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.
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
- 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
- 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
- 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
- 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
- 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)
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