The EIS is calling upon the Scottish Government to reverse its decision to delay roll-out of free school meals to all children in Primaries 6 and 7.
The commitment was originally due to be delivered by last August, but a previous decision by the Scottish Government delayed the roll-out. This year’s Scottish Budget, published recently, revealed that the universal roll-out of free school meals for P6 and P7 will now be delayed by a further two years, until 2024.
Commenting, EIS General Secretary Andrea Bradley said, “Delaying the roll-out of free school meals to all primary school children was a shameful decision, which runs contrary to the Scottish Government’s stated commitment to tackling child poverty.
“This is now the second time that the roll-out of this hugely important policy has been delayed, with serious consequences for thousands of children and families across Scotland. It is also extremely disappointing how this change in policy came to light – not announced in Parliament, but obscured within the detail of the budget document itself.
“In a country where more than 1 child in 4 lives in poverty, and with the cost-of-living crisis pushing ever more families into financial difficulty, it is more important than ever that universal free school meals should be a priority.”
Ms Bradley added, “Although a watered-down, means-tested policy is being implemented for P6 and P7, this will miss many young people who will just fail to qualify for a free meal, placing great strain on families already struggling with the soaring cost of living.
“Means-testing of entitlement also does nothing to reduce the stigma families and young people often feel in claiming a free meal, which leads to many young people declining to take a free meal in order to avoid unwanted scrutiny from others or being isolated from friends if they do go to the school canteen for their meal when their friends not entitled to free meals go elsewhere to eat.
“Universal free meals remain the best way to ensure that all young people have access to a healthy and nutritious meal at school, without any stigma being attached. The Scottish Government claims that practical barriers to universal roll-out are the problem. The EIS view is that young people should not be hungry, stigmatised or left out whilst adults dither over dining chairs, tables and cutlery.
“Direct cash payments to cover the cost of food at school could be made as was done during the pandemic when schools were closed.”
The EIS has long called for the roll-out of universal free school meals for all young people. In addition to completing the roll-out to all primary pupils, the EIS believes that all secondary school pupils should also receive free school meals.
General Secretary Andrea Bradley is a long-standing member of the STUC Women’s Committee, which has also been active in the campaign for free school meals to combat the impact of poverty.
The EIS, the country’s largest teaching union, has welcomed the publication of the report Scotland Demands Better: Fairer taxes for a fairer future by the Scottish Trade Unions Congress (STUC).
The report highlights how progressive tax reform could raise an additional £3.3Billion by 2026, including £1.3Billion of tax reforms by April 2023 to help fund public services and public sector pay.
Commenting following the publication of the report, EIS General Secretary Andrea Bradley said, “The EIS welcomes the publication of the STUC report Scotland Demands Better, which represents an important contribution to debates around tax reform and the funding of quality public services.
“The report demonstrates ways in which the Scottish Government could, if it so chooses, engage in progressive reforms to ensure that public services can be properly funded.”
Ms Bradley added, “Scotland’s teachers are currently in dispute over the succession of real-terms pay cuts that have been offered to them this year.
“Since teaching unions submitted their pay claim at the start of the year, a succession of sub-inflationary offers – at 2%, 3.5%, 5% and then 5% again – have been made by the Scottish Government and COSLA, and rejected by Scotland’s teachers.
“With inflation currently sitting at between 11% (CPI) and 14% (RPI), the latest rejected offer would have meant a real-terms pay cut of between 6% and 9% for classroom teachers, and even greater cuts for promoted staff such as headteachers and deputes.”
Ms Bradley added, “Fundamentally, the funding of quality public services and fair pay for public sector workers are a matter of political priorities. Just last week, we saw an Audit Commission report highlighting that the Scottish Government had underspent on last year’s budget by two billion pounds.
“That was a political choice by the Scottish Government, and one that has profound implications for our public services. If the Scottish Government is serious about protecting our public services and valuing public sector workers, they must commit to funding our public services properly and paying our public sector workers fairly.”
The EIS condemned the Scottish Government and COSLA for presenting a revised pay offer to teachers that offers no tangible improvement on their previously rejected offers.
Following three months of delay, and the promise of an improved offer to teachers, the offer that was presented today provides no additional money and is, for many teachers, a worse offer than those previously rejected by teacher unions.
