Fewer teachers supporting kids with extra needs

THE number of teachers in Dundee who specialise in supporting pupils with additional needs has dropped by more than a quarter.

There were 169 additional support needs (ASN) teachers in the city in 2008, but that number has plummeted t o 121 i n 2016, according to figures released by the Scottish Government.

N a t i o n a l ly, s p e c i a l i s t teacher numbers for ASN — which i ncludes autism, learning difficulties and dyslexia — have fallen 12% from 3,301 to 2,896.

The Scottish Conservatives, who obtained the figures, say the declining staffing l evels make a mockery of the SNP administration’s bid to close the attainment gap.

The 28% drop in Dundee since 2008 i ncludes the loss of 10 ASN teachers in the last year.

The Dundee decline is partly offset by an increase in the number of centrally employed ASN teachers with responsibility for Dundee, which has gone up from two to 25 in the last eight years.

Stewart Hunter, education convener at SNP-run Dundee City Council, said the figures do not tell the whole story about how the authority is supporting pupils.

“If you look at the raw figures the numbers of teachers with additional support specialism has gone down but we are a smaller authority and our pupil-to-teacher ratio is still strong,” he said.

“We have a very strong workforce but we offer a wider package of support than just those teachers.

“For example, we use family resource workers to target children’s needs at home, which takes a lot of pressure off schools.”

The number of ASN teachers for Fife has gone down by 15% since 2008, compared with 22% in Angus. I n Pe r t h a n d Kinross, it went up 11%.