Number of nursery teachers almost halved

Scottish Liberal Democrat education spokesperson Willie Rennie MSP has today accused the SNP of “draining nurseries of specialist expertise” after new analysis by his party revealed that the number of teachers working in state-funded early learning and childcare has almost halved over the last decade.  

In 2012, there were 1,386 nursery teachers, but this dropped to just 734 in 2022, representing a fall of 47%. This is despite Nicola Sturgeon promising that education would be her government’s number one priority.  

Mr Rennie said:   

“Through sheer persistence, Scottish Liberal Democrats persuaded the SNP of the value of expanding free early learning and childcare. Every part of the sector should be thriving.  

“However, these figures show that specialist expertise has been drained from nurseries. Those with these qualifications have had their posts removed because they are too expensive to keep. We need them as part of the important mix of staff alongside other excellent team members.

“Children have missed out on so much. The poverty-related attainment gap has widened and both parents and teachers are struggling to see any solutions from this failing government.  

“Scottish Liberal Democrats want to ensure that everyone achieves their potential in life, which is why we would invest in nursery education and reverse years of SNP mismanagement. We want to make Scottish education the best in the world again.”