Question reference: S6W-16505
- Asked by: Meghan Gallacher, MSP for Central Scotland, Scottish Conservative and Unionist Party
- Date lodged: 5 April 2023
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Current status: Answered by Jenny Gilruth on 2 May 2023
Question
To ask the Scottish Government what steps are being taken to increase the number of modern languages (a) teachers and (b) teaching assistants to pre-COVID-19 pandemic levels, in light of the reported decrease in numbers.
Answer
The Scottish Government has clear commitments to improve education, and those include more teachers in our schools.
During the pandemic we provided £240 million of additional investment to local authorities to support the recruitment of additional education staff to support education recovery. We recently set out measures to Parliament making it clear that we will provide £145.5 million in next year’s budget to protect increased teacher numbers and support staff. Where this is not being delivered by a local authority, we will withhold or recoup funding that has been given for this purpose.
Additionally, we value the contribution of languages assistants who come to our schools through a variety of programmes. This is why we have provided funding to partners such as British Council Scotland and the University of Strathclyde to manage and promote such programmes.