Chamber and committees

The Scottish Government has provided £145.5 million in this year’s budget on the condition that local authorities:

• Maintain teacher numbers at 2022 census levels, as published in the Summary School Statistics in December 2022.
• Maintain pupil support staff numbers at 2022 census levels, as published on 21 March 2023 based on the data collected from local authorities in September 2022.

£100 million of this funding is distributed to local authorities as part of the 2023-24 General Revenue Grant. The remaining £45.5 million will also be distributed to local authorities following confirmation that these conditions have been met.

In assessing whether these conditions have been met, we will consider any mitigating circumstances individual councils may wish to put forward.

The Scottish Government will shorty publish the Delivery Plan and Workforce Development Plan which accompany the Mental Health and Wellbeing Strategy we published in the summer. Thereafter we will set out further actions in support of students.

The aim of our long-term staffing strategy for education is to ensure there continues to be a high-quality education workforce that is empowered to deliver improved learning and societal outcomes for all children and young people, and has access to a wide range of effective professional learning.

We are supporting the recruitment of teachers by providing local authorities with £145.5m in this year's budget to protect increased teacher and support staff numbers. We also work with partners on the Teacher Workforce Planning Advisory Group (TWPAG) to determine the number of initial teacher education students required across Scotland.

To help support recruitment and retention of high-quality professionals, we have agreed the most generous pay deal for teachers since 2001, meaning that Scottish classroom teachers on the main-grade scale are the best paid in the UK. The impact of this is shown by the fact that Scotland has the most teachers-per-pupil in the UK.

We are also supporting existing teachers with their wellbeing and ensuring that they have access to high-quality professional learning.

To ensure effective and evidence-informed longer-term teacher workforce planning, the Scottish Government has commissioned an external analysis and research exercise that will bring together a range of factors including current teacher numbers, pupil teacher ratios and the projected decline in the number of school-aged children. This analysis will inform decisions on education workforce planning for future years.

The Programme for Government 2023-24 set out major new commitments on childcare, including how we will test, for the first time, what an all-age childcare system will look like for Scotland in six local authority areas. We are working closely with communities, our partners and providers to consider how the early learning and school age childcare workforce can support these systems, and what they will need to do so. This includes regulation, qualifications, professional development and recruitment planning. We are also supporting a sustainable childcare profession by providing funding to increase pay to £12 per hour to early learning and childcare professionals working in the private, voluntary and independent (PVI) sector who are delivering funded provision.

We are committed to reducing the cost of school uniform and supporting families so that every child in Scotland can attend school feeling comfortable, confident, and ready to learn.

It is for local authorities to determine the eligibility criteria for school clothing grant and respond to the individual needs and circumstances of pupils in their area. This vital support for families has increased to at least £120 for eligible primary school pupils and £150 for eligible secondary school pupils. As part of action to further reduce the cost of the school day for families, we have committed through the
‎ 2023-24 Programme for Government to uplift funding by inflation to local authorities for school clothing grant in the next financial year.

We recognise that not all families will be eligible to receive school clothing grant. Therefore, we will introduce national guidance on school uniform to support schools to work with families to develop and implement affordable and sustainable uniform and clothing policies that recognise the individual needs, circumstances and identities of all pupils. It is anticipated that the guidance will be published in spring 2024.

The Scottish Government home education guidance sets out the legal position on home education and provides advice on the roles and responsibilities of local authorities and parents in relation to children who are home educated.

The Scottish Government is committed to supporting the recruitment of teachers. It is for this reason we are providing local authorities with £145.5 million in this year’s budget to protect teacher numbers. Where this is not being delivered by a local authority, we will withhold or recoup funding given for this purpose.

In addition, the Strategic Board for Teacher Education, which is made up of a range of key education stakeholders, is looking at issues around the recruitment and retention of teachers in Scotland in detail.

Since 2010 the number of permanent teaching posts in Scotland remains at approximately 80%.

The Scottish Government does not provide guidance to local authorities on offering temporary contracts to newly qualified teachers, as the recruitment and employment of teachers including recruitment practices are matters for individual councils.

All newly qualified teachers in Scotland must complete a period of probationary service to show that they meet the standards for full registration. Meeting this standard means that they can take on the demands and responsibilities of teaching.

Newly qualified teachers are not provided with 'temporary' contracts - they are provided with a probationary contract to ensure they complete the required training. This can be completed via the Teacher Induction Scheme (TIS) or via the Flexible Route and is financially supported by the Sottish Government.

We are supporting councils with an additional £145.5 million in this year’s budget to protect teacher numbers, which provides assurance of funding and removes this as a barrier to employing staff on permanent contracts.

The Scottish Government is working with partners to develop national guidance on school uniform. It is anticipated that non-statutory guidance will be published by spring 2024.

The guidance will be reintroduced as statutory guidance before the end of the Parliamentary term following the introduction of the relevant legislative provisions.

The Bee Health Team’s bee heath inspectors have been conducting a programme of apiary visits across Scotland during this year’s beekeeping season, inspecting colonies for signs of notifiable pests and diseases as well as monitoring for incursion of exotic pests. Our diagnostics and science team at SASA continues to provide a free diagnostic service to beekeepers in Scotland to identify and confirm the presence of bee diseases and pests. The Scottish Government also provides funding for a Bee Health Advisor post at Scotland’s Rural College (SRUC) who provides education and practical advice to beekeepers on honey bee health and good management with the aim of improving bee health in Scotland.

The Bee Health Improvement Partnership (BHIP) has developed a 10 year Honey Bee Health Strategy which aims to achieve a healthy and sustainable population of honey bees in Scotland, supported by an Implementation Plan detailing specific actions to deliver the Strategy’s outcomes. The Plan is updated and published after each quarterly BHIP meeting. Links to both the Strategy and the Implementation Plan are below:

Strategy: The Honey Bee Health Strategy 2022 - 2032 - gov.scot (www.gov.scot)

Implementation Plan: Scotland’s Honey Bee Health Strategy: implementation plan - gov.scot (www.gov.scot)

Scottish beekeepers and members of the public can contact the Bee Health Team direct by emailing [email protected] to discuss any issues, seek advice, and request items to be raised at the BHIP meetings.

The Good Food Nation (Scotland) Act 2022 ("the Act") requires Scottish Ministers, local authorities, and health boards to publish Good Food Nation Plans. Local authorities will be encouraged to share their views on the national Plan during the forthcoming consultation. Following the consultation process, the proposed national Plan will be laid before the Scottish Parliament. Local authority and health board Plans will be published after the national Plan, as they must have regard to the content of the national Plan in the preparation of their own Plans. The Scottish Government recognises the importance of engaging with local authorities during the development and delivery of the Good Food Nation Plans. Officials have regular meetings with COSLA to provide progress updates on the national Plan and to discuss the duties on local government arising from the Act. The Scottish Government will continue to engage with local authorities and COSLA throughout the Good Food Nation work.