Chamber and committees

We are acutely aware of the pressures that school staff are currently operating under as a result of the challenges of COVID-19. Staff will understandably be anxious about their own wellbeing and will be dealing with practical implications of Covid measures and mitigations in a school setting.

To address these issues, we have provided £80m for councils to recruit additional teachers, and other education support staff to help education recovery. While precise numbers will vary according to need, the additional £80m is enough for around 1,400 teachers and 200 support staff. Current figures show that an additional 1,303 teachers have already been recruited.

School staff will be offered new support as part of a £1.5 million funding package to help manage additional pressures as a direct result of the COVID-19 pandemic. This package of support for school staff, developed in partnership with organisations represented on the Education Recovery Group, provides direct access to a range of focused supports including coaching, reflective supervision and opportunities for school staff to learn together through the challenges presented by Covid-19.

A recent survey by the Office for National Statistics (ONS) shows no evidence of differences in the positivity rates of pre-school, primary and secondary school teachers and staff, relative to other worker groups of a similar age.

Data from Public Health Scotland also shows that the proportion of positive test cases from adults aged 18+ who reported they were employed and their occupation was “education/childcare” has remained largely constant since late August at between 3 and 7%.