THE number of sick days being taken by non-teaching school staff locally has hit a five-year high.
An average of 13.71 days were lost through sickness absence in 2024/25 – which is 52 percent more than Dumfries and Galloway Council’s target of just nine days.
The previous year the figure was 12.16 days, and in 2020/21 it stood at 9.27 days.
The stats were revealed in a report due to be tabled at the council’s education committee next Tuesday.
Jim Brown, the council’s head of education, wrote: “Sickness absence in the public sector is widely regarded as being a significant cost to councils.
“This indicator is important because it allows councils to manage sickness absence and compare rates to establish which councils are dealing effectively with this issue.
“The indicator looks at the effectiveness of the HR function in terms of impact on the overall levels of sickness absence in the council.
“Councils should aim to reduce the number of days lost through sickness absence over time.”
Mr Brown explained that the poor sickness rate was partly due to “a small number of open-ended absences”.
To improve matters, officials will continue to liaise with managers on the implementation of the council’s maximising attendance policy, which includes early identification on patterns of absence and appropriate support interventions.
Managers will also be reminded of the health and wellbeing team and the role that they can play to support staff wellbeing.
