One in eight city schools has no permanent headteacher

Published on Monday 22 September 2008 10:18

ONE in every eight schools in Edinburgh does not have a permanent headteacher, it has emerged.

Acting heads are currently taking leadership in 19 of the city's 147 primary, secondary and special schools.

Unions say the figure is "higher than normal", while parents' groups claim this is only the "tip of the iceberg", with many more schools across the city affected.

The council insists it tries to fill vacant headteacher posts as soon as possible, and has advertised a total of 22 times since May 2007.

However, it has been suggested that the high number of temporary heads in the city at the moment is because of the ongoing school closure programme.

Colin Mackay, Edinburgh secretary of teaching union the Educational Institute of Scotland, said the figure is high, but it has to be taken in the context of the school rationalisation programme.

He said: "It's higher than normal, there's no question of that.

"Given the legislation that puts headteachers in place, they are normally difficult to transfer or place otherwise, so this way is keeping posts open.

"They're not even advertising these jobs at the moment, because they are keeping their options open and being prudent about how to place headteachers.

"However, it's always unsettling and bad for education and teachers if there's instability, so we would like to see the council move swiftly into a suitable situation.

"The council will have to grasp the nettle on this one and decide what the school estate is to look like."

However, Tina Woolnough, chair of Parents In Partnership, believes the insecurity of having acting heads has an adverse impact on teachers and believes there are many more than just 19 schools in the city affected by this issue.

She said: "It affects far more people and schools than it superficially looks like.

"It's unacceptable to spread that kind of uncertainty and insecurity into many schools in the city.

"There was a freeze on making acting posts permanent, and the suspicion was that it was because of the school closures programme."

Labour group leader Andrew Burns said he was "shocked" by the figures.

He added: "That's nearly 13 per cent of all Edinburgh state schools with an acting or temporary headteacher."

A council spokeswoman said the number of acting heads in the city had nothing to do with the rationalisation programme.

She added: "There are a variety of reasons we employ acting headteachers, such as to cover when a permanent head goes on a secondment or takes a period of leave."

Threatened primary 'suffered lack of leadership'

CLOSURE-threatened Lismore Primary has been without a permanent headteacher for five years.

During this time, there have been three different acting heads. Parents have cited this lack of leadership as one of the reasons for falling pupil numbers at the school.

Maggie Paterson, chair of the school's parent council, believes going without a permanent headteacher for so long has had a negative impact on the children.

She said: "There's no direction and no whole school approach. The effect has really been on the children more than anybody, because there's no security for them.

"It's had a lot to do with the falling numbers at the school."

At a recent meeting with parents to discuss the future of Lismore, education leader Councillor Marilyne MacLaren said the council had tried, without success, to recruit a permanent headteacher.

However, the council's own records show that the post at Lismore has not been advertised since before May 2007.