In Full: The Highland teaching jobs that are the hardest to fill

Some posts have been advertised eight times and taken as long as 15 months to recruit for.

By David Mackay

April 1 2024, 6:00 am

More than a quarter of all Highland teaching jobs need to be readvertised. Image: Shutterstock/DC Thomson Design

New data has revealed the scale of the task of filling teaching jobs in the Highlands with some posts advertised as many as eight times.

Some vacancies have spanned more than a year as education bosses struggle to find suitable candidates.

Since the beginning of the 2021/22 academic year, Highland Council has posted an incredible 1,454 job adverts for teachers in its 199 schools.

The Press and Journal can now reveal that 391 of them, more than a quarter of the total, have had to be readvertised.

Which Highland teaching jobs are hardest to fill?

Data from Highland Council shows that head teacher positions and Gaelic Medium posts are amongst the hardest to fill.

A Gaelic primary school position working across schools in Portree was first advertised in March 2022 and was eventually filled in December 2023.

Meanwhile, St Clements Primary School in Dingwall and St Joseph’s RC Primary School in Inverness were both without head teachers for more than a year.

Exterior of Acharacle Primary School. — A job at Acharacle Primary School in Lochaber was advertised eight times before being filled. Image: Sandy McCook/DC Thomson

And the recruitment process for Dingwall Primary School also lasted just one day short of a year.

The search for a new head teacher for Kingussie Primary took five adverts and nine months, Glen Urquhart High School took eight months and four adverts and the Wick High School process took nearly five months and four adverts.

Which Highland schools are posting the most job adverts?

How is Highland Council addressing hard-to-fill vacancies?

The Press and Journal asked Highland Council whether it considered any alternative methods for advertising hard-to-fill or very rural locations.

The local authority was also asked what special provisions are put in place at schools left without head teachers for prolonged periods.

Highland Council did not respond to repeated requests to comment.

In Full: All the Highland teaching jobs that have been readvertised

Advertised eight times

Principal teacher, Gaelic Medium, Acharacle Primary School
Teacher (maternity cover), Gaelic Medium, Kilmuir Primary School, Portree
PE teacher, Mallaig High School
Science teacher, Gaelic Medium, Portree High School

Advertised seven times

Maths teacher (14-hour contract), Inverness High School
Primary, Gaelic Medium, Portree associated school group

Exterior of Inverness Royal Academy. — Inverness Royal Academy has placed the most job adverts since summer 2021. Image: Sandy McCook/DC Thomson

Craft, design and technology teacher, Farr Secondary School, Thurso
Geography teacher, Golspie High School
Maths teacher, Lochaber High School, Fort William

Advertised six times

Home economics teacher (fixed term 6-12 months), Inverness Royal Academy
Head teacher, Dingwall Primary School
Head teacher, St Josephs RC Primary School, Inverness
Maths teacher, Gaelic Medium, Portree High School
Design Technology teacher, Invergordon Academy
Principal teacher, faculty head of numeracy and technologies, Inverness High School

Advertised five times

Home economics teacher, Golspie High School
Teacher (social subjects, sciences, technology, creative subjects), Gaelic Medium, Portree High School
Head teacher, Kingussie Primary School
Teaching head teacher, Scoraig Primary School

Google street view image of Kingussie Primary School. — It took nine months to find a new head teacher for Kingussie Primary School. Image: Google

Design and technology teacher (maternity cover), Charleston Academy, Inverness
History and modern studies teacher (one-year fixed term), Inverness Royal Academy
ASN teacher, swimming and PE (fixed term), Drummond School, Inverness

Advertised four times

Teacher, Gaelic Medium (permanent/fixed-term, full-time/part-time), Various Locations in Highland Council
ASN teacher, Lochaber High School
Maths teacher (fixed term), Invergordon Academy
Head teacher, Wick High School
Head teacher (special), St Clements School, Dingwall
Teacher (fixed term), Daviot and Strathdearn Primary School cluster
Home economics teacher (fixed term), Inverness Royal Academy
Head teacher, St Columbas RC Primary School, Fort William
ASN teacher, Lochaber High School (fixed term)
Head teacher, Brora and Helmsdale primary schools cluster

Wide shot of Wick High School. — The recruitment process for a head teacher for Wick High School took nearly five months. Image: Sandy McCook/DC Thomson

Head teacher, Glen Urquhart High School
Depute head teacher, 3-18 tracking and monitoring, Dornoch Firth Campus
Maths teacher, Portree High School
French teacher, Ardnamurchan High School (part-time)
Depute head teacher, Mount Pleasant Primary School, Thurso
English teacher, Nairn Academy
Principal ASN teacher, Wick High School (fixed-term)
Gaelic teacher, Lochaber High School
Head teacher, Sleat Primary School, Skye
English teacher, Culloden Academy (part-time)
English teacher, Farr High School
Maths teacher, Tain Royal Academy

Advertised three times

Home economics teacher, Alness Academy
History teacher, Charleston Academy, Inverness (part-time)
Maths teacher, Wick High School
Principal teacher, business and computer education, Dingwall Academy
Teacher, Macdiarmid Primary School, Skye (part-time maternity cover)
English teacher, Inverness Royal Academy
Teacher, various locations in Highland Council “south area” (fixed term)
Teacher, Ballachulish Primary School (fixed term)
Teacher, Mulbuie Primary School, Muir of Ord (part-time fixed term)
Principal teacher, maths, Culloden Academy

Sign at entrance to Culloden Academy. — Culloden Academy has placed 53 adverts since summer 2021. Image: Sandy McCook/DC Thomson

Modern languages teacher, Dingwall Academy (part-time)
Business studies teacher, Glen Urquhart High School (fixed term)
Head teacher, Gledfield and Edderton primary schools cluster
French teacher, Fortrose Academy (fixed term)
Maths teacher, Charleston Academy
Depute head teacher, Milton of Leys Primary School, Inverness
Biology/science teacher, Gairloch High School (part-time)
ASN teacher, Mallaig and Ardnamurchan ASGs
French and Spanish teacher, Grantown Grammar School (fixed term)
Maths teacher, Alness Academy (fixed term)
Teacher, Gaelic Medium, Bun-sgoil Shleite, Skye
Maths teacher, Inverness Royal Academy (part-time)
Maths teacher, Inverness High Sschool
English teacher, Invergordon Academy

Entrance to Fortrose Academy. Image: Sandy McCook/DC Thomson

Modern languages teacher, Inverness High School (part-time)
Principal teacher, Gaelic Medium, Bun-sgoil Shleite, Skye (fixed term)
Teacher, Gaelic Medium, Plockton Primary School (fixed term)
English teacher, Alness Academy
PE teacher, Mallaig High School (fixed term)
Head teacher, Bualnaluib and Poolewe primary school clusters
Principal teacher, practical and creative, Golspie High School (maternity cover)
Music teacher, Invergordon Academy (maternity cover)
English teacher, Inverness Royal Academy (fixed term)
Head teacher, Achiltibuie Primary School and Lochinver cluster
Business and computing teacher, Culloden Academy (part-time)
History teacher, Kinlochleven High School
Home economics, health and food technology teacher, Lochaber High School
Principal teacher, ASN, Lochaber High School
Head teacher, Fortrose Academy
Maths teacher, Mallaig High School
Teacher, Kinlochleven Primary School (fixed term)
Craft, design and technology teacher, Alness Academy
Principal teacher, chemistry with science, Glen Urquhart High School (fixed term)