Question reference: S6W-15963
- Date lodged: 15 March 2023
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Current status: Answered by Shirley-Anne Somerville on 23 March 2023
Question
To ask the Scottish Government what information it holds on how many "lead teachers" have been appointed in each local authority, in each year since 2020, and how much has been (a) budgeted for and (b) spent to fund any such appointments.
Answer
There were five full-time equivalent lead teachers that met the required inclusion criteria for the 2022 School Staff Census, these were all from Scottish Borders. The role of lead teacher was established in June 2021, therefore figures are not available for earlier years.
The School Staff Census predominantly reports on posts with a classroom teaching remit, some lead teachers may be employed in posts without a classroom teaching remit and therefore will not be included in the counts collected and reported as part of the annual census.
There is no information held centrally on the budget or funding for lead teacher appointments. The recruitment and employment of teachers in local authority schools are matters for individual councils, as they have the statutory duty for education expenditure and to deliver education. Councils have the statutory responsibility for providing a complement of teachers, including lead teachers, and all other necessary support staff which best meets the needs of each of their schools and its pupils within the resources available.