A special meeting of the EIS Salaries Committee, held online yesterday afternoon, has unanimously rejected the offer. As a result of this immediate rejection of the offer, strike action scheduled to begin on Thursday will go ahead.
EIS General Secretary Andrea Bradley said, “This offer is nothing less than an abject insult to Scotland’s hard-working teaching professionals. Teachers overwhelmingly rejected a 5% offer more than 3 months ago and now, after months of prevarication and weeks of empty promises, COSLA and the Scottish Government come back with an offer than is worth that same 5% to the vast majority of teachers.
“This is not, as the Scottish Government claims, a progressive offer – it is a divisive offer, made on a differentiated basis, which is actually worse for many teachers in promoted posts.”
Ms Bradley added, “Contrary to the claims made by the Cabinet Secretary in Parliament and in Scottish Government spin today, this is not an improved, realistic, progressive or generous offer. Our members will see this offer for exactly what it is – a kick in the teeth from their employers and the Scottish Government.
“This afternoon’s Salaries Committee expressed outrage at this offer, and that outrage is sure to be replicated in staffrooms across Scotland today and tomorrow. Our programme of strike action, which will commence as scheduled on Thursday, will clearly show the strength of feeling of Scotland’s teachers who will be out in numbers and with strong voice on picket lines and at regional rallies.”
Ms Bradley also corrected a false statement made by Cabinet Secretary Shirley Anne Somerville in the Scottish Parliament today, who repeatedly claimed that four offers had been made to teachers prior to today: “We have received, and rejected, three previous offers from COSLA and the Scottish Government before today: for 2%; 3.5% and 5%.
“Today’s offer, which is the fourth, is really no new offer at all, but a reheating of the previously rejected offer. Today’s offer includes no additional money, and is a sign of the contempt with which COSLA and the Scottish Government clearly view Scotland’s teaching professionals.”
Scottish Government: New ‘progressive’ pay offer made to teachers
A new progressive pay offer – the fourth which has been made to unions – recognises the impact of the cost of living crisis on lower-paid teachers, with an increase of up to 6.85%.
For those classroom teachers on the main grade scale, who benefit from pay progression, this offer will mean an increase in one year of over 10%.
Those at the top of the scale will receive a 5% increase, taking their salary to £44,453. A teacher moving from probation into a fully qualified post would gain an annual salary increase of 27%.
A fully qualified teacher in Scotland would receive £35,650 – over £7,500 more than their counterparts in England under the offer. The most experienced classroom teachers would receive £5,600 more than they would if they were teaching in England on the main pay range.
Overall, if accepted, this would represent a cumulative pay increase for the majority of teachers of 21.8% since 2018.
Education Secretary Shirley-Anne Somerville said: “This is a fair offer which recognises that the cost of living crisis is the priority, with higher increases for staff on lower salaries.
“This is now the fourth offer that has been made. In the same time EIS have not changed their request for a 10% pay increase – even for those on the highest incomes.
“I have been clear that we have limited room for manoeuvre. The financial situation for the Scottish Government is challenging and additional money for teacher pay means reduced public services elsewhere.
“In these challenging times it is important we focus our attention on those who are most impacted by the cost of living crisis, as well as ensuring fairness to all public sector workers. I would urge leadership to postpone plans for industrial action and consider this new offer.”
Commenting following the revised offer to the Teaching Trade Unions Councillor Katie Hagmann, COSLA’s Resources Spokesperson said: “Scottish Local Government values its entire workforce, of which teachers are a key part.
“We have this afternoon made a revised fourth offer to our trade union colleagues. It is fair, affordable and recognises that the cost-of-living crisis is the priority, with higher increases for staff on lower pay points. This is in line with the offers made to all other parts of the public sector.
“We have worked extremely hard and closely with Scottish Government to ensure such a revised offer could be brought forward and made today. I would call on our Trade Union colleagues to recognise that these are extremely challenging financial times we are operating in and we all need to make decisions with a full understanding of the consequences.
“Our offer ensures that we don’t place additional pressure on any other parts of our hardworking workforce and the essential services they deliver, and importantly it protects the best interests of children and young people. We hope our Trade Union partners will now postpone Thursday’s strikes.”
