Drop in Teaching Numbers Concerning

I raised concerns in the Scottish Parliament about the numbers of teaching staff across schools in Scotland and called for a detailed recovery plan to be put in place by the Scottish Government to tackle the problems.

I specifically raised concerns over the number of pupils studying STEM subjects, following information showing that between 2008 and 2021 secondary schools in Scotland lost 323 Maths teachers, 51 physics teachers and 106 Technical Studies teachers, while general secondary teacher numbers have fallen in the same period in 23 of the 32 local authorities, including a drop of 86 in Fife and a drop of 24 in Clackmannanshire

We need to do better when it comes to Scottish education standards and I told the Cabinet Secretary for Education that it is absolutely shocking that teachers, who have been through so much, find themselves being forced on to picket lines to defend their pay and their jobs.

The drop is teaching numbers should be a massive worry for the future of education standards in Scotland and the government should be getting a plan in place to deal with this crisis. In Fife and Clackmannanshire the numbers of teachers has fallen as has the numbers of pupils taking science, technology, engineering and maths to qualification level and I can see no evidence of a costed recovery plan being considered by councillors.

Every education authority in Scotland should produce properly costed recovery plans, so that those can be scrutinised by democratically elected local councillors and by Parliament and so that we can start to address the massive failings in Scottish education. Far too many young people are leaving the education system not equipped for the world of work and it is not unreasonable to expect better.

The Scottish Government should make this their priority if we are to deal with the worrying decline in teacher numbers across the country and the falling levels of educational achievement.

Teaching numbers tables included below –