Highland Council explains fall in teacher numbers

Highland Council has offered an explanation for a reduction in the number of teachers employed in local schools.

The Courier reported yesterday that the number of teachers employed in the Highland region had fallen by 30 between 2021 and 2022, according to the 2022 Scottish teacher census.

Last year there were 2322 teachers registered in the Highlands.

The Times published a story highlighting the fact that, across all Scottish local authorities, the biggest falls in teacher numbers had occurred in areas where the local council is controlled by the SNP, as is the case in Highland.

However no explanations were offered alongside the figures of possible reasons for the reductions.

A spokeswoman for Highland Council has now said that the drop in Highland numbers was due to a combination of falling pupil numbers across schools as a whole as well as the region being allocated fewer probationer teachers, with many newer graduates opting to stay in the central belt.

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