Scottish government statistics published today reveal that there are just 137 behaviour support staff working in Scottish schools and councils.
This is despite concerns that teachers are facing a “behaviour emergency” and an “aggression epidemic”.
The new figures also come after repeated calls for more specialist support in schools.
The data, which is published annually and tracks the number of school support staff in selected categories, also shows that the number of home-school link workers fell between 2022 and 2023, as well as the number of school library staff.
However, there are more pupil support assistants (PSAs) working in Scottish schools than ever recorded using current statistical methods, according to the figures.
The number of PSAs has increased every year since 2018 - when comparable figures were first published - and hit a high of over 17,000 last year.
Falling numbers of specialist behaviour support staff
The data also shows the number of educational psychologists working in Scotland has increased and last year hit its highest level since 2018, reaching 400.
Scotland’s teaching unions have, since schools returned full-time following the Covid-19 pandemic, been raising concerns that violence and aggression are a growing problem.
They say policies of austerity and poverty, declining mental health and the impact of the pandemic have “combined to create a society where many young people feel alienated, isolated and distressed”.
They have been calling for more support and resources in schools, including additional teachers and other professionals who provide specialist support.
However, the government’s annual school support staff census, published today, shows that there are just 137 full-time equivalent (FTE) specialist behaviour support staff working in Scotland.
That is the lowest number since 2019 when there were 148 behaviour support staff, and down on 184 in 2022 and 187 in 2021. In 2018, which is as far back as the data goes, there were 122 behaviour support staff recorded as working in Scottish schools.
The data also shows that over half of local authorities - 18 in total - say they employ no behaviour support staff.
However, the data does show that PSA numbers are rising and there is a warning alongside the figures that “the classification between behaviour support and pupil support assistants is often inconsistent between local authorities and in some cases within authorities”.
The government document adds: “Because of the relative sizes of the number of staff reported in these categories this has a greater impact on the comparability of behaviour support staff than pupil support assistants.”
Rising numbers of PSAs and other roles
The data shows the number of PSAs working in Scottish schools increased by around 25 per cent between 2018 and 2023, going from 13,803 FTE PSAs to a high of 17,330 last year.
The number of FTE educational psychologists working in Scotland also hit a high since 2018 of 400 last year (2023) - up from 368 in 2018 and 398 in 2022.
The data also records the number of FTE home-school link workers in Scotland and the number of library staff.
The number of home-school link workers was recorded as 467 in 2023 - up on the 376 recorded in 2018, but down on the 497 recorded in 2022, and the 475 recorded in 2021.
The number of library staff, meanwhile, was recorded as 242 in 2023 - down on the 266 in 2018 and on the 258 in 2022. In 2021 the number of library staff working in Scottish schools was recorded as 234.
The figures tracking the number of support staff working in Scottish schools follow the publication of the teacher census in December.
Teacher numbers fell for the second year in a row despite the Scottish government’s promise to protect them and to increase teacher numbers by 3,500 over the course of the 2021-26 Parliament.
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