Scotland's schools in crisis as teacher numbers fall and pupils skip classes

Children need to attend school regularly to receive the full benefits (Picture: Jeff J Mitchell) | Getty Images

The roots of Scotland’s problem with pupils who are persistently absent from school date back before the pandemic, but Covid clearly caused this pernicious weed to flourish. The risk now is that it has become firmly established.

According to new figures, 40.6 per cent of secondary school students were absent for at least 10 per cent of the school year in 2023-24, down only slightly on 41 per cent the year before. There was a slightly larger fall in primary schools, from 25.6 to 23.9 per cent, but the numbers remained nearly double the levels before Covid.

And the proportion of pupils absent from school for more than half of the year actually rose, from 2.3 to 2.5 per cent.

If so many pupils are not attending classes, the next generation will emerge into adulthood poorly educated and with entrenched bad habits that will not serve them well in working life.

These figures represent a crisis in of themselves. But yesterday brought more bad news. Despite an SNP pledge in 2021 to recruit 3,500 more teachers by 2026, last year actually saw the numbers fall by 621. Another SNP promise that looks unlikely to be met.

Absolute shambles

The situation prompted Education Secretary Jenny Gilruth to finally release £145.5 million to local councils to help pay for more teachers, with £186.5m to follow next year. The goal is to bring teacher numbers back to 2023 levels. Gilruth had been withholding the money until cash-strapped councils promised to spend it all on teacher recruitment and her decision was described by Liberal Democrat Willie Rennie as an “embarrassing climbdown”.

A cynic might suggest that, with so few pupils turning up when they are supposed to, schools should not need as many teachers. However, the situation is an absolute shambles that should shame those in charge, particularly given Scotland’s once world-leading reputation for the quality of its education.

Many people will remember teachers who had a transformative impact on their lives. That’s unlikely to happen if the pupils fail to turn up or a home economics teacher is minding a maths class.