NO NEW TEACHERS IN RENFREWSHIRE

Published 2 Sep 2009 14:22 28 Comments

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A NEWLY qualified primary teacher has moved abroad because she can't get a job here.

Lauren McNiven, 22, from Elderslie, feels let down by Renfrewshire Council as it was announced they have not secured any posts for new teachers in primary or secondary schools this year.

Lauren, who has just left to teach in Lake Como, Italy, said: "After the probation year, finding a job was nothing short of impossible within Renfrewshire.

"There were no jobs advertised within the Council and only a few probationers have secured work.

"Several teachers were given early retirement packages however, drastic budget cuts made it too difficult for head teachers to secure jobs for their probationers even if they thought they had done a good job over the course of the year."

Local MSP, Wendy Alexander, has also hit out at Renfrewshire Council for failing to get any of last year's probationary teachers a permanent job.

She said: "I have heard from a number of bright, qualified and enthusiastic teachers who feel utterly let down.

"They are left to sign on whilst hoping for the odd supply date.

"Should they give up on teaching and look for something else?

"It is a disgrace that not one of last year's probationary teachers have so far been given a full time contract.

"I am saddened to see such a tremendous waste of teacher talent and Fiona Hyslop should be apologising for the state she's created."

Lauren added: "I do feel let down but the council and government.

"Working abroad was never my intention and the lack of jobs in Scotland made looking further afield essential."

Renfrewshire Council are among three local authorities that have not been able to secure posts for newly qualified teachers.

A Renfrewshire Council spokesperson said: "We are in the same position as many other local authorities.

"We haven't seen the large numbers of retirements that were predicted and we also have falling school rolls.

"These factors, combined with a major increase in the number of people being trained to be teachers, have made the employment market for newly qualified teachers very difficult."

After graduating from university the trainee's become probationers for a year where they are guaranteed a job.

Once that year is over and if they pass, they become fully registered teachers, but are no longer guaranteed employment.

This article appeared in The Gazette 02 Sep 09

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Yvonne Hamilton
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Sep 2, 18:38
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I am a fully qualified teacher and have been on the supply list for Glasgow City Council and East Renfrewshire Council for two years now. Glasgow City Council have frozen their recruitment and East Renfrewshire have only advertised a handful of jobs in the past few years - with hundreds applying for each post making it near impossible to get an interview never mind a job. I have many friends who are qualified and have had to move abroad for work. Hundreds of new students are graduating in both the B Ed and PGCE course every year and so it gets harder to find any work. This is an absolute disgrace and something must be done now before lots of talented teachers leave the profession feeling utterly let down by the Governement.

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******
Sep 2, 18:43
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Gillian Higgins
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Sep 2, 19:22
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As a friend of many newly qualified teachers,I would like to say I feel it is terrible there are no jobs for them. They have worked so hard to get to where they are and are left with no jobs at the end of it, which must be soul destroying. The council need to do something about this.

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Rachel McLeish
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Sep 2, 19:42
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I am glad that this has at last been highlighted as it is a serious problem in this area.

Students should not be accepted into teaching courses at university when the reality is that they have no hope of securing permanent full time employment in their chosen field.

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Heather Alexander
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Sep 2, 20:02
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I read with disgust that there are no jobs for so many newly qualified teachers in Renfrewshire. It's appalling to think that so many young people have worked hard to achieve their qualifications in the belief that they will have a wothwhile job at the end of it,only to find that there is nothing available for them. Councils in general, not just Renfrewshire , should re-assess where budget cuts should be made.Education is a basic right for children and actions like increasing class sizes to facilitate these 'budget savings' and thus employing less teachers reduces the quality time that should be spent with each child as an individual.

I hope Wendy Alexander brings this to the attention of the parliament and hasn't just made a comment for the paper. We elect a Government to make changes for the better and its time they addressed this 'NO JOBS FOR TEACHERS' issue before it gets any worse!

Give our bright young people the RIGHT to honestly work in their worthwhile chosen professions!! After all if they had wanted to sign on the dole then none of them would have worked so hard to qualify in the first place.

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Laura McL
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Sep 2, 20:11
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I agree with all the previous posts. After spending a year doing a PGDE and then my probation year I too have been left with no word from the council about whether I am actually on their supply list or not. I have now had to sign on and I am applying for jobs that are nothing to do with teaching.

The situation that has been created now has left me no choice but to look at alternative careers. I feel, like many others, that I have wasted two years working extremely hard for nothing!

Given this situation why are universities taking on more and more students each year when there are so many teachers from earlier years not even getting supply work?!! If I had known about this situation when I applied to study teaching I would have definitely thought twice about it.

I feel that all these new teachers have been totally misled and that we have been made a fool of by the government and councils.

