LOCKERBIE’S learning centre has been closed 11 times already this year due to staffing issues.
The most recent was last week, when one of the rooms was shut on Friday.
However, after we raised the issue with Dumfries and Galloway Council, education chiefs stressed they are dealing with the matter.
A council spokesman said: “This year the Learning Centre at Lockerbie has been closed 11 times. It should be noted though that these are partial closures. There’s four rooms, and there’s only ever one room closed at a time.
“In terms of tackling the staffing, this is managed at a local level and the school will look to use the supply staff processes to try and get appropriate cover in place for the period of staff absence.
“The learning centre is appropriately staffed using the same formula/approach as all our learning centres.”
He went on: “This session they have had issues with long term absences. The majority of the time they were able to cover the teacher but could not secure any learning assistant cover at times.
“Looking ahead to the next academic session, the centre has no teaching vacancies as all positions have been filled and all learning assistants will be on permanent contracts.”
The learning centre is part of the Lockerbie school campus.
