‘Families impacted’ amid staffing difficulties at South Mainland out of school clubs
STAFFING challenges in the council’s children’s services department has affected the provision of some out of school clubs.
Councillors were told at a meeting on Monday that the Sandwick out of school club remains closed due to staffing shortages.
It has been closed for the majority of the first term of the year, including the October holidays.
A report to a meeting of the SIC’s education and families committee said that “despite continued efforts to identify alternative solutions, the scale of staffing challenges has made reopening currently unviable”.
Meanwhile the Dunrossness out of school club has been reduced from five days a week to four.
The report said: “A temporary staffing arrangement had enabled this reduced service to continue; however, this arrangement has now ended.
“Alternative options are being explored to maintain service delivery.”
The SIC is currently re-advertising a manager/lead practitioner post for Sandwick and Dunrossness.
Recruitment of play practitioner posts in schools has also been unsuccessful on “multiple occasions” in some areas.
“Ongoing vacancies, staff absences, and the limited availability of supply staff continue to place considerable strain on the service,” the report said.
“This is impacting families.”
Children’s services director Samantha Flaws highlighted that the council needs appropriately qualified staff in post for the services.
She also said additional support needs (ASN) is another area where there are some gaps, with 5.8 per cent of posts vacant at the end of the second quarter of 2025/26.
The overall vacancy rate for the children’s services directorate, which has a budget of 993 full-time equivalent posts, was 2.5 per cent.
The council also has a job advert out for supply staff spanning a range of roles, from learning support worker and supervisory assistant to early learning and childcare practitioner.
Applications are also invited to join the SIC’s relief bank for teaching support in schools.
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Committee chairman Davie Sandison said the “real challenge” is whether the SIC has the resources to do everything that it wants to do.
He said councillors have been told in the past that staff are sometimes under pressure to keep services running.
The Shetland Central member added he has wondered whether the SIC has to in some instances “just say no”.
With services like some out of school clubs affected, Sandison said things were potentially at a “knife edge” in terms of providing services.
He questioned if the recurring theme of workforce challenges was down to not having enough people locally to fill roles.
Sandison advocated looking at services and and raised the idea of whether potential redesign could be of benefit.
SIC leader Emma Macdonald also said it was important for the council to be honest with the community on where there are challenges, adding that the issues with out of school clubs was affecting families.
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