The national day of strike action over pay will be the first such action in Scotland’s schools for four decades – a clear indication of the current level of anger and frustration amongst teachers.
Following the announcement of the ballot result at lunchtime yesterday, the EIS Executive Committee held a special meeting and agreed an initial day of national strike action two weeks from today. Further industrial action dates will be agreed at a normal meeting of EIS Executive tomorrow.
EIS General Secretary Andrea Bradley said, “The EIS will be calling its members in all of Scotland’s schools out on strike action on Thursday 24 November, in the first day of national strike action on pay for almost forty years.
“We hoped not to get to this point and have given local authorities and the Scottish Government ample time to come up with a fair pay offer. But, with a pay-rise for teachers now more than seven months late, and with the last pay offer having been rejected by teachers almost three months ago, the blame for this move to strike action sits squarely with COSLA and the Scottish Government.
“They have sat on their hands for far too long, dithering and delaying while the soaring cost of living continues to erode the value of their pitiful offers to Scotland’s teachers.”
Ms Bradley added, “Teachers do not take strike action lightly, but have voted to do so in light of the continuing steep real-terms decline in their pay. Politicians who have lauded the invaluable work of teachers throughout the pandemic and during the ongoing period of recovery are now offering teachers a deep real-terms pay cut.
“This will never be acceptable to Scotland’s teachers or to the EIS, and that is why Scotland’s teachers will be taking strike action two weeks from today.”
Information on further strike action dates will be issued in due course.
Public sector workers seem set on a collision course with local and national government over inadequate wage rises …
The General Secretary Designate of teachers union the EIS yesterday urged all of Scotland’s teachers to get active in the campaign to secure a 10% pay rise.
Ms Bradley addressed delegates on the final day of the EIS Annual General Meeting (AGM) at Dundee Caird Hall, and just ahead of a rally in support of the EIS ‘Pay Attention’ Campaign in the Civic Square outside the conference venue.
Addressing the AGM, Ms Bradley said, “The obvious and pressing priority is our Pay Attention campaign. We’ve staked our claim, nailed our colours to the mast … now we need to win.
“Listening to our speakers on the issue of pay over the last few days, I know we’ve got what it takes to win this. To win it because it’s simply unacceptable that teachers and other public sector workers would be expected to bear the burden of yet another crisis that’s been created by the economic vandalism of the Tory government and a Cabinet of millionaires …utterly morally bankrupt and more intent on callous racketeering and profiteering than they are on caring about people and supporting recovery.”
“We can’t allow COSLA to peddle the myth of the One Workforce agenda. Or the Scottish Government to quietly sit there on the side-lines being let off the hook by a raft of egalitarian-sounding rhetoric that’s in truth about pay suppression for teachers and by dint of that the rest of the public sector. We know One Workforce is utter fallacy and I have a sense that the other public sector unions know it as well.”
“If we’re to win a pay rise that protects teachers’ incomes from the worst of the cost of living increases, from every corner of the union, we need to keep building what will be a formidable display of our union strength. We’ve started building this – the press statements, the campaign materials, the branch meetings, the petition, the social media activity, and the demo outside this building later this morning.”
“With full-blown organising, comms and political campaigning… synchronicity of actions with local associations, we’ll be ballot ready, strike ready by October and with a strong industrial action strategy mapped out so that we’re strike ready and strike able.
“From the speeches and applause that we’ve heard this AGM about pay and the other inter-related injustices it sounds like you’re well up for taking this on …and so am I!”
COSLA STATEMENT ON PAY NEGOTIATIONS
COSLA is deeply disappointed that the First Minister and Cabinet Secretary for Finance have refused the request of all Council Leaders to engage in discussions regarding the current settlement for Local Government and its significant impact on our ongoing pay negotiations.
The implications of the Scottish Government’s spending plans for the rest of the parliament are deeply concerning for communities across Scotland and have further increased the already strong likelihood of industrial action in the coming months.
Scottish Government continues to fail to respect the fundamental role Local Government and its workforce has in addressing their own priorities of tackling child poverty, climate change and a stronger economy.
