By Professor John Robertson OBA
Headlining on BBC Scotland today:
The Scottish government has withheld £145.5m in funding to councils because of a row over teacher numbers. It says the money has been earmarked to maintain teacher jobs, but local government body Cosla disagrees with the ringfencing. Most Scottish councils are looking at education cuts – including proposals to reduce learning hours, school buses, and classroom assistants – but only some, including Glasgow, have reduced teacher numbers.
The important detail and context which BBC Scotland, the Herald and Scotsman never tell you:
From 2017 to 2023, the number of pupils in Scotland’s state schools has increased from 688 959 to 705 528, by 2.4%.
In the same period, the number of teachers has increased from 51 513 to 54 033, by 4.9%.
In the same period, the ratio of pupils to teachers has fallen (improved) from 13.6 to 13.2.1
This is the lowest (best) in the UK, compared with PTRs of 18 in England, 18.4 in Wales and 17.4 in Northern Ireland.2
The BBC Scotland report does not mention the above.
Sources:
- https://www.gov.scot/publications/summary-statistics-for-schools-in-scotland-2023/pages/headline-school-and-early-learning-and-childcare-elc-statistics/
- https://www.gov.scot/publications/pupil-projections-implications-teacher-resourcing-needs-scotland-education-workforce-modelling-research/pages/10/
Talking-up Scotland 'Albatraz' 
I notice in the same BBC article a reference to North Lanarkshire Council’s financial woes: ‘In a bid to save £3.6m in August, the Council. changed the qualifying mileage limits for free school transport from one mile to two miles for primary school pupils, and two to three miles for secondary school pupils.’
One parent is quoted by BBC Scotland saying, amongst other things: “But we’re talking about a 50 minute walk for most children, and some will be more than that. So the distance is part of it, but it’s the safety.’ Of course ‘safety’ is a critically important issue that Council’s have a duty to assess and take into account in their school transport provision.
What kind of dastardly Council increases the walking distances for children! This is just the sort of thing you get in an SNP-run Scotland is it not?
As always nowadays my benchmark is Wales and the policies implemented by its longstanding British Labour Party government in Cardiff. After all, we need to know what a British Labour Party government in Holyrood might mean after 2026.
Source: Senedd Research (October 2022) Home to school transport – a guide for constituents.
‘Walking distances: The Learner Travel (Wales) Measure 2008 sets out the distance criteria whereby learners are entitled to free transport to and from their nearest suitable school. Distances below these thresholds are referred to as ‘walking distances’. Local Authorities have a legal duty to provide free home to school transport for learners of compulsory school age.
– For those attending secondary school the distance is pupils who live 3 miles or further from their nearest suitable school;
– For primary schools, the walking distance is 2 miles.
‘The Measure sets out that the walking distance should be measured by the ‘shortest available route’. A route is considered to be ‘available’ if it is safe (as far as reasonably practicable) for a learner without a disability or learning difficulty to walk the route alone (or with an accompanying adult if the learner’s age and levels of understanding requires this).’
The Senedd document is a few years old but the same policy on walking distances pertain, as a note published recently by Bridgend County Borough Council confirms: ‘Home-to-School Transport Policy – September 2025’ (sic)
3.1. Welsh Government has defined the ‘statutory walking distance’ as two miles
for primary school pupils and three miles for secondary school pupils of
compulsory school age.
3.2. The local authority’s policy is in line with Welsh Government’s statutory
distances.’
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The Scottish Gov has ring fenced education funding. The Councils always want to try to cut to spend on other stuff. The Scottish Gov is directly funding nurture/nature practitioners and counsellors in schools.
The Councils cut additional needs teachers and other support. If the money allocated to nursery funding is not taken up, it still has to be used for education. There are 15,000 classroom assistants + other support staff. Average class sizes in primary 23. They are much lower in 5/6 secondary years.
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This is misinformation, written by someone to had clearly never stepped foot into a classroom and doesn’t know the issues that Scottish education is facing.
There are thousands of teachers unable to secure work, 56% of respondents have sought employment outside teaching due to job instability, 12% of them have been on Universal Credit for over a year.
Casual work supply has increased 189% in some councils with an average of around 60% across the board.
@GCParentsGroup are launching a legal action against @GlasgowCC – with other parents groups in other councils planning on doing the same.
The governments own workforce planning switched from recruiting an additional 3500 teachers in 2022 to simply ‘maintaining’ in 2023. The 145m has been said on numerous occasions in parliament that it was given to the councils – when in fact no council had signed up to it. So the governments own workforce planning is null and void now.
Violence in Scottish schools has been rising sharply in recent years. In Fife alone, the number of incidents increased by nearly 119%, from 1,212 in 2018-19 to 2,652 in 2022-23. Edinburgh has seen similar alarming trends, with a 54% rise over the same period, and 2,074 incidents reported so far in the current school year.
Approximately 40% of young people in Scotland require some form of additional support, yet funding and resources continue to be severely inadequate. Teachers and support staff are struggling to meet the increasing complexity of needs within mainstream schools, with growing concerns about staff well-being and the quality of education children with ASN are receiving. This chronic underfunding not only impacts students but also places enormous strain on overburdened school staff, who are often left without the proper training or resources needed to meet these challenges
So no, please don’t write me a fluff piece that paints a picture of nothing being wrong.
There is plenty wrong within Scottish education that needs to be fixed.
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The problem you have here is that registered teachers is not the same as the number of employed teachers. There are 000s of unemployed teachers on that list. There are far too many students going through the ITE with jobs being taken up my NQTs.
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Many pupils with additional needs do very well with proper support. Relatively simple things. A quiet space for time out. Empathy and understanding. Teachers need training in additional needs. A module at least in training.
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Additional needs pupils do have meltdowns. They are not being violent they are is a situation where they cannot cope. They can be anxious and overwhelmed. Some teachers do not understand. They do not have additional needs training. Simple things can be put in place so the pupils are not overwhelmed.
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There were always teachers waiting on permanent jobs even in the 1980’s. Teachers can have to wait for a position to become vacant in the area that they want. Sometimes they have to travel to other areas. Or work in another job. It is the same in other professions. They have to travel to find a permanent place and wait until a job becomes available in their chosen area.
The Councils cut additional needs staff. They either leave or go to another area and/or find another additional needs placement. The Councils appear to not taking in up allocated finances. Then complaining.
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