Teacher numbers rise but class sizes stagnate

● An extra 543 recruited but numbers still not back to 2007 levels

The number of teachers in Scotland has increased by 543 in the last year but primary school class sizes have remained the same, according to official statistics.

Scottish Government data has revealed that the total number of teachers stands at 51,513 this year compared with 50,970 in 2016.

But opposition politicians pointed out that teacher numbers were still 3,570 short of the total when the SNP came to power in 2007. They also claimed money, which should be earmarked for closing the attainment gap, was funding the new teachers.

The statistics were published as a report into children’s behaviour found an increase in low-level disruptive behaviour by primary pupils between 2012 and 2016 – a trend that teachers blamed on increased use of digital devices.

The increase in teachers has been accompanied by a rise in the number of school children by 4,611 to 688,959 this year, meaning that the overall pupil/teacher ratios have only fallen from 13.7 in 2016 to 13.6 this year.

The Scottish Government has had a long-standing target to reduce primary one to three classes to 18.

However the data showed that average class sizes in primaries one to three were 23.2 this year, a slight fall from 23.3 recorded in 2016. The average class size for all primary pupils was 23.5, the same as last year. The proportion of children in primaries one to three in class sizes of 18 or fewer had fallen. In 2017, 20,997 (12.2 per cent) of primaries one to three pupils were in classes of 18 or fewer, compared with 21,906 (12.7 per cent) last year.

There were still 44,965 pupils taught in classes of 26 pupils or more (the equivalent of 26.1 per cent) – although that was decrease from last year when 46,293 pupils (26.8 per cent) were in classes of 26 and over. The figures also illustrated how the gap in academic performance between children from deprived and affluent areas widens throughout primary school.

In reading, writing, listening and talking and numeracy a higher proportion of those living in the wealthiest areas of Scotland achieve the expected Curriculum for Excellence (CFE) level compared to pupils from the poorest parts.

The 2016/17 Achievement of CFE Levels Return showed the gap between the most and least deprived in P1 is 17 points for reading, rising to 20 points by P7. For writing, the gap widened from 18 points to 22 between P1 and P7, in listening and talking it grows from 12 points to 17 and for numeracy it widens from 14 points to 20.

Lib Dem education spokesman Tavish Scott said the SNP’S class size policy was “in tatters”.

Green MSP Ross Greer said there were 3,570 fewer teachers than there were ten years ago. He added: “An increase in teacher numbers, however small, is welcome but it’s also very clear from these statistics that schools have only been able to reverse a fraction of the cuts of the last decade and they’ve had to use their attainment funding to do it.”

Education Secretary John Swinney said “hundreds” of additional teachers had been recruited to help pupils “the length and breadth” of Scotland.