The ‘Resource Spending Review’, published on 31 May, shows that Local Government’s core funding for the next 3 years will remain static at time when inflation and energy costs are soaring.
This “flat-cash” scenario gives no scope to recognising the essential work of our staff, whose expectations, quite rightly, are being influenced by Scottish Government’s decisions in relation to other parts of the public sector. A suggestion that increases in welfare payments will mitigate the cost of living crisis do not recognise that our staff should not have to depend on such payments to make ends meet.
As things stand, the only option available to Councils is yet fewer jobs and cuts to services that are essential to communities everywhere.
COSLA’s Resources Spokesperson Gail Macgregor said: “COSLA, every year, argues for fair funding for Local Government to maintain the essential services our communities rely on.
“No increase in our core funding damages these services and limits the options we have in successfully concluding pay negotiations. Refusal to engage in discussion will only see this continue and our communities will see and feel the difference.”
The Fraser of Allander Institute has recognised the impact on councils: “The local government budget will decline by 7% in real terms between 2022/23 and 2026/27 … the real terms erosion of the funding allocations of local authorities represents the continuation of a longer trend.”
UNISON, Scotland’s largest local government union, will be balloting its members in a dispute over pay. The union is planning targeted strike action – this means select groups of workers will be balloted.
UNISON is campaigning for a pay rise for ALL local government workers.
The groups that will be balloted for strike action are members employed working in schools, who provide services to the running and operation of the school, and all members working in early years and in waste and recycling services. The union is recommending that vote ‘YES’ in favour of strike action.
The ballot will run from 10 June and will close on 26 July. It is vital that all ballots are posted back in good time to ensure we receive them by closing date.
Why are we balloting?
Having consistently worked above and beyond to keep our key services going over the past two years of the pandemic, and with the cost of living spiralling, COSLA’s offer of a 2 per cent pay increase for local government workers is nothing short of an insult.
While politicians have raced to praise your efforts their warm words have not been matched by action.
Earlier this year we ran an online consultation to see what you and other local government members thought of the employers’ 2022 pay offer. It was no surprise that the overwhelming majority of you voted to reject the offer and indicated your willingness to take action to achieve a better deal.
Nothing has changed since then and we now need you to vote YES to take strike action to remind your employers exactly how you feel.
This offer is derisory. It is less than the Scottish Public Sector Pay policy, falls far short of our pay claim and is significantly below current levels of inflation. It will exacerbate the gap between those on the lowest and those on the highest rates of pay.
And it is in sharp contrast to the 5.2% increase that councillors themselves have just received from 1st April 2022.
GMB Scotland has attacked “failure at all levels of government” as an industrial action ballot across local government gets underway this morning (Monday 6 June) against the threats of a 2 per cent pay offer and swingeing cuts to local jobs and services.
Nearly 10,000 GMB members in waste and cleansing and schools and early years services will be asked if they back strikes in the face of a pay offer from employer body COSLA amounting to less than £10 a week for staff earning under £25,000 a year.
Joint trade unions in local government wrote to the First Minister and the Finance Secretary last week seeking urgent talks and warned about the consequences for council workers of significantly below inflation pay with the cost of living at a forty-year high.
The ballot, which runs throughout the summer until Tuesday 26 July, also takes place amid dire forecasts for local government budgets following the Scottish Government’s spending review plans.
GMB Scotland Senior Organiser Keir Greenaway warned: “Council workers and the vital services they deliver are firmly in the sights of Kate Forbes’s cuts agenda, and if left unchallenged the lowest paid will pay the highest price in the biggest cost-of-living crisis for 40 years.
“This is what years of failure at all levels of government looks like – a decade of failed austerity, the passing on of cuts to communities, and a meek acceptance of the consequences locally. It’s a far cry from the doorstep applause of virtue-signalling political leaders just two years ago.
“It shows everyone there are no political superheroes and if you want wages that confront soaring inflation then you need to organise and fight for it.
“That’s exactly what our members are doing and unless an improved pay offer is tabled then industrial action looks inevitable.”
RMT launch 3 days of national strike action across the railway network
Over 50,000 railway workers will walkout as part of 3 days of national strike action later this month, in the biggest dispute on the network since 1989.
