I am in my 5th year of seeking a permanent contract. I spent my NQT year and 2 consecutive years at one school. Following that, the council deliberately broke my service and made me ineligible for a permanent position.
Last year I was offered temporary area cover on 16th Sept but this did not start until late November. This year I am still waiting on being offered a post despite being successful at interview. Those of us in this position haven’t even been added to the supply list in the meantime.
The council are actively stopping many of us from working to save money. It is a huge strain on finances and my mental health and coming into teaching was supposed to bring stability into my life as a single parent but it has been anything but. The whole situation is utterly demoralising.
This is answer 15 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.