about vacancies in its front-line staff.
“Both the head of primary education and secondary education in Angus have indicated that they are about to leave,” the source said.
“This will leave a significant hole in the council and education.”
Councillor David May, a former head teacher, has been vocal on the subject of staffing in the county’s secondaries, and said that vacancies among council officers would be “bad news”.
“I have heard that both the heads of primary and secondary are leaving soon, which is to say the least disappointing, especially given the problems we have had in teaching vacancies in our schools in recent times,” he said.
“I hope that now the school year has started that more teachers have been recruited, but I am aware that there are still vacancies in some of our schools and for teaching staff who are already under consider pressure from the bureaucratic curriculum for learning.
“This is very bad news.
“The fact that two senior staff in the directorate are now leaving just adds to the problems our schools are facing, especially on the back of the cuts that our schools have been experiencing.”
In the wider education service, last year there was a staffing shortage of 16 teachers over the county’s eight secondary schools, and the summer recess saw English teacher vacancies at Brechin and Carnoustie while primary school shortages stack up to 3.4 full-time equivalent posts.
And this month The Courier revealed the showpiece Timmergreens Primary opened at 106% capacity, with pupils being taught in the general purpose areas outside classrooms.
The source added: “The morale in the department is extremely low, and in the authority as a whole.”
The latest policy and resources committee has agreed to extend the council’s assisted removal/relocation scheme to include teachers, in a bid to encourage more professionals to take up local posts.
The programme offers a maximum reimbursement of £750 for potential employees who live outwith a 30-mile radius of their new workplaces, and who in the interests of the council are required to move home.
An Angus Council spokeswoman said: “We don’t recognise the claim that morale is low as our recent staff survey indicates the very opposite.
“In recent meetings there has been nothing but a very positive buzz from staff who are looking forward to the year ahead.
“We are incredibly proud of our talented staff who are delivering learning of the highest standards, with recent exam results offering just one example of that.
“It is an exciting time in Angus with lots of opportunities for our young people and huge commitment from our staff to maximise these opportunities.
“The colleagues who are leaving have been a wonderful asset to Angus and we wish them well as they continue to make positive contributions to the learning and development of young people – one in a promoted post and another who plans to complete her very successful career back in one of our classrooms.
“I’m sure there will be no shortage of applicants who want to join our talented and committed team.”