The union will shut down the country’s railway network on 21st, 23rd and 25th June, due to the inability of the rail employers to come to a negotiated settlement with RMT.
Network Rail and the train operating companies have subjected their staff to multiyear pay freezes and plan to cut thousands of jobs which will make the railways unsafe.
Despite intense talks with the rail bosses, RMT has not been able to secure a pay proposal nor a guarantee of no compulsory redundancies.
In a separate dispute over pensions and job losses, London Underground RMT members will take strike action on June 21st.
RMT general secretary Mick Lynch said: “Railway workers have been treated appallingly and despite our best efforts in negotiations, the rail industry with the support of the government has failed to take their concerns seriously.
“We have a cost-of-living crisis, and it is unacceptable for railway workers to either lose their jobs or face another year of a pay freeze when inflation is at 11.1pc and rising.
“Our union will now embark on a sustained campaign of industrial action which will shut down the railway system.
“Rail companies are making at least £500m a year in profits, whilst fat cat rail bosses have been paid millions during the Covid-19 pandemic.
“This unfairness is fuelling our members anger and their determination to win a fair settlement.
“RMT is open to meaningful negotiations with rail bosses and ministers, but they will need to come up with new proposals to prevent months of disruption on our railways.”
A snap poll from the Trades Union Congress (TUC) and Opinium showed the cost of living was the top issue for 75% of the Scottish electorate when casting their ballot in May.
This was followed by 60% citing the NHS as their primary concern, with public services (21%), housing (15%), Brexit (20%) and the environment (19%) all taking voter preference over the constitution (14%).
The news was cited as a ‘wake-up call’ from the Scottish Trades Union Congress leader Roz Foyer, who will host a specific cost of living crisis summit on June 17th with the Poverty Alliance.
Ms Foyer said: “These elections should be a wake-up call to all levels of government – local, Scottish and UK – that workers throughout the country need urgent and sustained help in the face of this brutal attack on their living standards.
“By far and away, with 75% of the electorate in Scotland citing the cost of living crisis as their top concern, with health, housing and the environment their taking preference over the constitution, all incoming councillors must make this their most urgent priority.
“Our local government manifesto made clear we need sustained investment from the Scottish Government to local authorities throughout the country, helping to deliver a real terms pay increase for our public sector workers. This is in addition to delivering on rent freezes, settling equal pay disputes and introducing universal free school meals throughout the country.
“This is the type of real terms action we need from councillors and government throughout Scotland. Our movement, with affiliates currently balloting for industrial action across the country, are not standing idle whilst workers face this material threat to their living conditions.”
The EIS will launch its Education Manifesto ahead of May’s Scottish local authority elections at today’s meeting of the national EIS Council.
EIS General Secretary Larry Flanagan said: “The EIS Manifesto calls for increased investment and enhanced support for schools, teachers and students to support the vital process of education recovery following the Covid pandemic.
“The EIS is challenging all political parties and all election candidates to make clear commitments to providing improved support for Scottish education.”
“The Manifesto also calls for increased investment in the teacher workforce, including the recruitment of additional teachers, to support education recovery.
Mr Flanagan said, “There is a very clear and urgent need to address shortages within the teacher workforce to support education recovery. This must include the employment of additional teachers, on permanent and secure contracts.
“Currently, around 10% of Scotland’s teachers are employed on short-term and temporary contracts – this is a scandal that local authorities must commit to tackling as a matter of urgency. Early delivery of existing commitments to reduce teachers’ class contact time must also be a priority, and steps to reduce class sizes to support education recovery must be taken by councils.
“We are also calling for urgent improvements in support for teacher wellbeing, including mental health, in the wake of the Covid pandemic which has heaped huge additional pressures on staff.”
A commitment to fair pay for Scotland’s teachers is also central to the EIS Manifesto, following long delays in pay negotiations in recent years. Scotland’s teachers are still awaiting a pay settlement for 2021, as a result of prolonged procrastination and delay by the council body COSLA.
EIS Council will decide today whether to ballot members over the latest revised pay offer. The EIS is calling on all parties to re-commit to the principles of collective bargaining via the agreed forum, the Scottish Negotiating Committee for Teachers (SNCT).
