I moved to [another area] away from my support system for a permanent full time job. I did what was expected and advised by [a government minister] to the detriment of my personal life and mental health. I have waited 6 years for a job to become available in the Central Belt which will never happen. I have put off buying property, marriage and having children due to this which has affected my financial stability.
Scotland needs to fund permanent jobs across all of Scotland. Freeze teacher training for most school subjects for multiple years until current qualified teachers are employed. Reduce class size and hire more teachers (many qualified currently unemployed).
This is answer 265 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.