SCOTLAND’S new children’s commissioner has called for the recruitment of more teachers.
Bruce Adamson said if schools were to become more supportive and offer a more personalised approach more teachers would be needed.
Teacher numbers have stabilised in recent years after the Scottish Government struck a deal with councils to protect numbers.
However, there are still 4,000 fewer teachers in Scotland than when the SNP came to power in 2007 and pupil rolls are projected to rise.
Mr Adamson said: “There is a compelling economic argument for increasing teacher numbers. To have proper pupil participation in learning delivers great outcomes, but it requires additional teachers and support and investment.
“It is a good investment and it saves money because you have less pupil disruption and a happier workforce and better outcomes, not just education outcomes.
“The teachers know the children better so they can pick up on issues and intervene early so you are going to save money in the health system, particularly mental health and the criminal justice system.”
The call, mande in an interview with the Times Educational Supplement Scotland, was backed by the Educational Institute of Scotland (EIS) teaching union.
Larry Flanagan, the general secretary, said: “Employing a greater number of qualified teachers in our schools would be beneficial for Scottish education, pupils and staff.
“With pupil numbers now beginning to rise, it is essential that increasing numbers of qualified teachers are employed to ensure high quality of provision for pupils and to reduce teacher workload.”
Scottish Labour said the comments strengthened their argument for using the powers of the Scottish Parliament to increase investment in education.
A Scottish Government spokeswoman said: “We agree teacher numbers are essential to a successful education system.
“That is why we have invested £88 million this year alone so every school has access to the right number of teachers.
“This investment has enabled local authorities to maintain the pupil teacher ratio and halted a period of steady decline in teacher recruitment by councils.”
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