School's S2 pupils told to stay at home as staffing issues continue

Fraserburgh Academy has again told some pupils to learn from home due to a staffing shortage.

S2 pupils have been told to stay at home, a day after S1s were told to.

The first years have now been able to return to classes.

A message sent to parents and carers of S1s had said the academy was facing significant staffing issues due to illness and also a spell of understaffing.

Aberdeenshire Council said it had recently appointed new staff at the school.

The school told parents of S1 pupils it was working hard to address shortages.

In a statement, Aberdeenshire Council confirmed the request for pupils to learn from home was made to cover staff absence.

It said: "Annual staff turnover has occurred alongside some seasonal illness, but we have appointed more staff and are just waiting on pre-employment checks."

Fraserburgh Academy parent council said concerns about staffing pressures and their impact on pupils' education had been raised "for a considerable time".

It said the decision to send S1 pupils home to learn was "particularly concerning" at such an important stage in their education.

In a statement it added that there was "understandable frustration" that they were once again experiencing disruption.

Simon Watson, of the union Unison, described the situation as "a very worrying development", warning it could point to wider problems within the school.

Earlier this year staff at Fraserburgh Academy told BBC Scotland News of the "total mayhem" they faced due to levels of pupil violence and disruption.

Unison said at the time confidence in the school's arrangements for dealing with such behaviour had "collapsed".

Aberdeenshire Council said it was committed to ensuring employees had a safe working environment.

North-east Scotland Conservative MSP and Fraserburgh councillor, James Adams, has invited Education Secretary Mairi McAllan to visit the school to see for herself the problems being faced.

He told BBC Scotland News the situation was disappointing.

"I don't want any of the pupils at Fraserburgh Academy having to miss out on a vital education," he said.

"However, I know that the staff at the academy are doing all they can to make sure that mitigations are in place and to make the best of this sad situation."

He added that other schools were facing similar issues, and it was "something that everyone in the government has to deal with now".

The Scottish government said children should be in school and learning.

A spokesperson added: "Education is the statutory responsibility of each local authority, which must ensure they have the right provision of teachers for its schools.

"Teacher numbers across Scotland have increased by more than 2,700 over the last decade thanks to Scottish government investment, including an additional £186.5m this year alone."