Forres Academy urgently requires new staff for its mathematics department
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FORRES Academy’s maths department is advertising for new teachers.
Independent Moray Councillor for Forres and former maths teacher at the school, George Alexander, confirmed members of the department have been on long-term sick, putting extra strain on the remaining four teachers.
He said: “The situation has been made extremely difficult by Covid restrictions. The remaining four qualified maths teachers have been covering the workload with cover and supply staff. These two posts are now vacant but efforts to find replacements have so far failed but steps are being taken to get back to a full staffing complement. I can only admire the tremendous efforts being made by all our teachers who do their utmost to give our young people a positive educational experience under difficult circumstances.”
A parent, who wishes to remain nameless, claimed the department “is on its knees” and feels pupils are being let down.
She said: “The school has been trying to recruit maths teachers since August. My child’s class was given just one lesson in a week towards the end of last term – a worksheet. Then in a different lesson, they were given one that nobody knew how to do and the poor teacher was unable to help as it’s not their department. If worksheets are the best that can be done right now, they should make them appropriate to the level the class are learning at.”
A spokesperson for Moray Council confirmed maths teacher vacancies and a Broad General Education numeracy maths post are currently being advertised on myjobscotland.
He said: “While the department is currently prioritising senior phase pupils, they are also ensuring all classes receive maths practitioner input having reviewed the departmental timetable. They will continue ensuring that resources are available to pupils by signposting them to Scholar, eSgoil and the National e-learning forum as appropriate. The senior leadership team are monitoring and reviewing the situation on a daily basis and will continue to provide support.”
