Teacher Numbers
To ask the Scottish Government what steps it is taking to provide councils with resources to maintain teacher numbers. (S4T-00943)
The Government provides councils, through the local government finance settlement, with £37.6 million to fund the teacher induction scheme and £41 million to support the commitment to maintain teacher numbers.
The Deputy First Minister wrote to all local authorities on 5 February asking them individually to commit to maintain their pupil teacher ratio and the numbers of teachers that they employ. In return for meeting that commitment, the Government will provide councils with their share of the £41 million, plus a share of an additional £10 million.
Given the resources available to councils that commit to maintaining teacher numbers and the fact that the Scottish Government has offered to suspend the penalty that it was entitled to apply as a result of last year’s fall in teacher numbers, does the cabinet secretary agree with Larry Flanagan, the general secretary of the Educational Institute of Scotland? He said:
“The fact that COSLA”—
the Convention of Scottish Local Authorities—
“is continuing to resist a national agreement, including the offer of significant new money, is extremely disappointing.”
Yes, it is indeed disappointing that COSLA found itself unable to accept the original offer. That fair and generous offer has now been made to all local authorities; I encourage them to accept it.
It is important to recognise that the maintenance of teacher numbers is also a condition of the tripartite pay agreement. Teachers unions have accepted changes to their members’ terms and conditions on the basis that teacher numbers will be maintained.
A number of members want to ask questions and I intend to call you all. However, I want a question—I do not want any statements—so just come right to it.
Will the cabinet secretary confirm that, when she talks about maintaining the number of teachers, that number is 4,275 fewer than when this Government came to office in 2007?
The offer that has been made to local authorities is to maintain teacher numbers at the 2014-15 level. It is important to recognise that there was a vast decrease in teachers between 2007 and 2011. Since 2011, teacher numbers have broadly stabilised, although last year there was a small, but disappointing decrease. Therefore, since 2011, extra resource and a commitment to maintaining teacher numbers have been part of the local government agreement.
Given the unacceptable teacher vacancy numbers in Moray, will the cabinet secretary advise what contact is being made with the council to establish why that situation has arisen and to ensure that it is taking proper steps to address the deficiency?
A number of actions can be taken and are being pursued at local and national level. I have had meetings with Aberdeen City Council and Aberdeenshire Council, and I have been in touch with members who represent the Moray area.
It is true that in some areas of the country there are teacher shortages, particularly in certain subjects. The Scottish Government has an overall responsibility for national workforce planning; local authorities have duties to employ and recruit teachers.
A number of actions are being taken. At a national level, for example, for the fourth year in a row we have increased the number of students going into initial teacher training. The increase has been disproportionately geared towards the University of Aberdeen, the University of Dundee and the University of the Highlands and Islands to help those geographical areas where there are shortages. At local level, as I know from my discussions, councils are using the flexibility of financial incentives and programmes such as the distance learning initial teacher education initiative, which the Government funds, to train up classroom assistants.
The cabinet secretary will be aware that local authorities such as South Ayrshire Council, which has complied with the Government’s expectation and already has a lower pupil teacher ratio than required, and which also has falling school rolls, will nonetheless be required to employ teachers for whom there will be no job if it wants to attract its share of the £51 million fund provided by Government. Local authorities that comply—
Can we get a question, Mr Scott?
Indeed. Is it fair that those local authorities will be expected to subsidise the councils that have not complied with the guidelines?
It is certainly fair to say that the Government would have preferred to reach a national agreement with COSLA. I am certainly aware of the diversity across Scotland. In some areas, such as Aberdeen, Aberdeenshire and Edinburgh, we have increasing pupil numbers that are quite remarkable. In other areas of the country, such as parts of Ayrshire, the school roll is falling, and I appreciate that there are challenges. We will work closely with individual councils. Nonetheless, the offer that is available to individual councils is to maintain teacher numbers at a minimum of the 2014-15 levels. We will, of course, have and are having dialogue with any council regarding any particular issues that it has.
