Gilruth keeps £145m from councils over teacher numbers row

The Scottish authorities has withheld £145.5m successful backing to councils due to the fact that of a enactment implicit teacher numbers.

It says the wealth has been earmarked to support teacher jobs, but section authorities assemblage Cosla disagrees with the ringfencing.

Most Scottish councils are looking astatine acquisition cuts – including proposals to trim learning hours, schoolhouse buses, and schoolroom assistants - but lone some, including Glasgow, person reduced teacher numbers.

Education Secretary Jenny Gilruth told BBC Scotland that she has not allowed the backing to spell to councils arsenic a result. But councils accidental this has forced them to marque deeper cuts to different acquisition services.

Cosla told the BBC that ringfencing spending connected teachers was not the champion mode to support pupil attainment and that the stalemate is making things worse.

In caller months, Ms Gilruth has warned councils that she would enactment if they chopped teacher numbers.

Asked if she was calling councils’ bluff, Ms Gilruth told the BBC: “I person not allowed that backing to travel retired the door.

"I cognize this is besides a challenging clip for section authorities, I recognise that.

“But fundamentally, protecting teacher numbers is simply a truly important prime I deliberation politically to make, due to the fact that it protects outcomes for our children and young people.”

One of the little high-profile cuts to schoolhouse services has been to schoolhouse buses.

In a bid to prevention £3.6m successful August, North Lanarkshire changed the qualifying mileage limits for escaped schoolhouse transport from 1 mile to 2 miles for superior schoolhouse pupils, and 2 to 3 miles for secondary schoolhouse pupils.

The assembly says it is portion of £62m successful cuts it needs to marque implicit the adjacent 3 years. But successful immoderate cases families consciousness the walking routes are dangerous, off-putting, and could pb to much pupil absences.

Leah is 12 years aged and lives successful Stepps. Until this August, children from Stepps could get a escaped schoolhouse autobus to Chryston High School and the walking way was deemed unacceptable.

However, North Lanarkshire Council has re-assessed the way and said it is acceptable.

Much of the 2.2-mile way is on a engaged dual carriageway.

“After a tiring time astatine schoolhouse and past to beryllium expected to locomotion astir 50 minutes home, nary substance the weather, with unspeakable postulation tin beryllium a occupation to immoderate children,” says Leah.

Leah’s parent Lorraine said the way is not harmless and that the section autobus timetable doesn’t enactment with schoolhouse commencement times either.

“I deliberation I would enactment immoderate of the council’s statement that children get the workout earlier the schoolhouse day, arsenic a steadfast happening – absolutely,” she said.

“But we’re talking astir a 50 infinitesimal locomotion for astir children, and immoderate volition beryllium much than that. So the region is portion of it, but it’s the safety.

“In my opinion, it’s not a harmless walking way - it’s surely not a harmless rhythm way for children to possibly effort and chopped that clip by taking a motorcycle etc. It’s simply conscionable not safe.”

Several councils, including Falkirk, are besides looking astatine reducing the hours successful the schoolhouse week to prevention money.

Liane Tait has 2 children astatine superior schoolhouse successful Falkirk. She is acrophobic astatine the interaction connected children and parents.

“My children are some successful superior schoolhouse and the projected cuts that they're suggesting makes them suffer 2 and a fractional hours of schooling per week for the remainder of their superior schoolhouse and secondary schoolhouse education,” she said.

“So my biggest fearfulness is my children are going to beryllium importantly disadvantaged to everyone other successful Scotland. It conscionable seems precise inequitable and unfair that, owed to fiscal decisions children's acquisition going to suffer.”

However, Ms Gilruth warned that she “can and volition act” to unit councils to support schoolroom learning hours if they effort to chopped them.

Dr Sue Ellis, erstwhile prof of acquisition astatine Strathclyde University, said councils are “stuck betwixt a stone and a hard place” and that the deficiency of flexibility implicit teacher numbers from the Scottish authorities is not helping.

She said councils request to beryllium fixed much power of their budgets due to the fact that galore of the little disposable cuts presently happening volition person the astir antagonistic interaction connected inequality and attainment.

“All the cuts, whether to libraries and librarians, unit schoolroom assistants, further enactment needs, location schoolhouse links teachers, each of those volition interaction the astir connected the children who are the astir disadvantaged anyway,” she said.

A Cosla Spokesperson said section authorities has consistently not supported the request to support teacher numbers acceptable by the Scottish authorities and that councils were facing important fund challenges.

They said: “Workforce decisions should beryllium taken astatine a section level, babelike connected section needs and circumstances.

“Measuring teacher numbers does not archer america thing astir outcomes for children and young people, which is wherever our attraction should beryllium focused.

“Ringfencing spending connected teachers forces adjacent deeper cuts connected services, including those for children with further enactment needs, societal enactment support, aboriginal involution services, taste services, younker work, and libraries - each of which are captious to supporting children and young people, improving attainment, and closing the poverty-related attainment gap.”

North Lanarkshire Council said its home-to-school transport criteria had been brought successful enactment with 27 of the 32 section authorities successful Scotland.

A spokesperson said: “The latest walking way appraisal takes relationship of the astir up to day accusation relating to the locality and supersedes an humanities assessment.”

Falkirk assembly has deferred its determination connected reducing the hours successful the schoolhouse week until December. It says it faces a superior fiscal deficit.