A review by the schools inspectorate of the quality of personal and social education in Scottish schools has uncovered the “astronomical” caseloads that some guidance teachers carry.

In a review of personal and social education lessons - which are usually delivered by guidance or pastoral-care staff - inspection body Education Scotland found that the number of pupils for which a single guidance teacher was responsible varied from 74 to 280. It also revealed that the average caseload was 200 pupils.

Education Scotland is now calling for a review of the role of pastoral staff to ensure “an appropriate balance of responsibilities”.

Scottish Greens education spokesman Ross Greer who has campaigned for better PSE provision in schools described the figures as “shocking” and said the situation was “unacceptable” given the “huge” mental health challenges many pupils were experiencing.

He continued: “The Scottish government’s budget cuts are fatally undermining education for young people in Scotland as teachers become more and more stretched, and it is children’s mental health that is suffering as a result. It is time for the government to restore spending in education and ensure that schools can employ the teachers and other staff their young people need.”

Last year, the Scottish Guidance Association wrote to education secretary John Swinney warning that guidance teachers were at “breaking point” and that pupils who were suicidal or facing serious problems at home were being let down by a lack of support.

Responding to the Education Scotland figures, Euan Duncan, a professional officer at the Scottish Secondary Teachers’ Association and a guidance teacher, said large pupil caseloads required guidance staff to work “an immense number of hours”.

It was not uncommon for guidance teachers to work a 60-hour week, he said. The personal cost could be high and teachers’ mental health often suffered, he added.

Mr Duncan said: “Since the introduction of guidance teachers decades ago, the role has developed and grown, but the number of guidance teachers in schools has reduced. Whereas, in the past, a school with 1,000 pupils might have had nine specialists - for instance, three principal teachers and six assistant-principal teaches - the same school might now have fewer than four.

“There is more work than people to do it. This is a fact which, for the sake of our learners, must not be overlooked. “

The Scottish government committed to the PSE review after an inquiry by the Scottish Parliament’s education committee found vital topics, such as what constitutes sexual consent and LGBTI issues, were not being covered in PSE lessons.

The Education Scotland investigation involved visits to 55 schools, including 21 primaries, 20 secondaries, 10 nurseries and four special schools.

It found children and young people’s views on PSE and health and wellbeing lessons were “mixed”, with primary pupils responding more positively than those in secondary.

The most notable features of PSE in secondary were the “widely varying” approaches to delivery and the time allocated to PSE, said the report.

While the review found “extensive evidence” that secondary schools were continually updating their programmes “to include ‘21st century issues’”, it also highlighted that a significant minority of secondary pupils felt the subject was “overly repetitive and lacks progression”.

The report said pupils reported that themes, including alcohol abuse and bullying, were being revisited year after year without suitable progression.

Some pupils also felt programmes were “outdated”, said the report.

Topics that pupils said they would have liked to learn more about in PSE included mortgages, finances, credit cards, how to get jobs, and laws about issues such as sexual consent and drink-driving, said the report.

However, the report said teachers needed more professional learning on sexual consent, which includes issues such as appropriate touching. The report found the topic was not always given “appropriate focus” in school.

In senior secondary, PSE was sometimes simply viewed by pupils as a free period, said Phil Alcock, who heads up the health and wellbeing team in the Scottish government’s learning directorate, and who chaired a session about the review at the Scottish Learning Festival in Glasgow last week. The subject needed “a bit more status in the curriculum”, he said, emphasising the importance of co-designing programmes with pupils so they get “something they want to learn about” in PSE lessons.

Speaking to Tes Scotland, he added: “We are seeing some cases where a guidance teacher has up to 280 kids - that’s astronomical.”

The review would make its recommendations to the government in relation to PSE at the end of the year, he said.