Professor John Robertson OBA, former schoolteacher, Education lecturer and Associate Dean for Quality Assurance
In February 2025, BBC Scotland platformed an Audit Scotland report which they characterised as a ‘Failure to plan’ over soaring pupil support needs: https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/articles/c0q1wyeevvgo
Also, of course, they allowed the Conservative and Labour education spokespersons to use the report to accuse the Scottish Government of a ‘shameful failure.’
They did not offer any facts or figures such as these below, or the previous year’s version of them.
From School support staff statistics, published yesterday, we can see that between 2018 and 2024, there was:
- A 24% increase in the number of Pupil Support Assistants, from 13 803 to 17 046.
- An much greater 194% increase, tripling, in the number of Behaviour Support staff from 122 to 359.
- A 24.4 % increase in the number of Home-School Link workers, from 376 to 468.
- A 7.6% increase in the number of Educational Psychologists from 368 to 396
Now, some may wish to argue that this is still too little, but the public has a right to see these data so that they can make informed decisions and not rely on the limited, politicised, views of Miles Briggs and Pam Duncan-Glancy.
Source: https://www.gov.scot/publications/school-support-staff-statistics/
Talking-up Scotland 'Albatraz' 
Is Audit Scotland going to stand as a party in the 2026 Holyrood Elections?
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The Haudit and Audit party?
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Two things in respect to the BBC (so called) News in Scotland:
Allowing “the Conservative and Labour education spokespersons to use the report to accuse the Scottish Government of a ‘shameful failure.’”
Also….
“They did not offer any facts or figures”.
The above is the BBC Scotland news teams preferred method of communicating news relating to the Scottish government and also relating to Scotland.
“As BBC and Audit Scotland accuse SNP Government of a ‘failure to plan’ for ‘soaring’ pupil support needs why didn’t they mention that there are now THREE TIMES as many Behaviour Support staff and 24% more Pupil Support Assistants”?
Well we all know why .
However the real question is how come they , the BBC in Scotland, keep getting away with it, and then also keep thinking this is an acceptable behaviour by them as a supposed, but clearly not, non partisan news provider ?
As the BBC Scotland new teams always target the SNP with constant negativity , while seemingly ignoring or rather excusing the behaviour and failures of other political parties in Scotland and also those elsewhere in the UK too ?
I suspect , or rather I know (as do others) the answer relates solely to the SNP’s constitutional position within the UK.
(If Wales had Plaid Cymru as their Welsh government, instead of Labour, then they too would get the exact same BBC negative treatment as the SNP are subjected to in Scotland, no question of that).
Vote SNP in 2026 and show the BBC news teams in Scotland that we , the majority in Scotland, do not believe their version of their news , which most of us regard as being Fake News….the same BBC Scotland Fake News that the BBC’s (supposed) Verify Unit fails to even consider or take the time to check it’s actual veracity.
(For fear it then proves just how fake the BBC news is in Scotland , which would then challenge them as an actual UK news organisation , especially with them pretending that they only seek to provide us with the truth, as in their BBC version of the truth apparently , often aka LIES ).
Liz S
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Also O/T
Great British Energy.
2024 GE Manifesto (with picture of Starmer & Sarwar together) :
“How Labour will make Scotland a clean energy superpower”
“Headquarter GB Energy in Scotland to cut bills and create jobs”
“Energy security to end our exposure to dictators like Putin”
“69,000 new high-quality jobs in Scotland’s clean energy industries”
“Investment in Scotland’s clean energy potential”
“Warmer homes to slash fuel poverty“
So GB Energy’s HQ is in Scotland but so far it has not cut bills nor created any jobs.
However I did see this tweet via Ed Milliband’s Twitter account on 21 March this year.
“Great British Energy is coming to you”
“Our publicly-owned energy company is rolling out solar panels for schools and NHS sites across England. Cutting bills and saving money for frontline services”
Video linked to his tweet….
Ed says in the video “Great British energy is your publicly owned energy company”.
“And here’s it’s first project”.
“Putting solar panels on the roofs and schools of Hospitals in your community”.
(That’s English Schools which the Labour Education Secretary is responsible for)
Then also in Ed’s video are people from both English Education establishments and also English Hospitals explaining the benefits to their respective establishments, as in financially. which then enabled their places of work to invest in other things to benefit their Education establishment or Hospital.
