Question reference: S6W-26785
- Date lodged: 9 April 2024
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Current status: Answered by Jenny Gilruth on 24 April 2024
Question
To ask the Scottish Government what analysis it has undertaken of the reported fall in the number of secondary school teachers in (a) computing studies, (b) ASN: behavioural support, (c) maths, (d) technical education, (e) religious education, (f) geography, (g) German, (h) physics, (i) home economics and (j) English between 2008 and 2023.
Answer
Since 2019 the number of teachers in Scottish schools has increased from 52,247 to 54,033 and the pupil teacher ratio has improved from 13.6 to 13.2.
Local authorities are responsible for the recruitment and deployment of teaching staff, and the Scottish Government continues to provide local authorities with £145.5 million in this year’s budget to protect teacher numbers more widely.
Our Teaching Bursary Scheme is offering a £20,000 payment to career changers who are looking to undertake teacher training in hard to fill STEM subjects – physics, maths, technical education, computing science, chemistry and home economics.
The Strategic Board for Teacher Education is also considering issues around the recruitment and retention of teachers in Scotland in detail, together with work to improving the promotion of teaching as a valued career.