Anonymous survey answerSurvey Nº 167

I feel that the dream I had of being a teacher is slowly starting to fade away because of the worry of working and I’m too proud to apply for financial aid but the fact that it may come to that is embarrassing.

Student loan repayments on work that isn’t guaranteed

Published 5 October 2026 · 1 min read

Employment situation: On a supply list, no work
Sector: Primary

Family plans

What annoys me is that I love my job. I’m passionate about the children I teach.

I want to have faith in a government that values the need for teachers because class sizes are so big. I’ve taught classes of 28+ and it is so incredibly hard to manage behaviours and ASN children who deserve their education.

I also feel that I shouldn’t have to pay back a student loan every time I get a FTE position because I can’t be guaranteed the work permanently. I feel that the dream I had of being a teacher is slowly starting to fade away because of the worry of working and I’m too proud to apply for financial aid but the fact that it may come to that is embarrassing.

This is answer 167 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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