Third consecutive year of falling teacher numbers

Scottish Liberal Democrat education spokesperson Willie Rennie has today called on the Scottish Government to turn around a third consecutive year of falling teacher numbers.

His call comes as summary education statistics published today show:

• Teacher numbers were down 621 from 2023, the third consecutive year of falling numbers.

• The pupil-teacher ratio increased to 13.3.

• The percentage of Teacher Induction Scheme probationers teaching in publicly funded schools the following year decreased from 71% in 2023 to 65% in 2024.

• The attendance rate was 90.3%, an increase from 90.2% in 2022/23 but lower than pre-covid rates.

• In 2024, 40.5% of all pupils (284,448 individuals) had an additional support need (ASN). This is 3.8 percentage points higher than 2023 when 36.7% of pupils had an additional support need.

Commenting on the figures, Mr Rennie said:

“The SNP are heading in the wrong direction.  They promised the number of teachers would rise by 3500 but they have fallen this year.   The pupil teacher ratio has increased too.

“With pupils with additional support needs topping 40% for the first time and behaviour and violence issues growing in classrooms it’s no wonder so many teachers feel overwhelmed, demoralised and disheartened.

“It’s time to stop asking our teachers to perform miracles; we need a real plan to get Scottish education back on track. That’s why Scottish Liberal Democrats would deliver a strategy to tackle poor behaviour in class, proper stable contracts for teachers to depend on and greater in-class support.”

On figures showing a vast attainment gap on every measure, and the attainment gap for numeracy at primary now wider than in 2018-19, Willie Rennie added:

“The SNP Government is miles away from closing the attainment gap by 2026 like it promised and Scotland is still slipping down the international rankings.

“Eight years into the government’s decade-long assignment and progress is painfully slow.

“You only get one shot at school and these figures show ministers are letting down a whole generation of pupils from poorer backgrounds.”