I have held three separate fixed term contracts since qualifying.
Currently, all posts within my authority excluding ISP posts are advertised internally only. There are very few posts being advertised – fewer than ten permanent full-time posts in the past two years, I think. Even some very short contracts (six weeks) have been internal-only rather than supply.
I am concerned that when my current post ends I will become external and no longer eligible to apply for the very few positions that become available. I will be forced back on to supply which will likely force me to leave teaching next year.
Teaching is far too demanding for us to also have to put up with constant insecurity and financial worries.
This is answer 131 of the 269 written answers that teachers let us quote anonymously in the Scottish Teacher Employment Survey 2026. It answers the survey’s last question: what do the people who make decisions about teacher employment need to know?
We have corrected spelling, added paragraph breaks and removed details that could identify anyone. Words in square brackets are ours.