Dumfries and Galloway 'grow your own' teachers bid thrives

A scheme to fill rural teaching vacancies launched by Dumfries and Galloway Council has seen a surge in applications.

The "grow your own" plan lets education department staff who already have a degree take a postgraduate diploma.

That, in turn, allows them to make a move into the classroom.

Thirty staff applied for the 10 places being funded by the local authority to retrain through the University of the West of Scotland.

Jeff Leaver, who chairs the council's education committee, outlined the thinking behind the scheme.

"There is a shortage of teachers in some of our rural schools - it's difficult to get people to come down here to fill these posts," he said.

"We recognise that there are graduates within education services who possibly want to be primary school teachers but they can't take time off work in order to do the postgraduate diploma in education.

"So it is a chance for them to do that while still being paid."

According to Rebecca Wightman, a newly qualified teacher at Collin Primary near Dumfries, the new recruits have made a good choice.

"I love working in a rural school - you get to know all of the children in the school, it is not just the ones that you are teaching on a daily basis," she said.

"You get to know the families and the community."

'Step forward'

She said it also helped to work more closely with other staff.

"In a rural school you are together all the time, you are talking and having professional dialogue all the time," she said.

Karen Bryden - who is the head teacher at Collin - has also welcomed the move to boost teaching numbers.

"I think it is a very positive innovation - rural schools have a lot to offer and Dumfries and Galloway has a lot to offer," she said.

"We have got great staff in our education department and the thought of them coming into schools is very exciting.

"They will have background knowledge and information about the way schools are run which will give them a good step forward."

Mr Leaver said the council hoped to repeat the scheme in future years, perhaps extending it to other departments outside education.

He added that he thought other local authorities might follow suit.

"I think it would be sensible - if this works and I am fairly sure it will work - that other councils follow this route to grow their own teachers," he said.