A LETTER ADDRESSED to parents of schoolchildren throughout Moray explaining the ongoing teacher recruitment issues facing the local authority has produced a huge reaction.
As reported exclusively by insideMoray last week, the local authority director of education and social care explained in some detail the staffing issues facing Moray – and appealed for their help by asking anyone with teaching qualifications to get in touch.
His appeal attracted massive attention on Social Media following this site widely reporting the appeal after being contacted by several parents and handed a copy of the letter.
In the letter Mr Findlay said: “If you know of anyone with a teaching qualification and registered with or eligible for registration with the General Teaching Council for Scotland, then I would ask you to encourage them to make contact with the Education and Social Care Business Support Team at the Moray Council.”
Today the council reported that parents had “clearly been busy on various social networks” to spread the word – and that resulted in scores of enquiries being received.
Now staff are working through each enquiry, with the business support team manager for education services, Lindsey Stanley, saying: “We are delighted with the level of interest. Each one is different, very individual in terms of qualifications and status, so every response has to be tailored which is taking some time.
“I hope people who have written can be patient with us – we will get back to them just as soon as we can.”
The issue facing Moray is one that many local authorities face in Scotland – although it has received a much higher profile here. The Council introduced a series of incentives to attract teachers – including rent-free homes for a period and resettlement payments as well as training to attain GTC registration.
Mr Findlay said: “It’s surprising that, after all the other initiatives we’ve tried, this seems to have yielded so much interest.”