Does the cabinet secretary accept that authorities such as Moray Council, which may already be struggling to recruit teachers, will not find the task any easier if they are then subject to financial penalties? Does she agree that the Government’s divide-and-rule approach makes national workforce planning and responding to the changes in school rolls that John Scott referred to between local authority areas difficult if not impossible?
It is important to state that COSLA and the Association of Directors of Education in Scotland are involved in the working group that looks at national workforce planning and have never disagreed with the recommendations of that group. Indeed, ministers have always accepted the recommendations of the workforce planning group and have, for the fourth consecutive year, increased the numbers of students going into initial teacher education. As I said, I would have preferred to get a national agreement with COSLA, but COSLA was unable to come to an agreement with the Government. I am sure that Liam McArthur understands that my number 1 priority as Cabinet Secretary for Education and Lifelong Learning is to safeguard the education of our children, to maintain and raise attainment, and to close the attainment gap. I do not see how we can make significant progress in closing the attainment gap while sitting back and allowing teacher numbers to fall.
This morning, Dumfries and Galloway Council announced a U-turn on its decision to cut 52 additional support for learning posts, including teachers. Does the cabinet secretary agree that that vindicates strong action from the Scottish Government, because it encourages Labour councils such as Dumfries and Galloway Council, which would not have done so, to commit to maintaining teacher numbers?
I certainly welcome the news that Dumfries and Galloway Council has reconsidered its earlier proposals. That is good news and I am sure that it will be warmly welcomed across the Dumfries and Galloway area. As Miss McAlpine is aware, under the terms of the offer that we have made to each and every local authority, we are asking them to assure a minimum of the total number of teachers at 2014-15 levels to maintain the maximum pupil teacher ratio for schools at the 2014-15 levels, and that is important if we are to safeguard the education of our children as we move forward.
Does the Scottish Government consider that education policy should focus on outcomes for students rather than centrally imposed targets?
I very much believe that we should be focused on outcomes for our children, but it is important to recognise that teachers have been at the heart of all the progress that we have made on attainment, on school leaver destinations and on the important initiatives that are focused on children from the most deprived areas. Good-quality teaching is absolutely central to the delivery of education and to improving outcomes for our children. We cannot achieve those things without teachers, and I agree with the Educational Institute for Scotland that teachers are our greatest asset in the education system.
Will the Scottish Government accept the recommendations of the General Teaching Council for Scotland to remove the red tape that prevents some teachers who come from south of the border and from other parts from applying in Scotland?
Ms Smith will be well aware that the GTCS is an independent body that is independent of Government for very good reasons. From my dialogue with local authorities the length and breadth of Scotland, I know that there is a feeling that some of the processes that they need to go through—for very good reason—to maintain teacher quality could be speeded up.
Alcohol (Football Matches)
To ask the Scottish Government whether it will consider introducing a pilot scheme for the sale and consumption of alcohol at football matches. (S4T-00941)
Drinking at football matches is a serious and complex issue. Although the vast majority of football fans in Scotland are well behaved and a credit to their clubs, the current policy on alcohol at football grounds was introduced for good reason.
There has been a positive cultural shift in attitudes to alcohol in Scotland over recent years, which we welcome, but there is still much work to be done in the area. We therefore need to consider the issue carefully. A variety of organisations, including Police Scotland and Scottish Women’s Aid, strongly support the policy remaining as it is, given the marked increase in the number of violent incidents that have been recorded in relation to some football matches.
Watching Scottish football in a stadium should be a family-friendly experience. Indeed, it has become a much more family-friendly pursuit since the introduction of the current alcohol policy. It is important that we maintain a fun and safe environment for spectators. However, I am aware that other members of the Parliament and the Scottish Football Association have their own views, and I encourage them to continue their dialogue with Police Scotland.
