Hard to avoid breaks in service when on supply

Published 5 October 2026 · 1 min read

Employment situation: Temporary post
Sector: More than one sector

I think that it is very difficult to ensure no breaks in service when working supply and it is soul destroying to find out that this adversely affects right to permanence. The whole situation is a complete con.

“But they’re crying out for teachers!” people say when you can’t find work. Unis still taking so many on PGDE courses when no real jobs. Nobody cares.

It’s meant to be a profession! Zero hour contracts is the reality. Wellbeing, wellbeing, wellbeing is the focus during PGDE but not for teachers.

This is answer 165 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.

Every answer in the report (PDF) Survey results

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