A Moray teacher is being forced to travel to the south coast of England to work because of restrictive rules applied in Scotland.
English teacher Alison Shand lives in Forres but commutes to Hastings in East Sussex – a distance of more than 600 miles – as her qualifications do not permit her to teach in her home country.
Last night she hit out at the “frustrating” rules laid down by the General Teaching Council of Scotland – and blamed the system for the current teaching crisis sweeping the region.
It comes after Moray Council reported earlier this month that staff shortages had reached such extremes that children could be sent home from school because no-one was available to take classes.
English was listed as one of the worst affected subject areas, but under current guidelines, teachers who gain qualifications outside Scotland are not allowed to teach in its schools.
Ms Shand stays with a friend while teaching at ARK William Park Academy in Hastings, making the journey back to Forres every fortnight.
The 45-year-old said she would dearly love to find work closer to home.
“It’s very galling to think about students having to be sent home due to a shortage of teachers, when there are plenty of qualified people in the area who are being denied work,” she said.
“When I returned to Forres just before Christmas I was hoping to find a teaching post in the area but was unable to.
“So I have to remain teaching down in England, and fly back to Scotland every two weeks – which is not a sustainable way to live.”
Ms Shand said the difficulties had arisen because she trained seven years ago through a system known as the Graduate Teacher Programme.
And she claimed the only difference between the set-up south of the border and the one insisted on by the General Teaching Council of Scotland was a single essay.
Ms Shand said: “There is only one 3,000 word essay in it, and various people have gone through other qualification routes and been able to get employment in Scotland.
“If someone has good experience and a proven record as a teacher then I don’t see why they can’t teach in Scotland.
“The GTP was a rigorous course and I gained qualified teacher status. The issue now is, this training was done in England and the route I chose not one that is recognised by the Scottish education system.
“The most frustrating thing is that my exemplary teaching record, gained through hard work over many years, does not seem to stand for anything here,” she added.
“I am second in charge of a good English department whose exam results have over recent years exceeded the national average.
“I am Scottish, I was educated in Scotland and would love the opportunity to teach in Scotland.”
The General Teaching Council of Scotland said it had set up a group to weigh-up the case for a more “flexible approach” to how job applications are considered.
A spokeswoman said: “We are reviewing our policy and will report on this to our council in due course later this year.”
She said it was important that standards were maintained and that this had to be the “overriding concern”.
“Scotland rightly has an international reputation for the quality of its teachers and this is in no small part down to the standards we apply,” she added.