A report from Audit Scotland has shown that teachers in Perth and Kinross spend more time on sick leave than their colleagues in the rest of Scotland.
The Audit Scotland report states that sickness absence in Perth and Kinross is 8.7 days a year compared to a Scotland low of 4.2 days in Midlothian. In previous studies examining teacher absence, workplace stress is often found to be a leading cause of sickness. It is therefore important that educators are supported with sufficient resource to be able to do their job.
Leaked papers last month showed that Council bosses were proposing to cut 24 teaching jobs in the region, before eventually backing away from this move.
Commenting Liz Smith MSP said:
“Teachers do a fantastic job right across the country, sometimes under very difficult circumstances.
“But it’s clearly a concern that teachers in Perth and Kinross are off ill more than anywhere else in Scotland. We need to find out why this is.
“Teacher absences ultimately impact a pupil’s education and it is important that the number of sick days in Perth and Kinross are reduced over the coming years.
“Although no specific reasons are given for the high number in Perth and Kinross, plans to cut further teacher numbers last month will have done little to ease morale in the sector and stress due to a lack of resource is often cited as a factor behind frequent absence.
“The Scottish Government needs to do more to support Perth and Kinross Council and get this statistic down next year.”