There should be more coverage about this situation because I'm sure if prospective new teachers had this information it would save them wasting an awful lot of their time and effort trying to enter a profession where there are virtually no job opportunities. Why is it being kept such a big secret??

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Donna Wilson
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Sep 2, 20:27
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I agree with all previous statements.

The situation is a national disgrace! What kind of country spends money and time training excellent teachers only to tell them there are no jobs and to join the end of the never ending queue of people seeking benefits. I would like to know one good thing that this SNP government has done - it has been cutback after cutback! I think it is disgusting the way teachers are being treated and it is not only them that are suffering... The children are not getting the opportunity to be taught by young and enthusiastic teachers.

The teaching degrees need to be frozen immediately until this situation is rectified. As year on year the problem will get worse.

I think the whole situation is yet ANOTHER national scandal. I am not a teacher but two of my best friends finished their probation in June with no prospect of a job!

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fiona young
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Sep 3, 09:59
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Its an absolute disgrace that these teachers cannot get jobs. After 4 years studyin and a years teaching experience they then have to sign on! Its about time the council did something about it!!

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Karla
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Sep 3, 18:05
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I agree with everything written above. Not only are there no teaching jobs but we have all now been made jobless in the middle of a recession. I have had to apply for non teaching jobs whilst at the same time sacrificing the chances of being able to take on supply work (should this ever actually be offered) therefore further sacrificing my development and experience as a teacher meaning that when there do eventually become jobs I will have been out of practice and am unlikely to get the job!I think they really should stop doing all teaching courses until this is sorted. Everyone will be out of a job with no other appropriate qualifications to do anything else.Let alone something that they have chosen to do.

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Leanne Gass
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Sep 3, 18:12
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I have always thought of teaching as a secure career choice however over the last few years it has became apparent that there are no jobs going so why is this issue only being raised now?

I am currently studying and was planning on doing the Post Grad in Primary Teaching but I have been put off as there are no local jobs and not everyone is financially secure or willing to up sticks and move far away.

It was reported in the news a few weeks ago that the number of university entries to Teaching had dropped and it was an issue, why should people put themselves through that when there is no light at the end of the tunnel? I also heard recently that there are clearing spaces in the BEd programme, this rarely happens with teaching so it just goes to show how bad the situation is.

I do not think the universities should be running courses for Teaching for the time being because as someone mentioned hundreds of people are applying for the same job and this is going to occur for every teaching post that becomes available in the next few years. The univeristies should be running different courses that are relevant for the time being such as Youth Work.

It's a disgrace.

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Leanne Gass
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Sep 3, 18:26
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I have always thought of teaching as a secure career choice however over the last few years it has became apparent that there are no jobs going so why is this issue only being raised now?

I am currently studying and was planning on doing the Post Grad in Primary Teaching but I have been put off as there are no local jobs and not everyone is financially secure or willing to up sticks and move far away.

It was reported in the news a few weeks ago that the number of university entries to Teaching had dropped and it was an issue, why should people put themselves through that when there is no light at the end of the tunnel? I also heard recently that there are clearing spaces in the BEd programme, this rarely happens with teaching so it just goes to show how bad the situation is.

I do not think the universities should be running courses for Teaching for the time being because as someone mentioned hundreds of people are applying for the same job and this is going to occur for every teaching post that becomes available in the next few years. The univeristies should be running different courses that are relevant for the time being such as Youth Work.

It's a disgrace.

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Ellise A
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Sep 3, 21:08
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After hearing about this article i felt it was urgent i share my opinion on this matter.

I am appalled to hear about the lack of employment for newly trained teachers. Students work hard towards their career, putting in the necessary hours to achieve their qualification and become employed as a full time teacher. So it awful to hear that so many young enthusiasts are being turned away just because of budget cuts. Schools say they can't afford to employ extra teachers because of the recession, which is perfectly understandable, but it is also important to remember that they are turning away people who need the money as they too are affected by the recession. This is their chosen career as well as a source of income yet they have no employment so are forced to sign up on the doll which, if you ask me, seems a waste of a qualification as well as time and resources.

However, speaking as a student myself, it not only affects the unemployed teachers but also the students. Teachers have to cater for more kids in their classes, reducing the individual time each child deserves, all because of budget cuts. surely it would be a good idea to bring in new teachers to reduce the overwhelming numbers in classes, and even bring in fresh ideas of teaching methods? Every child has the right to education, but they have the right to a good education and not so long ago these new teachers that find themselves unemployed were sitting behind desks themselves, deciding what to do with their lives. Maybe if they had been able to look into the future and see the problems that lay ahead, they might have chosen a different profession. Unfortunately they find themselves in an impossible but unnecessary situation. In the not so distant future i have to choose what i want to do with my life and i must admit, i once considered teaching but after reading this article and discovering the truth, it has made me completely sceptical about my future and what to do. I hope the Wendy Alexander realises the vast problem at hand before it is too late...