Other priorities in the Manifesto include: enhancing support for schools; a commitment to high-quality pre-5 education led by teachers; proper resourcing to support young people with Additional Support Needs (ASN); funding to support initiatives aimed at tackling the equality impact of poverty on young people’s education.
High school pupils and staff will not be required to wear face coverings in classrooms from 28 February, after the schools mid-term break.
Teachers and pupils who wish to continue to wear a face covering in the classroom should be fully supported in doing so.
Face coverings will still be required in communal areas, subject to future review.
Specific mitigations relating to assemblies and transition visits for learners who will start primary or secondary in August 2022, will also be eased as of 28 February.
First Minister Nicola Sturgeon said: “In recent weeks I have promised to keep Parliament and school communities updated on mitigations within schools – including the use of face coverings within classrooms.
“I have been clear that we do not want to keep these measures in place for any longer than is necessary, but that we must continue to be led by scientific and expert advice.
“On Tuesday our Advisory Subgroup on Education and Children’s Issues met to discuss a number of issues, including the use of face coverings.
“The group reiterated its previous position that the removal of mitigations in schools should follow a phased approach. It also advised that the next phase could begin after the February half-term break, with the removal of face-coverings in classrooms – for both pupils and staff – on 28 February.
“In arriving at their decision, the Advisory Sub-Group pointed to reducing case rates for secondary-aged pupils, falling hospitalisation rates across all age categories, and the fact that the estimated R rate is below 1 and decreasing. In addition, vaccination rates for young people continue to increase.
“This change represents a further step in allowing our children and young people to return to a more normal school experience after many months of sacrifice.
“We currently expect that face coverings will still be worn outside the classroom, in indoor communal areas of schools, after 28 February. This will be kept under regular review. In addition, anyone who wants to continue wearing a face covering in classrooms will, of course, be supported to do so.”
Commenting following the First Minister’s statement in the Scottish Parliament, EIS General Secretary Larry Flanagan said: “The majority of EIS members supported the retention of face coverings until we were through the winter period so we would have preferred the end of March rather than the end of February for this change to happen.
“Having said that, it is important that both pupils and staff have the right to continue to wear face coverings if they wish and, in some cases, where there is a heightened vulnerability in play, face coverings may still be required.
“There has been a slight drop in infection levels within schools but they remain high – over 4,000 staff are off school for Covid related reasons and more than 20,000 pupils. Enforcing the remaining mitigations, therefore, around ventilation and face coverings in communal areas, remains critical to school safety.”
Scotland’s teachers have faced soaring levels of workload throughout the pandemic, and at a time when they are being offered a significant real-terms cut in their level of pay by COSLA and the Scottish Government.
The EIS conducted an online survey in November, and more than 16,000 teachers across Scotland took part. Amongst the key workload-related findings in the EIS survey are:
88% of teachers indicated that their workload burden has increased during the pandemic.
61% of teachers report that workload levels have increased “significantly” during this period.
80% of Secondary teachers reported significantly increased workload related to SQA qualifications.
The vast majority of teachers (93%) work above their contracted hours each week.
45% of full-time teachers work more than 8 extra hours every week – equivalent to over one extra full day of work each week, over and above contractual commitments.
EIS General Secretary Larry Flanagan said, “Teachers have continued to face a rising tide of workload throughout the pandemic, for a wide range of reasons. Clearly, changes brought about in response to the pandemic have had an impact on teacher workload with additional tasks requiring to be undertaken on a daily basis to help keep classrooms safe.
“The increased emphasis on digital learning – be that in the classroom or remotely from home – has created challenges for teachers, often associated with a lack of suitable equipment and resources. Teachers are also reporting a significant amount of time dealing with pupil behaviour as many young people continue the struggle to overcome the negative impact of the pandemic on their lives.”
Mr Flanagan continued: “The survey also identifies a substantial increase in the workload associated with supporting pupils with Additional Support Needs. 61% of all teachers identified meeting the Additional Support Needs, including the mental health support needs, of pupils as a significant driver of workload increases over the past year – with the figure even higher (66%) within the primary sector.
“This is a vital area of work, but the level of demand is increasing and this is clearly placing additional strain on already hard-worked teachers.”
