SNP fund to help poor pupils used to hire teachers - Sturgeon 'robbing Peter to pay Paul'
HEAD teachers are using a flagship SNP fund that is supposed to be spent bridging the educational gulf between rich and poor to hire staff, new figures reveal.
Teacher numbers rose by more than 500 in the space of a year but nine out 10 posts were paid for from the £750 million Attainment Scotland Fund, prompting accusations the cash is shoring up local cuts to education spending.
Official statistics also revealed Scottish primary school classes are still among the most crowded in the developed world, exceeding those in Mexico, Estonia, Slovenia, Slovakia and Latvia.
The gap in academic performance between children from deprived and affluent areas widens throughout primary school, the figures showed.
A separate report recorded an increase in disruptive behaviour by unruly pupils while staff said they faced higher levels of verbal and physical abuse.
If education really is Nicola Sturgeon’s top priority, she’ll give our schools the funding they need
Nicola Sturgeon has repeatedly staked her reputation on driving up educational standards, citing it as her top priority.
There are now 51,513 primary, secondary and special teachers in Scotland, compared with last year's figure of 50,970.
That is 3,500 lower than when the SNP came to power.
The government confirmed 506 of the 543 extra teachers hired between 2016 and 2017 were paid for from its Attainment Scotland Fund rather than local authority education budgets.
The cash is given straight to head teachers to help close the gap between how well children from relatively rich and poor backgrounds perform.
Scottish Labour's education spokesman Iain Gray claimed "the approach is robbing Peter to pay Paul".
He said: "It was Labour who led the debate on targeted spending to close the attainment gap, but the SNP approach has been to introduce it while slashing core education budgets, forcing schools to use what is supposed to be additional money to plug gaps in provision.
"The only way to fix this is to stop the cuts and invest in core education budgets. If education really is Nicola Sturgeon’s top priority, she’ll give our schools the funding they need."
The SNP promised in 2007 to reduce P1-3 class sizes to a maximum of 18, but only 12.2 per cent which met that target compared with 12.7 per cent last year. The average class size is 23.5 this year, the same as recorded in 2016.
Though the pupil-teacher ratio dropped from 13.7 to 13.6, reaching its lowest level since 2013.
The average class size is 21 across the Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development nations, often described as "the developed world".
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.
Data 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 in those achieving the expected level widens 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.
Meanwhile, a separate report said disruptive behaviour in primary classrooms had increased between 2012 and 2016.
Staff blamed wider use of "digital technologies" such as smart phones and tablets and "perceived approaches to parenting".
Primary support staff also said they had experienced slightly higher levels of verbal abuse, physical aggression and violence.
Scottish Tory education spokeswoman Liz Smith welcomed an improvement in literacy and numeracy but said the figures were a "mixed bag" for the government. She said: "There are a number of worrying underlying problems, with teacher numbers still nowhere near the level required.
"There is also a clear problem emerging with pupil behaviour in our classrooms – with teachers reporting markedly worse behaviour than in previous years.
"Bad behaviour has a knock on effect on teachers and results, and we can’t allow it to get any worse."
Defects found at 72 more Scottish school buildings
Lib Dem MSP Tavish Scott MSP said the SNP had "comprehensively failed to deliver on its commitment of smaller class sizes" adding: "Instead of constant and unwelcome ministerial meddling, the Scottish Government needs to give frontline professionals the support they are crying out for."
Deputy First Minister John Swinney said the government was "investing heavily to ensure every child in Scotland has an equal chance to realise their full potential".
He added: "And, we can now see that our decision to give head teachers more money and more power to decide for themselves how to close the attainment gap is paying off.
"Hundreds of additional teachers are now in Scottish classrooms, benefiting pupils the length and breadth of Scotland, as a result of that decision."That's good news for teachers, parents and pupils."