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Talsutra
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Sep 4, 11:10
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The rising problem of teachers finding employment needs to be addressed and I would fully support it. I am in favour of an SNP government but Alex Salmond needs to do something about this.

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Molly
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Sep 4, 13:29
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Having done my probation year last year I feel very let down by the whole thing! There is no jobs and no supply work. I have had to find another job in a totally different area of work. I have been extremely lucky in getting a job as many employers are not entertaining teachers simply because they feel they are applying only because they cannot get a job in teaching. Unfortunately in many cases this may be true. So the fact is that we cannot get teaching jobs but cannot get any other job because we are teachers!!

I feel that the last 5 years of my life at uni and then probation year has been a waste of time. I would not recommend anyone to go into teaching! They need to stop all Teaching courses until this situation is sorted. Surely someone must work out how many kids are being born each year and predict how many teachers will be needed. This situation could have been avoided! Something needs to be done!

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******
Sep 4, 13:29
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Unemployed
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Sep 4, 15:27
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It is not only teachers that have just completed their probation year that are in this situation.

I did my probation year 2 years ago and was lucky enough to be in a school all of last year. I was then told that if I did 1 day in the first 2 weeks of the schools going back I would get a permanent contract. Yes you have guessed it, at the end of week 3 I have not had 1 day of work with Renfrewshire council. I have also heard through the grape vine that people like me were deliberately not getting work because of the permancy issue. I know of a huge number of teachers in the same position as me who are unemployed and are not newly qualified teachers - so the reports in the paper do detail a terrible situation but it is actually even worse!! The situation is dire and something needs to be done about it.

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Billy
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Sep 4, 16:22
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Everyone attacks the council but is the problem not that there is too many students training to be teachers and that teachers are not retiring as early as they have in the past.

The council can't just create jobs out of fresh air, it doesn't work like that.

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also unemployed
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Sep 4, 18:08
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I would also agree that it is not the council who are solely to blame but soemthing needs to be done somewhere to stop this happening. To be fair, Renfrewshire council at no point tried to disguise the fact that there was no hope in any of us getting a permanent job with them all through my probationary training this year. They made us all aware that this was likely.

Has anyone noticed the pattern of people actually getting the supply positions?? All seem to have some contacts in schools or in the council. My friend called to ask if there was a reason? They were told that it is all carried out on a random allocation for supply. Still a bit suspicious. Is it also true that schools in Renfrewshire are not allowed to request who they would like for supply? Other authorities are.

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student
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Sep 6, 11:29
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I am a student doing the BEd at the moment and they keep telling us that there WILL be jobs by time we qualify. However, 2 of my friends who have just finished their probation cannot find any work but again, like myself, were continuously told at university that the situation will have fixed itself by time they qualified. It obviously hasn't!!

Teaching seems to be a fall back career for some who do not know what to do with their degree when they finish uni or when they leave school and feel that they have to go to uni to get a good job. This, along with the fact that teachers are not retiring as expected seems to have an effect on the amount of unemployed probationers. Like people have already pointed out, there is a recession on so why would these teachers who have secure jobs, give that up during a tough time like this? I'm sure if we were in their positon we would wait it out exactly like they are doing. The council should not be relying on retirement to get new teachers jobs.

I do sympathise with people who cannot get a teaching job because we all work so hard during uni, placement and probation year only to find a dead end.

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alan michaels
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Sep 7, 14:04
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I don't get this argument that teaching students should get special rights over every other student at university. Every other student has to go out and find a job - what makes teaching students so special? Also what about the jobs in the rural areas up north etc - why don't the students move there if they are so desperate to teach?

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Lisa
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Sep 8, 08:11
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Some people have families and partners and it is not practical for them to move to far flung places. Yes people studying other subjects have to go out and compete for jobs, I should know I went to art school and there were virtually no job opportunities in what I studied. But the point is I knew from the get go it would be hard to find a career in art so it did not come as a huge shock to me when I graduated and could not find a career in art, but it was an INFORMED decision I had made myself. People are annoyed because they are not informed of the teaching situation and how bad it is amd if they did it would save a lot of wasted tieme and effort for some people! In fact teaching is advertised as a profession that has great job opportunities and I have lost count of the amount of adverts on the internet and on TV that are trying to recruit even more teachers when the situation is so bad! Why?? People should be given all the information so that they can make an informed decision about whether to go into teaching. I think people are more annoyed at the fact they have felt misled by the government. Although I agree that a lot of qualified students are entering a very competitive time for gaining employment I still think it's quite apparent that people who have studied teaching are definitely in one of the worst job situations than a lot of other students who have studied other subjects and the fact that the whole thing seems to be covered up and not made common knowledge is what is angering people.

