Highland Secondary School Staffing Levels

This coming school session (2006-2007) will see teachers across Scotland spending one hour per week less directly in front of pupils, with 22.5 hours being the maximum class contact time, both in secondary and in primary schools. The impact of these changes is now being realised throughout Highland Secondary schools.

The Scottish Executive identified additional funding for the implementation of this national agreement, and in the case of Highland Council, the allocation is £769K.

Bruce Robertson, Highland Council’s Director of Education, Culture and Sport said: "If we were to give every school in Highland an additional hour for each teacher, the total bill would be £2.7M, and in the case of secondary schools, £1.4M. It is clear therefore that we are not in a position to allocate additional funding to all schools for this purpose.

"Because primary schools have little flexibility in their staffing levels, they must be our first priority as regards the additional allocation to meet the 22.5 hour class contact week for teachers. This is where all our allocation will go."

The staffing level of secondary schools is determined by the roll of the school, the statutory requirements for staff/pupil ratios and the national agreement on the working week for teachers.

Mr Robertson added: "Secondary schools have greater flexibility in staffing and we have therefore indicated to secondary schools that they will have to absorb the impact of the 22.5 hour class contact week within their current staffing complement.

"The decision to reduce curriculum options such as Advanced Highers is entirely within the schools’ decision making process and the Council has not taken a decision to cut Advanced Highers in schools. The reality, for most schools, is that these are courses which attract very small numbers of pupils and it is understandable that they are looking at hard choices in the senior school.

"We will be meeting our Secondary Headteachers in the next few days to discuss this matter and encouraging them to look very carefully at the school timetable and there overall staffing allocations, and where possible, if course options are to be reduced in the senior school, to use as alternatives the successful Scholar Programme and, in the case of Inverness schools, consider consortium arrangements."