Dundee teachers are “feeling the strain” as they take more and more days off sick.
On average, teachers in the city are taking nearly seven full days off per school year.
The figure was revealed in a new report from the city council, which highlights the sick rate as a rising issue.
David Baxter, Dundee representative for Scottish teaching union EIS, said: “We know from talking to teachers that they’re feeling the strain.
“They work long hours at an average of 46.5 hours per week and have heard a lot about deteriorating working conditions.
“Dundee teachers are really committed to their jobs, but we have had feedback about stress levels and the increasing demands of the job.
“It is difficult to say that stress is the only factor, but, from what we’ve been hearing from teachers, this increase isn’t much of a surprise to us.”
Stewart Hunter, Dundee City Council’s education convener, says the local authority is “prepared to try anything” to improve the figure, which rose by 17% last year from the previous year, from 6.1 days off to 6.9 days.
Mr Hunter said: “It is always concerning when staff are off and an obvious concern for schools and the knock-on effect
to children’s education.
“We’re prepared to try anything to improve this and we are open to a number of ideas.
“There have been a lot of issues in the last year with national shortages of staff and that could be a problem, but it is hard to identify a trend without doing deep analysis.
We are looking to see if there’s a pattern now.
“First and foremost we want to ensure that staff get the help and support they need and this is something we are looking to improve.”
The council is introducing what it calls “absence champions” as part of a pilot scheme to provide advice, guidance and support to headteachers at primary and nursery schools.
Their role will include producing reports, highlighting issues and ensuring appropriate early intervention. If the model is successful, it will be expanded to secondary schools as well.
Mr Baxter said that, despite the increase, Dundee teachers were mid-table compared to other regions and that their attendance was often better compared to other council employees.
Mr Hunter insists the council is committed to improving the wellbeing of the city’s teachers and is monitoring the situation to highlight where the problems lie.