(As in within England only and not throughout the whole of Britain, as initially only England will benefit from GB Energy’s “first project” according to Ed Milliband, Labour’s UK Energy Secretary).
Then Ed says at the end of the video “That’s what a publicly owned energy company can do for our country“
So Ed , the Labour ‘UK’ Energy Secretary, states that the first project of GB Energy for our country is for establishments in England and so not where Keir Starmer once referred to as the place that “would be at the heart of the energy sector”, as in Aberdeen in Scotland ?????
So obviously Keir forgot to tell Ed, his , checks bloody notes, UK Energy Secretary, that it’s “Aberdeen in Scotland” that was to be at the “heart of the energy sector” and not England First?
Also both Keir Starmer & Anas Sarwar forgot to also tell Ed that in the 2024 GE Labour Manifesto relating to Scotland, it included a part that declared:
“How Labour will make Scotland a clean energy superpower”
Also where they both stated:
“Headquarter GB Energy in Scotland to cut bills and create jobs“.
Perhaps Keir & Anas forgot to mention in their Labour manifesto for Scotland that it would be England First for the “First” GB Energy project and then perhaps, maybe, somehow, in that eventually Scotland would perhaps, maybe, somehow, eventually get the GB Energy scraps from both Ed Milliband and Labour.
Ed’s text and video seems to be referring only to what GB Energy can do “first” for his country, England, and not what it is doing and also will do for the whole of Britain.
While Scotland has the so called HQ of GB Energy based here , which is looking even more like a token gesture only done to try to win votes for Labour in Scotland, as it has ended up being the equivalent of having only a figurehead status , as far as it having what seems to be no actual meaningful standing or significance at all as an HQ of GB Energy. (Nameplate exercise only).
Even the GB Energy Chairman chose to be in England and not at the Scottish ‘HQ’ of GB Energy, that in itself tells you everything you need to know about GB Energy’s so called HQ office in Aberdeen.
I think we all know where the real “heart of GB Energy lies” and it is not in Scotland.
We , Scotland, are only involved in the context of our resources being used for both Ed’s and Labour’s so called flagship policy GB Energy, where the GB part is looking to be very much, yet again, synonymous with being England on
Vote SNP in 2026 etc etc etc
Liz S
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*“Putting solar panels on the roofs and schools of Hospitals in your community”.
(That’s English Schools which the Labour Education Secretary is responsible for)
Forgot to also add Hospitals that the Labour health Secretary is responsible for.
Also
*We , Scotland, are only involved in the context of our resources being used for both Ed’s and Labour’s so called flagship policy GB Energy, where the GB part is looking to be very much, yet again, synonymous with being England on
Last word should be “only” not “on”
Predictive text has become a weapon for incorrect information being published as well as the writer not checking, as in editing, his or her comment before pressing “Submit” Ha Ha
Liz S
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Apologies for yet another comment from me today, but rage generates a release of home truths needing to be released , they do say it’s better “oot than in”…..Ha Ha
Reeves today in her mini spring Budget “We live in an uncertain world”.
Yes we do , and with Labour as the new UK government they are making the “world” seem even more “uncertain” for the poorest and most vulnerable within the UK.
Labour are also not making the “world” any more stable for the rest of us either, as energy bills and food prices are still very high, and increasing further.
Plus they, Labour, as a UK government seem to be making all of the wrong decisions for all of the wrong reasons which hardly inspires confidence and certainty as a Scot still unfortunately living as a citizen within their UK , so then we are still subject to their reserved UK policies and rules.
Labour are also helping to make this world even more “uncertain” in supporting and defending the atrocious and despicable actions being done by Israel against Palestinians.
Then of course we also have the “uncertainty within the world” prompted by Trump as the new American President.
Where the new Labour PM, Keir Starmer, on a recent visit to America , was seen to pander to Trump’s vanity in offering him a UK state visit….sorry not a UK one as such , but a Scottish sorta ‘UK’ state visit , to meet with ‘#NotMyKing’ as in King Charles at Balmoral.
BTW this “Uncertain world” that Rachel Reeves insists we now live in is not apparently “uncertain” for our Scottish government.
Nope.