Mr Flanagan added, “In addition to the challenges of keeping up to date with government Covid safety protocols, which affect all teachers, teachers in Secondary schools face additional difficulties with SQA-related workload.
“The challenges brought about by short-notice changes to the qualifications system have been a major driver in additional workload over the past two years for Secondary teachers. Meaningful reform of the examinations system is now required to ease the workload burden of teachers and students alike.”
The Scottish Children’s Services Coalition,an alliance of leading providers of specialist care and education to vulnerable children and young people, has raised concerns over an increase in the number of pupils identified with additional support needs (ASN) against a backdrop of declining support.
It has also voiced similar concerns over a declining number of those with ASN receiving Co-ordinated Support Plans (CSPs), the only education plans that are legal documents. This is despite a Scottish Government promise there would be no decline in the numbers of those receiving them.
The figures show that the number of pupils with additional support needs (ASN), such as autism, dyslexia and mental health problems in 2021 has reached a record high of 232,753. Of this total 58.0 per cent are boys. This represents 33.0 per cent of the pupil population, rising from 118,034 in 2012, and is a near doubling (97.2 per cent) in numbers from that year.2
The SCSC has also raised concerns at the number of those receiving a CSP.
This is a legal document, the only education plans that are legal documents, requiring services such as education, health and social work to work together to give a child or young person the support they need.
It provides some guarantees of entitlement to additional resources and legal redress, placing statutory duties on local authorities to review and ensure the provisions contained within it are being met.
Despite a Scottish Government promise that there would be no reduction in the proportion of pupils receiving them since their introduction in 2004, there has been a significant fall in the number of pupils with CSPs, from 3,448 in 2012 to 1,420 in 2021, amounting to a drop of 58.9 per cent (publicly funded primary, secondary and special schools). This is a reduction from 2.9 per cent to 0.6 per cent of those with ASN.
A spokesperson for the SCSC commented: “While it is promising that this increase tells us that more young people with ASN are being identified, it is against a worrying background of damaging cuts to services.
“Ensuring the adequate provision of educational support for children and young people with ASN is critical, especially during the COVID-19 pandemic and the damaging impact this will have on them
“We have major concerns over a lack of resources and specialist staff to support these children and young people. This clearly has an impact not only on the individuals concerned but also on their peers and teachers.
“It is vital that those with ASN get the care and support they need, which is also key if we are to genuinely close the educational attainment gap, as we know that those with ASN are disproportionately drawn from poorer neighbourhoods.
“We are also concerned that we are experiencing a decline in the use of CSPs, which are designed to support those with the most complex needs. This is despite an increase in the numbers of those requiring such support
“As we recover from COVID-19, the Scottish Government and local authorities, along with the private and third sectors, need to work together to provide the necessary resourcing and support to address the needs of these vulnerable children and young people. It must also work with local authorities to ensure that those who require a CSP get it, making parents and carers aware of their legal rights.”
The EIS has also commented on today’s publication of National Improvement Framework (NIF) data, saying that the data confirms the need for greater investment to support education recovery for Scotland’s young people.
The data released today simply confirms what the EIS has been saying for the past year, which teachers have understood instinctively – that the Covid created disruption to learning has affected all pupils to some degree but has disproportionately impacted on children from the most deprived backgrounds.
It is noticeable, also, that children with additional support needs have been impacted in a similar manner – 42% achieving Literacy levels against a national figure of 76% and in Numeracy 53% against a figure of 83%.
Given that more than 1 in 4 pupils in our mainstream schools have additional needs this is an area of significant concern, which the EIS believes the Scottish Government is failing to tackle with sufficient targeted investment.
Commenting on the data, EIS General Secretary Larry Flanagan said, “We didn’t need publication of this data to know that children from the poorest backgrounds and those with additional support needs were the ones suffering most from the pandemic.
“Schools have prioritised, quite rightly, the well-being of pupils but as we start to look at education recovery from the pattern of disrupted learning, the Scottish Government needs to up its game in terms of investment in our children’s future.
“Recent OECD research (OECD Education at a Glance 2021), for example, has shown that smaller class sizes where there are patterns of multiple deprivation or additional needs help individual pupil recovery but the Scottish Government continues to resist making any progress in this area.