The ban on alcohol at football matches was introduced in 1980, before I and hundreds of thousands of other football fans were even born. It is time to rethink the policy. The minister will be aware that people can have a drink of alcohol at the rugby, at the theatre, at a music venue and—if they pay enough—at football hospitality. Surely, the minister would not say that ordinary football fans cannot be trusted to have a drink. Surely, it is time to look again at the blanket ban.
For the member to equate attending a football game with attending a theatre or a pop concert is stretching things a little far. He should reflect on the fact that the ban was introduced for rugby games because Scottish Rugby Union volunteered to opt into it despite the fact that there was no history of any difficulty at its games. The history to the issue must be recognised and taken account of. As I have said, if the SFA and Police Scotland wish to have discussions about the matter, they should feel free to do so.
As a football fan and someone who regularly attends football matches with my young children, I find it easy enough to go 90 minutes without any alcohol. I suspect that most fans would find that they are able to go 90 minutes without any alcohol. We must treat the matter carefully and seriously, and not turn it into a political football as the member’s party has done.
I was at the St Mirren v Inverness Caledonian Thistle game on Saturday, and a clear majority of supporters—many of them families—from both clubs wanted the ban on alcohol lifted. Scottish Labour, the Scottish Conservatives and—I remind the minister—many SNP back benchers including Kenny MacAskill, the former Cabinet Secretary for Justice, want the blanket ban to be looked at, although, of course, the police should have discretion.
Can we have a question?
There is a groundswell of opinion in favour of lifting the ban. Why does it appear that the SNP Government ministers are against that proposal when a consultation and a pilot project have not taken place?
The member clearly did not listen to what I just said. If the SFA and Police Scotland want to have dialogue on the matter—I know that they have already been having dialogue about it—I am more than happy for that dialogue to take place and for them to explore the issue and produce proposals.
If the member thinks that standing outside Love Street speaking to some fans is a form of proper consultation, he is pretty misguided when it comes to how a consultation should be undertaken and how people should be engaged with. As I have said in the past, given the serious nature of the issue, if we and the SFA are to consult on it, a thorough and proper consultation must be carried out that goes well beyond just those who attend football matches.
The member should reflect on the fact that Scotland has a long-standing problem in its relationship with alcohol, which costs the taxpayer some £3 billion per year. That is almost £900 for each taxpayer in Scotland. If we are to make sure that we continue to turn the tide in our relationship with alcohol and to get it on to a more positive footing, we must be prepared to progress policies that will deliver that. Mr Bibby’s party has shown that, historically, it has not been prepared to do that on issues such as minimum pricing.
Talking of St Mirren, I call George Adam.
Thank you, Presiding Officer.
I regularly attend St Mirren football games. The cabinet secretary might be aware that St Mirren had a highly successful fan zone within its grounds on match day towards the end of last year. It proved to be very family friendly. Children played football and there was an Xbox for them to play on while adults consumed alcohol. That was an event at which football—allegedly—formed part of the entertainment.
Does the cabinet secretary support the idea of going down the route of having a pilot similar to St Mirren’s fan zone? Does he agree that, as alcohol at football matches is quite an emotive subject, it might have been better for the Labour Party to back my call for a members’ business debate in Scotland’s Parliament to discuss it instead of chasing camera crews around football grounds?
I will pass on the opportunity to comment on the entertainment that is provided on the pitch at St Mirren Park—I will leave it to George Adam, as a St Mirren fan, to do that.
I recognise that George Adam has a long-standing interest in the matter and has raised it on a number of occasions with the football authorities, the police and Scottish Government ministers. St Mirren’s approach of having a fan zone—which was outside the restricted area for alcohol—appears to have been successful. If St Mirren is inclined to continue to pursue that route, it is open to the club to do so.
It is extremely important that our football clubs recognise that they must provide a family-friendly environment. We are talking about the fans of tomorrow as well as the fans of today. The clubs must ensure that the match-day experience that they provide for their fans is safe and fun. I am not entirely sure that alcohol should play a large part in that.
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