School's S1 pupils study at home due to 'significant' staff shortage

First year pupils at Fraserburgh Academy have been told to stay at home due to staffing shortages at the school.

A message sent to parents and carers said the secondary faced significant staffing issues this week due to seasonal illness and also a spell of understaffing.

S1 pupils were asked to learn from home but are expected to be able to return to their usual classes on Friday.

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

A statement issued to parents and posted on the school's social media said it had been hit by seasonal illness and a spell of understaffing which it was working hard to address.

In a statement Aberdeenshire Council said: "S1 pupils at Fraserburgh Academy are studying from home today to cover staff absence.

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

"We will be welcoming S1 students back to school as normal on Friday."

The Fraserburgh Academy parent council said parents had been raising concerns about staffing pressures and their impact on pupils' education "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 that confidence in the school's arrangements for dealing with such behaviour had "collapsed".

The council said it was committed to ensuring employees had a safe working environment.