“The Government’s education recovery plan was far too timid in its ambition given the scale of the impact of Covid on the most disadvantaged young people. The simple fact is that pupil recovery will be delayed and diminished if much greater resource isn’t made available to schools.”
Exams and national qualifications are to be reformed, the Education Secretary has confirmed.
Shirley-Anne Somerville said new qualifications will be developed to ensure learners’ achievements are fairly recognised. It is expected that externally marked exams will remain part of the new assessment approach.
Learners studying for national qualifications in spring next year will not be affected by any changes.
A wide range of views will be sought on the reforms, with young people and teachers informing how the new system will work.
The decision to make changes was influenced by:
the recommendations in the OECD’s independent review of Scotland’s school curriculum
renewed debate about assessment following the cancellation, due to COVID-19, of National 5, Higher and Advanced Higher exams in 2020 and 2021
a paper by renowned academic Professor Gordon Stobart setting out options on Scotland’s future approach to assessment and qualifications
The Education Secretary made the announcement as she updated Parliament on plans to implement the 12 recommendations in the OECD’s review of Curriculum for Excellence. The OECD’s recommendations are being taken forward and will involve input from stakeholders including children and young people.
Ms Somerville said: “It remains a key priority of this Government to ensure that our approaches to curriculum and assessment are fit for purpose and so guarantee the best possible educational experience for children and young people, not least as we emerge from the pandemic.
“I am convinced that given the experience and views expressed over the last two years, the time is right to signal that the Scottish Government supports reform of national qualifications and assessment.
“It will be vital when considering reform that we work with all those with an interest, to, as far as possible, build a consensus on this issue.
“We will consult on the purpose and principles which should underpin any reform of national qualifications and assessment. This will be the first step in a process which must be done with careful thought and consideration, recognising the importance of national qualifications to learners.”
A reference group, led by Professor Louise Hayward, Professor of Educational Assessment and Innovation at Glasgow University, will be set up to provide advice to Ministers on the reforms.
Professor Hayward said: “Professor Stobart’s review offers Scottish education an opportunity to bring the vision for Curriculum for Excellence and practice in the senior phase into better alignment: to design a system that offers better life chances for every young person.
“In the senior phase, assessment and qualifications matter for all young people, their parents/carers, their teachers, to local authorities and regional improvement collaboratives, to colleges, universities and employers.
“Any change needs to be based on insights from each of those communities and grounded in evidence from research. Crucially, the voices of young people, so often peripheral to debates in the past, must be listened to and heard.”
The EIS has commented on today’s launch of the Curriculum for Excellence Review Implementation Framework, which was published yesterday on the Scottish Government website and highlighted by the Cabinet Secretary for Education in the Scottish Parliament in the afternoon.
The Implementation Framework sets out how the Scottish Government intends to address the recommendations in the Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD) report, Scotland’s Curriculum for Excellence: Into the Future.
Commenting, EIS General Secretary Larry Flanagan said, “The EIS welcomes the commitment to the further empowerment of schools and teachers outlined in the Framework but would also emphasise that, in order for rhetoric to become reality, those with power must be willing to surrender some of their control.
Specifically, this means the Scottish Government and its Learning Directorate need to step back and allow practitioners and educationalists to have enhanced voice and agency in the implementation process. There is a danger that the multitude of fora being created will simply provide a smokescreen for an even more centralised approach to education governance.
The EIS is clear, also, that government appointed groups like the Teachers’ Panel cannot be a substitute for engaging with the professional associations which represent Scotland’s teachers.”
Mr Flanagan continued: “We welcome the commitment to increased teacher numbers and reduced class contact time which are both essential steps in supporting education recovery for Scotland’s young people. The delivery of these commitments needs to be expedited, however, as action is needed now to ensure that all pupils can receive the level of support they both need and deserve.
“The EIS believes that the proposed timescale around the introduction of a new qualification framework (Sept 22- Aug 24) is woefully inadequate – this is an urgent problem highlighted by the pandemic where the clear inequity of the previous high stakes exam approach was exposed for all to see.
“The delivery of a new qualifications framework needs an urgent approach so that we do not default back to a discredited system which failed too many young people from disadvantaged backgrounds.”
