Teacher shortages in primary and secondary may mean pupils in Moray being sent home, with some education officials already having to go back to help in the classroom.

A report going the council's children and Young People's Services Committee on Wednesday highlights that there are 70 teaching vacancies in Moray's 53 schools. It says recruitment is becoming an increasing problem, with some vacant posts attracting no suitable candidates at all.

The current annual advertising budget of £34,750 has already been exceeded and is projected to reach a £30,000 overspend by the end of the financial year.

With the number of supply teachers at an all-time low, education officers have had to be taken away from their day jobs and put into schools to provide teaching cover.

The report points to the reduction in supply teachers available as "their terms and conditions have been impacted on negatively at a national level" . Although there were improvements last year in pay and conditions, there is still a shortage,

It says: "Secondary head teachers are becoming increasingly concerned about vacancies, in particular hard-to-fill subject areas such as maths, English, technical and physics.

"In primary, long-term temporary posts such as maternity leave vacancies and part-time posts such as job share are attracting so few applicants that even on the second or third re-advertising they remain unfilled.

"This impacts on members of senior management teams who have increasing teaching remits and reduced management time.A number of our head teachers are class committed for several days a week and in those primary schools with a depute head teacher all are class committed for the majority, if not all, of the week. This put significant pressure on the leadership of the school and its capacity to improve."

The report says that head teacher vacancies - particularly in primary - have had to be advertised and re-advertised on numerous occasions and only small numbers of applicants are received for some posts, particularly in rural or small coastal schools.

The committee will be told that failure to address staffing shortages in both primary and secondary schools may result in children being sent home.

"The use of central officers to cover absence and illness is not a long-term solution and impacts on the central team and the service they provide," says the report.