Scottish teachers hid an old printer worried that they would not have anything to print on.
Herald Scotland reported that after a new council contract for MPS was implemented, teachers hid the printer as they were concerned that the council would not supply enough. The programme had not been explained to teaching staff, and now the National Parent Forum of Scotland is using this as an example in its “submission to the Scottish government’s review of the way schools are run”.
The forum backs the “transfer of control of teacher recruitment and procurement”, but does not feel that “empowering schools” will raise standards, and the forum also warned that the “Scottish government’s initiatives” prevented flexibility at school level. In its submission, it stated: “Devolved school management is seen as a positive initiative, but national agreements on staffing arrangements and salary levels means that the bulk of this budget is taken up by staffing costs. This places limits on the flexibility and autonomy for other types of spending.
“Current procurement systems also place additional restraints on headteachers, and the majority of parents feel that local authority contracts do not always provide best value for money. For example, one parent said that following a changed printing contract, a teacher in their school hid an older printer so they could continue using it. The teacher did this because there would be fewer printers under the new contract.”
The statement also said: “Parents have given many examples of the measures schools are taking due to teacher shortages and are concerned about the over-use of supply teachers. Headteachers are often filling in for teachers, which impacts the performance in their own tasks and responsibilities. Some schools are using supply teachers instead of going through the process of recruiting full-time, permanent teachers.
“Where there is no school budget for supply teachers… there are examples of children being allowed to watch films. Parents are also concerned that teachers do not have time to collaborate.”