Nursery World - Lack of supply cover hits early years heads

A shortage of supply teachers in Glasgow is causing headteachers to put aside management duties in nursery schools across the city, the teaching union the Educational Institute of Scotland (EIS) has claimed. According to the EIS, if nursery teachers are absent due to sickness or staff training, nursery school heads are having to step in, because the council provides no specific supply pool for the sector. This has meant that management duties are either neglected or carried out on weekends or evenings.

According to the EIS, if nursery teachers are absent due to sickness or staff training, nursery school heads are having to step in, because the council provides no specific supply pool for the sector. This has meant that management duties are either neglected or carried out on weekends or evenings.

An EIS spokesman said, 'Headteachers have a broad range of management responsibilities that are having to be set aside. There are also instances where there has been no proper equipment to teach the class. This is a very real concern.'

The EIS said that one nursery school could not find a supply teacher for three weeks and the headteacher was forced to move into the class and that left a vacuum at the top. Management duties are either left, or done in the headteacher's own time.

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