Question reference: S5W-34604
- Asked by: Beatrice Wishart, MSP for Shetland Islands, Scottish Liberal Democrats
- Date lodged: 15 January 2021
-
Current status: Answered by John Swinney on 22 January 2021
Question
To ask the Scottish Government what feedback it has received from (a) local authorities and (b) other relevant partners regarding the work available to supply teachers during the COVID-19 pandemic.
Answer
The recruitment and employment of supply teachers in local authority schools are matters for individual councils, as they have the statutory responsibility for providing a complement of teachers which best meets the needs of each of their schools and its pupils.
In July we announced £75 million of additional investment in education staff, sufficient for the recruitment of around 1,400 additional teachers. To date the feedback we have received from local authorities is that they have recruited more than 1400 additional teachers.
On 13 January we also announced a package of £45 million of new funding to further support education recovery. This funding will allow local authorities to deploy more support to their schools and families as they deal with the challenges of remote learning during lockdown.
The new funding can be used to recruit further staff - which might include teachers, classroom assistants, administrative staff, home/school link workers or other support workers. It is sufficient to employ an additional 2000 teachers to the end of this financial year if required and may offer further employment opportunities for supply teachers.