Jenny Gilruth backs down over £145.5m for maintaining teacher numbers in new deal with Scottish councils

Education Secretary Jenny Gilruth has been accused of an “embarrassing climb-down” after she finally agreed to give Scottish councils a £145.5 million fund that was earmarked for maintaining teacher numbers.

The announcement was made on the day it was confirmed that the number of full-time equivalent (FTE) teachers in Scotland had fallen by 621 since last year.

However, Ms Gilruth said she had now reached a new deal with local authority umbrella body, Cosla, that will lead to them working towards reversing the decline and restoring teacher numbers back to 2023 levels.

To support this, the Scottish Government will give councils £186.5m next year - an extra £41m on top of what was originally pledged.

Ms Gilruth and Cosla had been engaged in a stand-off for most of the year after she said she would not hand over £145.5m set aside for maintaining teacher numbers unless councils pledged to do so.

It emerged on Tuesday that the majority of councils have cut teacher numbers despite the warnings, following a year in which many struggled to balance the books.

Despite this, the new deal that has been reached between Cosla and the Scottish Government will see the £145.5m for this year released, followed by £186.5m for next year, to help bring teacher numbers back to 2023 levels and to freeze learning hours.

Scottish Liberal Democrat education spokesperson Willie Rennie said: “I can’t quite believe how badly the education secretary has handled this.

“For months the education secretary has issued dark threats to councils that their funding would be withdrawn if councils reduced teacher numbers.

“Yet on the very day that it was found that teachers are down 621, the education secretary released every single penny of the £145m. In fact, she went further and gave councils a bonus for next year.

“This decision represents an embarrassing climb-down.”

Speaking in Holyrood, Ms Gilruth said: “I want to work with our local authority partners in a spirit of collaboration and partnership, because I think that is what is going to deliver improved outcomes for our children and young people.”

A joint statement issued by Ms Gilruth and Cosla’s children and young people spokesperson, Tony Buchanan, said: "Local Government and the Scottish Government are committed to working together to restore teacher numbers to 2023 levels next year, and freeze learning hours which will support the learning experience for pupils across Scotland.

“Both local government and the Scottish Government have also agreed to make meaningful progress towards reducing class contact time for teachers, in recognition of the asks made by teachers and teaching unions.”

The deal was announced on the day it was confirmed that the number of full time equivalent teachers has dropped from 54,033 last year to 53,412.

A teacher in a classroom Photo: John Devlin | NW

Primary schools have been hardest hit by staff cuts, losing 628 full time equivalent (FTE) staff since last year, compared to an overall reduction of 61 in secondaries.

Since the SNP came to power in 2007, there are now 1,688 fewer teachers. The number of schools has also fallen by 284.

There has also been a reduction of 873 FTE teachers since the SNP pledged in 2021 that it would recruit 3,500 additional teachers by 2026.

Only six of 32 local authority areas increased their overall teacher numbers last year, with a drop of 120 recorded in Glasgow, while there was a fall of 89 in Aberdeenshire, 68 in South Lanarkshire, 42 in Edinburgh, 37 in North Ayrshire, 35 in Fife, 31 in Falkirk, 30 in West Dunbartonshire, 28 in Dundee, 24 in Moray, and 22 in East Lothian.

Data released on Tuesday also shows 40.5 per cent of all pupils had additional support needs (ASN) in 2024, up 3.8 percentage points from 2023.

A teacher in class | PA

Scottish Conservative education spokesman Miles Briggs said: “These statistics deliver a damning verdict on the SNP’s appalling record on education.

“Despite Nicola Sturgeon and John Swinney insisting it was their top priority, the reality is far different.

“The number of teachers has drastically reduced since the SNP came to power, while there are hundreds of fewer schools as well.”

Labour’s Pam Duncan-Glancy said: “Under the SNP Scotland’s world-class education system has been left to decline.

“Exam results are falling and our schools are falling down the international league tables – but SNP has no workforce plan in place and has overseen the removal of hundreds of teachers from classrooms.”

As well as a drop in teacher numbers, pupil numbers also decreased compared to last year, falling by 3,100.

Overall, the pupil teacher ratio (PTR), which gives a measure of the size of the teaching workforce relative to the pupil population, increased from 13.2 to 13.3.

Meanwhile, the proportion probationary teachers who secured a permanent or temporary teaching post in a Scottish school in the year following their probation decreased to 65 per cent from 71 per cent for the previous cohort.

The school attendance rate in 2023/24 was 90.3 per cent which is an increase from 90.2 per cent in 2022/23 but the second lowest rate since comparable figures began in 2003/04.

The persistent absence rate for 2023/24 was 31.4 per cent, down slightly from last year, although close to a third of pupils in Scotland were absent for 10 per cent or more of the school year.

The Scottish Government also highlighted data showing the proportion of pupils achieving the expected level in literacy and numeracy across primary and secondary schools has reached a new high, based on teacher estimates.

For numeracy, 80.3 per cent of pupils across P1, P4 and P7 reached expected levels, while S3 also reached a new high of 90.3 per cent. For literacy, achievement is also now at a record high in both primary and secondary, in the latest Achievement of Curriculum for Excellence levels (ACEL) statistics.

At primary levels, the attainment gap between youngers from the most affluent and most deprived areas narrowed to its lowest level for literacy, but in numeracy it increased from 17 percentage points in 2022-23 to 17.4 points.

The gap narrowed in both literacy and numeracy at S3.

Ms Gilruth said: “The ACEL data shows good, solid progress, and we are determined to build on that.”

In a statement to MSPs, the education secretary also announced the publication of a new “national improvement framework” for education.

The priorities include placing the human rights and needs of every child and young person at the centre of education, as well as improving young people’s health and wellbeing, closing the attainment gap, improving skills and positive school leaver destinations, as well as achievement in literacy and numeracy

It aims for “outcomes” such as delivering a “globally respected, empowered, and responsive education system with clear accountability at every level that supports children, young people, and adult learners to thrive”.

The system should also enable “the development of their knowledge, skills, values, and attributes that give them the best opportunity to succeed and contribute to Scotland’s society and economy”.