Speaking at last week’s meeting of the council’s Education and Children’s Services Committee, Cllr Gillian Owen told members: “Whilst we have made significant improvements in relation to teacher staffing in primary over the past few years, I remain really concerned about the situation in secondary schools where the situation is precarious.”

In her letter to Ms Somerville, Cllr Owen stated: “I am slightly concerned by the recent announcement from Scottish Government that it intends to claw back money from local authorities if they fail to maintain teacher and PSA numbers. We are aware that some local authorities have more teachers than they need, largely the former “Challenge Authorities” which used their additional resources to recruit more teachers.

"I think it is unfortunate that local authorities are being forced to maintain teacher numbers when they may no longer need these posts, especially given the recruitment challenges in other, more rural parts of the country.

Gillian Owen has written to Shirley-Ann Somerville expressing her concerns.

"We regularly have over 40 secondary teacher vacancies at any given time and would have hoped that releasing some teachers into the employment market would be a good thing. I am sure that this is a view shared by our secondary Head Teachers who are working so hard to cover classes and put contingency arrangements in place in the most challenging of circumstances.”

In her response Ms Somerville said: “I recognise Aberdeenshire’s ongoing commitment to this policy imperative. I also appreciate that, across 32 local authorities, there will be different contexts, demands, nuances, pressures, and financial challenges.

“With regard to the Scottish Attainment Challenge, you will be aware that the new funding model was agreed with and welcomed by COSLA. The model provides a fairer reflection of the numbers of children impacted by poverty than the previous model. I do, however, recognise that this change requires careful management by local authorities which were previously Challenge Authorities. That is why I have ensured that the redistribution of Scottish Attainment Challenge funding is taking place over four years, supporting authorities to transition to their equitable share over time.”

Cllr Owen said: “None of her comments address the very significant issues that are impacting education in Aberdeenshire. Maybe the Minister should come to Aberdeenshire a rural authority to see how we operate in very difficult circumstances. Science, maths, technology and home economic teachers are badly needed NOW and if some had been released then we could have filled our gaps but the Scottish Government giving with one hand and taking with other only exacerbates the issues. We don’t have enough teachers in Aberdeenshire whereas some local authorities have teachers they no longer need and yet they are being forced to retain them which is senseless.”

Councillor raises concerns over 'precarious' situation in Aberdeenshire's secondary schools