'I felt like a failure': East Kilbride teacher struggling to find work

Lauren Shepherd, 27, went through years of training to pursue her dream of teaching.

Now, she is facing a second consecutive year on effectively a zero-hours contract, unsure of whether any work will come in.

To qualify in the first place, Lauren did a Higher National Certificate, followed by two years at university and a postgraduate course in primary education - all the while doing various volunteering and placement positions in schools.

She said: “I remember telling a lecturer at college that I had this big plan to become a teacher.

“It wasn’t a fleeting choice. I worked really hard to get there over a number of years, and I had a lot of experience going into it.”

(Image: Stock image)

In Scotland, teachers must complete a one-year probationary placement before qualifying. Lauren spent her probation year teaching a primary 1 class, and did so well that she was offered a year’s contract at the same school.

“Once I got that contract, I thought everything would be fine after that,” she said.

Sadly though, this was not the case. After her 12-month contract ended last summer, Lauren interviewed with her local council for a new role.

Although she passed the interview, she was informed that there were no roles available. She was placed on South Lanarkshire’s ‘supply list,’ and told she would be contacted if anything came up.

That was in June 2023. It was not until February 2024, eight months later, that she was offered any work, having heard nothing in the meantime.

“It was really gut-wrenching,” Lauren said. “The weeks went by, and then the months, and I just wasn’t getting anything.

“I went through a period of feeling quite low. I felt like a failure.”

Lauren has struggled to find consistent work (Image: Supplied)

Lauren thought she was going through these struggles alone - until she started posting about them on her TikTok channel (Teacherish), and was flooded with messages from others experiencing the same thing.

The volume of responses she received inspired Lauren to conduct a survey of teachers on supply lists across Scotland, the results of which she shared with Glasgow Times.

Of the 302 respondents, only 9% said they actually wanted to be doing supply work. Many said the uncertainty of the work had wreaked havoc on their lives, and the phrase “life on hold” came up repeatedly.

Many also said they were considering leaving the profession - a position Lauren also finds herself in, after being put on the supply list again this year.

“I’ve started applying for different jobs,” she said. “I don’t have the luxury to not work four or five months a year.

“As hard as teaching is, it’s the best job in the world. Being there for children who need you is so rewarding.

“There are so many people like myself, who want so desperately to be in schools but can’t. The kids need us, and we want to be there, but we can’t. It’s really sad.”

“I’ve worked so hard to be a teacher. It feels like it’s all been for nothing."

Latest government figures reveal the decline in job security for newly qualified primary teachers.

In Glasgow City in 2017, 73% of primary teachers went straight from probation onto a permanent contract. By 2023, this had plummeted to just 10%. In South Lanarkshire, this figure went from 80% in 2017 to 22% last year.

The SNP promised in their 2021 manifesto to “recruit at least 3500 additional teachers and classroom assistants.” Since then, teacher numbers in Scotland have fallen by about 250, with a drop in primary teachers of over 700. Glasgow City Council announced plans in May 2024 to axe 450 teaching posts.

A spokesperson for the Educational Institute of Scotland said the Scottish government was to blame.

“If you look at the increasing level of additional support needs that we’re seeing, increasing issues with complex behavioural needs, increasing workload - the system needs more resourcing and teachers, not less,” he said.

“It’s not acceptable in this day and age for teachers to be working on what are effectively zero-hour contracts.

“The Scottish government chooses to fix the budget. They should use progressive taxation to increase education funding - not doing so costs society more in the long run.

“They were elected on that manifesto commitment. They promised it to the electorate.”

(Image: PA Media)

A Scottish Government spokesperson said: “Whilst the recruitment and retention of teachers are matters for local authorities, it is encouraging to note that over the past 10 years, the number of teachers in permanent posts has remained stable at over 80%, and since 2014 the number of school teachers in the post has increased by 8%, from 49,521 to 53,331 as of December 2023.

“Record levels of investment are being made in the education system, with the Education and Skills budget growing to over £4.8 billion for 2024-25. This includes offering local authorities £145.5 million to protect teacher numbers, supporting children and young people’s education.

“The Strategic Board for Teacher Education is looking at issues around recruitment and retention of teachers in Scotland in detail. “While the Scottish Government cannot direct teachers where to work, it is important to note that teacher vacancies arise across Scotland throughout the course of the year and we are aware that there are areas of the country with jobs available.”

Stewart Nicolson, Head of Education at South Lanarkshire Council, said:

“We recognise that the number of vacancies varies from year to year depending on a range of factors. 

“However, the council is committed to supporting newly qualified teachers into permanent positions and provides opportunities and support for them to secure such posts.  To that end, the council also provides additional permanent posts, beyond our core requirement, to ensure we can provide absence cover.

“This means permanent contracts for 240 teachers this session who would otherwise be without posts.”