Rise in pupil to support staff ratio

THERE are now four more pupils to every member of school support staff than there were a decade ago, new figures from the Lib Dems have shown.

The figures, acquired through a parliamentary question by the party’s education spokesman, Tavish Scott, show that the pupil to support staff ratio across Scotland increased from 27 in 2007 to 31.2 in 2016.

Support staff include additional support needs auxiliaries, classroom assistants and library staff.

Mr Scott said: “Support staff play a critical role.

“Their working one-on-one with pupils benefits the entire class.

“As well as bringing expertise, staff providing music or foreign language lessons relieve the pressure on teachers and give them more time to plan lessons or undertake professional development.

“The hike in the pupilsupport staff ratio has heaped additional pressure on to teachers at a time when the SNP have also overseen the loss of 4000 teachers and rising class sizes – that is a devastating combination.”