School Chiefs Stunned As 10,000 Apply for 131 Jobs

EDUCATION chiefs have received an astonishing 10,000 applications for jobs working with special needs pupils in Glasgow schools.

Council bosses advertised last month for 131 pupil support assistants to help children with special needs integrate into primary and secondary education.

But they were amazed when they were inundated with thousands of applications for the posts.

Some applicants have already been offered jobs and the full complement is expected to be in place over the first months of the new term.

A Glasgow City Council spokeswoman said: “Parents of children who require additional educational support can be assured that their child’s needs will be met by school staff.”

Among the new jobs are posts which will allow a scheme aimed at teaching disruptive children social and behaviour skills to double in size.

The special classes, known as the Nurture Class Initiative, have been launched in mainstream primary schools to give pupils who find school difficult extra support.

Already one feeder primary school to each of the city’s 29 secondary schools has a nurture class and this will be extended to another 29 primaries.

The new pupil support assistants will also work in 19 of the city’s secondary schools.

They help pupils with special needs with a variety of tasks including organising materials, helping with technology and writing down work dictated by the pupils if they cannot write.

Staff will liaise with parents and ensure headteachers are aware of the pupils’ needs and the parents’ wishes.

The massive interest in the posts comes after the city council embarked on a major recruitment drive for teachers to solve a teaching crisis which hit schools a year ago.

More than 150 teachers were appointed to start at the beginning of term last week.

No formal qualifications are needed to become a pupil support assistant – which attracts a salary of up to GBP14,000 – but candidates must go through a competitive interview and staff have to be vetted by Disclosure Scotland’s enhanced disclosure check.

stewart. paterson@ eveningtimes. co. uk