There are already 740 extra teachers in Scottish schools to help deal with the demands of Covid-19, MSPs have been told.
Another 250 are said to be on the way, although this is still some way short of the 1,400 that were promised by the Scottish government at the end of July.
Addressing the Scottish Parliament, education secretary John Swinney said: “The most recent information that I have is that local authorities have recruited an additional 740 teachers and that plans are in place for the recruitment of another 250. We expect that number to increase over the coming weeks as schools continue to assess the needs of children and young people.”
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Mr Swinney was responding yesterday to a question from Clare Adamson, an SNP MSP and convener of the Scottish Parliament’s Education and Skills Committee, about how the recently announced £45 million for schools to recruit extra teachers - and £5 million for teaching assistants and other support staff - would help to alleviate pressure on school senior management.
In the same session, Labour education spokesman Iain Gray asked how the government would respond to reports from school leaders that they are facing “excessive” and “unsustainable” workloads.
Mr Swinney said: “I do not underestimate the extraordinary efforts that are being made by all school staff.”
He added: “Our guidance on school reopening, which has been developed in partnership with the Covid-19 Education Recovery Group, makes it clear that the health and wellbeing of staff is a key principle of education recovery...We will also shortly launch a new and focused package of support for school staff that has been developed with the education recovery group.
“Furthermore, we have provided £80 million to local authorities, which is enough to recruit around 1,400 additional teachers and 200 support staff to bring much-needed resilience to the education system.”
Mr Gray also raised ”the failure of Education Scotland and the Scottish Qualifications Authority (SQA) to come up with guidance for the teaching of practical subjects, and changes to curriculums and courses for exams for teachers who are already trying to teach those courses”.
He asked: “When will the cabinet secretary get the SQA and Education Scotland to step up and play their part?”
Mr Swinney replied: “Both organisations are making their contribution to addressing those issues. For example, the SQA is wrestling with a number of very different views in relation to the consultation on the approach that is to be taken for examination in 2021, and Education Scotland is providing practical assistance to individual schools around the country and the strong digital learning platform that will be essential for young people should their education be interrupted at an individual, class or school level as a consequence of Covid.
“I am confident that those national organisations are making their contribution and that they will continue to contribute to the work of the education recovery group, which brings together the interests and the perspective of all stakeholders in education, including the professional associations.”
