Attendance for Nairn Academy S4-S6 pupils limited as school left to manage six vacancies and staff absences
“Exceptional staffing pressures” at a Nairn school are raising concerns among parents that staff absence and vacant posts could have a negative impact on pupil attainment.
With six roles confirmed to be vacant and the school having to manage staff absences, an email sent to parents of Nairn Academy students this week will see the attendance for S4 to S6 pupils limited during prelims.
A post shared on the Parent Council’s Facebook page stated that parents and carers have shared their concerns on the impact of the current situation.
It stated: “The Parent Council is aware of the email sent by Nairn Academy today regarding limiting the attendance of S4-6 pupils during Prelims amid ongoing pressures around staffing.
“Parents/carers have been in touch this evening with PC members to share their concerns on the impact of both staff absence and vacant posts on pupil attainment.
“We will be raising this at the upcoming PC meeting on Tuesday next week and would encourage all parents/carers to attend and/or email their questions/concerns to nairnacademypc@gmail.com in advance of the meeting.”
This comes after S2 classes were cancelled last Wednesday due to a staffing crisis caused by staff illnesses, ongoing job vacancies and a lack of sufficient cover at the Highland school.
The jobs currently advertised are for teachers in technology (the post has been advertised three times and long term supply will be used as of next week), religious, moral, & philosophical studies (RMPS), languages, Gaelic and chemistry (vacancy after Christmas) as well as for a Pupil Support Assistant (PSA).
A Highland Council spokesperson said: “Officers are continuing to link in with the senior management of the school to work to resolve the issue.
“Recruitment is underway for current vacancies and we are actively working to secure existing supply staff as well as recruiting new staff on temporary basis to support and manage staff absences.”
In August, the Inverness Courier reporter that Highland Council had the most education vacancies in Scotland with the local authority, offering a disproportionately high number of temporary contracts.
An email sent to parents this week stated: “We currently have several vacancies at recruitment stage in addition to new supply staff due to start in coming weeks.
“Our focus remains on providing safe, supportive and positive learning teaching for all our pupils and supporting colleagues as we move forward.
“However, currently we continue to experience exceptional staffing pressures due to extremely limited internal cover capacity, absences and vacancies. This has been exacerbated by further seasonal absence in recent days. Our priority must be to ensure sufficient staffing for safe pupil ratios in school.
“As planned, seniors are currently undertaking prelims. During this time, senior classes are focussed on revision with no new learning in order to support key assessment preparation.
“As of Thursday 28th November, S4-6 will continue their assessment preparation at home Tuesdays, Wednesdays and Thursdays. This arrangement will run until Wednesday 11.12.24 inclusive, with senior pupils returning to full timetable on Thursday 12th December. During the prelim window, seniors will attend timetabled classes on Mondays and Fridays. We will make arrangements for pupils to access subject staff prior to prelims (i.e. Geography, Physics, German and Modern Studies).
“Staff will continue to post revision and study materials in the Google Classroom. Any pupils who wish to access study spaces, free school meals or any other form of support, please contact Guidance.
“As we support our seniors at this key stage, these arrangements will also help to provide some consistency for S1-3 BGE classes who should continue to attend school as normal.”
Nairn Provost Laurie Fraser said: “I regret that these shortages are a sign of the times in education, and it is effecting not just Nairn Academy but the whole of the south of the Highland Council area.
“In addition, we also know that Moray Council are having exactly the same problems as us, but their situation could be worse as their director has warned that their shortages could impact on course work and exams.”
Nairn and Cawdor councillor, Paul Oldham, stated: “We have been kept informed of developments by the head teacher, Julie MacDonald, of the challenges she has been having with staff numbers and I've only been contacted by one concerned parent which suggests to me that Julie is doing a good job keeping parents and carers informed as to what is going on and what arrangements have been made.
“I and my fellow ward members will continue to keep an eye on things going forward and will continue to offer what help and support we can to the school.”