As both she and her party think that everything for the Scottish government exists without any uncertainty for them.
So their performance and stats should be perfect as the Scottish government.
They should also never encounter any issues, any obstacles and certainly no impediments to prevent them, as the Scottish government, running Scotland with absolutely no problems.
So for the SNP as the Scottish government there is apparently no “uncertainty” via “global factors” impacting our Scottish economy.
Also no mitigating circumstances, no external forces causing any hindrance for them, indeed nowt to inhibit them as the Scottish government, in what is, according to Reeves and her Labour’ party, an apparent “uncertain world”.
Ironically for Scotland , as part of that “uncertain world” is the current UK Labour government , just as the previous Tory UK government were also those who represented most of the “uncertainty” for our Scottish government.
As in various UK governments, present most of the “uncertainty” and most of the problems for our Scottish government to deal with and so they, as the Scottish government, are then expected to constantly mitigate, in Scotland, all of the bad UK government decisions.
Which the Labour party knows only too well that this , as a constant position, is a fact, as do the media.
Apparently for Rachel Reeves and her party it is Russia that is the (biggest) threat that makes this an “uncertain world”.
The same Russia that the current American President , Trump, is seemingly defending .
However he, Trump, is also the same American President that Rachel’s Labour party leader, Keir Starmer, has offered a state visit to (but only for Trump to come to Starmer’s and his King’s colony aka Scotland).
Of course this “uncertain world” is now Labour’s current nominated ‘Scapegoat’, and it is one that then opens the gates for their (newest and latest) excuse to increase their spending on something other than people……as in increase the spending on defence.
Money for war and no (as in never any) money for people.
Got it.
Is it not then a case of Labour generating even more turmoil and instability , as in creating an even more “uncertain world” , with the Labour UK government now declaring, or rather prioritising, that they will increase their spending on defence, as in getting ready for a potential future war ???
(While simultanously Labour are cutting their spending on their UK citizens much needed services).
Another UK government’s Magic Money tree for defence spending, the same Magic Money tree that apparently does not exist when any UK government’s finances and spending are challenged on behalf of ordinary people.
What is strange though (not), is that the UK under a new Labour UK government does still seem to be a place that offers ‘certainty’ for the “world” that very wealthy people inhabit .
As Labour are just as keen as the Tories were previously , in ensuring that wealthy people are not negatively impacted by any UK government policies or decisions, that would then effect them and their (increasing) wealth now or in the future.
BTW if you listened and watched Rachel Reeves today in the HOC giving her ‘mini budget’ speech, did you manage to count the amount of times that she referred to the “working people” ?
Do not be fooled into thinking that this represents those from the working class, as Keir’s new Labour party has now ended their support for the working class (Man & Woman).
As they have extended their support to those whose class is way above the “many” who represent the “working class”……as in those, the “Few”, whose class is considered to be vastly more privileged (same ones, as in class, who can donate to the Labour party in return for what is , ironically, seen as ‘benefits’).
Vote SNP in 2026….pass it on, as the alternative will be that Labour will assume that Scotland is theirs to do with what they will…..and they will do what they want, which will, for us in Scotland, be bad, very very bad in fact.
Liz S
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The unionists councils cut additional needs funding. They build empty shops and offices, instead of schools and affordable houses. Waste monies on projects of no value. Borrow and spend too much. They sell Cities on the stock exchange pay back too much debt. OAP’s making extra money.Then blame the central Gov because they have no money. They have wasted it. Parties funded from the South trying to destroy the Scottish economy.
The Scottish economy does better than the rest of the UK. Unemployment 3.3%. Rest 4.4%. Reeves is taking from the poorer to fund the military. People will die because of Labour unionist policy. They would rather kill people than keep them alive. The Westminster warmongers. Illegal wars, Trident, redundant weaponry, financial fraud and tax evasion.
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The Scottish Gov ring fence Education spending so these Councils unionists Councils cannot cut it and spend the funds on other things. Nursery education has been extended. Support for students. Less children in care. Kinship payments. Support for children in care. No council tax. Educational grants and support. Additional needs payments. Diagnoses. Extra support payments.
The Scottish Gov are paying for counsellors and nurture/nature practitioners in schools. To advise on intervention or help additional needs pupils. A base or a quiet place or a sensory room.
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