Swinney accused of failing on education after teacher numbers drop

Anas Sarwar accused John Swinney of failing on education as Labour and the Conservatives attacked the First Minister on falling teacher numbers.

But Mr Swinney shot back by defending his Government’s investment in teaching, and mocking Mr Sarwar for mistakenly backing the Conservatives in a vote on Wednesday evening.

At First Minister’s Questions on Thursday, Scottish Labour leader Mr Sarwar referred to recent figures showing a record number of pupils with additional support needs (ASN), while the number of ASN teachers has fallen by 400 under the SNP.

He said: “Education was supposed to be this Government’s top priority but it’s clear John Swinney and the SNP have failed.”

He also highlighted figures showing 40% of secondary pupils are persistently absent from school.

Responding to the First Minister’s call for Labour to support the Government’s Budget, Mr Sarwar added: “John Swinney’s been passing budgets for 17 years and things keep getting worse in Scotland, so I think he needs to wake up to the reality facing Scotland’s pupils.”

Mr Swinney said the Government has pledged an additional £29 million for ASN and £40 million for teacher employment.

He said: “I don’t accept what Mr Sarwar has set out and the measures the Government is taking are having a positive impact on the attainment of children and young people in our education system.

“A record number of pupils are going on to university after school, including those from the most deprived communities.”

The First Minister also referred to a vote in Holyrood on Wednesday, which welcomed some measures in the Scottish Government’s Budget.

Mr Swinney said: “There was only one (Labour) member that didn’t vote for that motion last night and that was Anas Sarwar.

“It wasn’t that he didn’t vote for it once, he managed not to vote for it twice.”

Scottish Tory leader Russell Findlay also hit out at the First Minister over this week’s education figures, focusing on a drop of 621 in total teacher numbers in the past year.

The First Minister assured MSPs that teacher numbers in the coming year will rise as a result of an agreement between Government and councils.

But Mr Findlay linked shrinking teacher numbers to discipline issues in classrooms.

“The truth is fewer teachers are being expected to do more and more and this is fuelling a collapse in discipline in our schools,” he said.

“In the last year alone, there were almost 45,000 recorded incidents of violence and abuse.

“One teacher told me that female pupils and teachers routinely suffer sexual intimidation and even violence.

“As a parent, I would be worried, it would make my blood boil – frankly, I would be on the warpath.”

Mr Findlay went on to urge the First Minister to “crack down on the behaviour of the minority who are ruining it for the majority”.

The Scottish Government, Mr Swinney said, has set out action being taken on behaviour in schools.

“Let me make it absolutely crystal clear that any of the behaviour Mr Findlay has recounted to Parliament today, which I know does take place in our schools, is completely and utterly intolerable within our schools,” he added.

“But what I cannot allow Mr Findlay to do is to denigrate the achievements made by our educators in our schools.”

Mr Sarwar spoke to journalists briefly following FMQs, saying his votes on Wednesday evening had been a mistake.

He said: “I think John Swinney got his moment of fun from my mistake last night.

“I might have made one mistake – or two mistakes – last night from pushing the wrong button, but I think the SNP has been making bigger mistakes over the last 17 years.”