Highland schools are to get 52 new teaching and support staff
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Highland schools will get a significant boost of 52 new teaching and support staff after the council was given a £2.2 million grant from the Scottish Government to support the return of education.
The money will be delivered over the next two years with some of the recruitment already in place and more to follow in a bid to support the return of education, cover staff absences and generally deal with the impact of the pandemic.
The investment will see 21 teachers hired to support associated school groups (£900,000), six more to support online learning (£300,000), a further 14 posts for teaching support (£800,000) and finally 11 additional support staff (£200,000).
Nicky Grant, the council's executive chief officer for education, said: “It is anticipated that these additional teachers or support staff will provide a range of additional support to help with recovery work.
"This could include supporting young people who may have suffered a loss of learning during lockdown; supporting young people who are shielding; affected by mental health issues as a result of Covid; supporting small groups of learners who need more intense support and covering classes for teachers who are self-isolating.
“They will also be vital in responding to any local flare-ups of the virus, which could necessitate implementation of contingency plans for blended learning for a period.”
