New teachers are being offered rent-free housing by a town hall in a bid to address chronic shortages in local education staff.
A deal between Scotland’s Moray Council and house builder Springfield Properties will see teachers moving into the region offered six months of free accommodation.
A total of 10 new two-bedroom properties have been put at the council’s disposal for the scheme.
The plans follow serious concerns about local teaching numbers in Moray, with the council at one point facing over 70 vacancies in its 53 primary and secondary schools.
In combination with a relocation package already offered by the town hall, teachers relocating from another region could now receive up to 12 months of rent-free living.
Moray Council’s director of education and social care, Laurence Findlay, said: ‘Our shortage of teachers has been well covered in the media and we are delighted that Springfield Properties have been so keen to get involved and support us in attracting more teachers to come and work in Moray. I certainly hope this offer will increase interest among teachers in coming to Moray.’
Innes Smith, managing director at Springfield, added: ‘We need to attract new people to live in the region and good teachers are an essential part of a successful community. We hope this offer will be enough to persuade some new teachers to come and try out life in Moray.
‘It can be expensive to move and we hope that the offer of rent-free accommodation for six months will be enough to offset some of those costs.’