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Lauren Miller
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Sep 8, 10:15
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As a current pgde (primary) student i agree that the Universities are informing students there will be jobs for them when they graduate but in reality it seems this is not true. However i also agree that at this present time it is near impossible for any graduate to find employment in any sector. The goverenment clearly have some explaining to do about how they are going to solve this crisis for every1 and not just Teachers! Maybe if they spend a little less time debating about whether it was right or wrong to release a dying man from prison (a decision thats already been made) and concentrate on issues that are truly affecting peoples lives!

Also maybe when a teacher retires they should actually stay retired. Don't know how many teachers i have seen take early retirement and be back teaching in a school at least 2-3 days a week! No wonder new teachers cannot get jobs!

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alan michaels
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Sep 8, 14:33
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what adverts? is that the one that is from the English/ UK government on the telly? If you can't tell that the advert is not even about scottish teaching opportunities then it's probably better that you're not in the classroom!

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anon
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Sep 8, 14:42
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I have been working as a supply teacher this is my second year after probation and as yet this new school term have received no work, a school did request me for less than 3 days a month but because i have now gone up a pay scale this request was ignored and given to last years probationers as they are cheaper, not only do the staff and more importantly pupils know me i already know the ins and outs of the school building eg fire exists and medical rooms etc this is another example of the stupidity that we face from Renfrewshire Council.... the children and their education seem to be the last thing that they consider???????

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alan michaels
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Sep 9, 13:02
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If you were working on temporary contacts for four years or more then employment legislation now states that you must be offered a permanent post. Yet teachers have a national deal that after one year of temporary contract they must be made permanent - why are they so special? It's probably that issue that stops new teachers getting more work.

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Lauren McNiven
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Sep 10, 13:34
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What a ridiculous statment. The puropose of the probationary year, Alan, is not to give short term employment or a 'special deal' for teachers, it is to give teaching graduates the chance to have classroom experience before they are deemed to be fully qualified by the GTC. Without this the GTC would not employ them! So your off-the-cuff remark makes no sense as it cannot prevent teachers from work seeing as they're not ABLE TO without qualification! Teachers do not think they're special, most are aware of the severe lack of employment across many sectors, however, when one council employs NONE OF THE INDIVIDUALS THEY HAVE SPENT MONEY TRAINING serious alarm bells inevitably begin to ring. Education rates in the top 3 national priorities consistently therefore people DO and SHOULD expect something better than this! Perhaps take your comments and deliver them somewhere more rural where these alleged jobs are, they may be welcomed there although I severely doubt it.

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Nicola McDowell
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Sep 10, 14:55
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Alan I think you are jumping to all the wrong conclusions about what people are saying. Teaching is a vocation - just as medicine or law is. All these specialties require a traineeship in order to gain experience to best serve the public.

Teachers aren't saying they want a job handed to them - but they do infact want the opportunity to apply for one and to go through an interview process.

Parents out there want the best possible education for their kids and bringing in and training knew teachers is essential to this.

This is a matter that has to be addressed as a matter of urgency - it will no doubt effect the youth of today in years to come. Hindsight is a wonderful thing - it would be even more wonderful not to have to use hindsight!

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******
Sep 10, 14:55
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Unemployable
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Sep 12, 00:24
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Education, Education, Education.

Remember that speech from the great Student Loans salesman, Tony Blair?

He led everyone to believe that getting an education would give them careers,now all you have to show for it is a qualification which probably wont get utilised, and a huge debt to pay off for the next decade or so. Very few have woken up to the fact that Student Loans are a Poll Tax on the young with aspirations to achieve, and whilst the country is bailing out reckless financial institutions, they were culpable for allowing generations of youngsters to get into debt before they're even earning a proper wage.

FAO all with teaching qualifications who are moaning there is no teaching jobs out there, if you voted for Tony Blair and his Labour Party then it serves you right.

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pete
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Sep 20, 19:53
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why is that only teachers should be guaranteed a job in life? any of them heard of the recession? Labour have messed up the economy and are set to wield the axe in education in england according to the bbc

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Sam
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Sep 21, 21:55
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Teachers are not wanting "special deal" or see themselves as "special"as a couple of people are rather unhelpfully trying to suggest,they just do not want to feel misled and are annoyed at the fact that teaching is being wrongly portrayed as a career with excellent job opportunities.all we are wanting is to be given all the information about the current teaching situation from the start instead of it being covered up until we have slogged our guts out for years only to be left with nothing and to feel like we have had the wool pulled over our eyes. And can I just point out that this whole ridiculous teaching situation did not suddenly start when the recession came about, it has actually been getting progressively worse for several years as many of my fellow teachers who graduated two or three years ago, some who still have no permanent jobs and some who have had to move onto completely different jobs due to this situation would agree with.

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