Glasgow City Council has admitted that plans to cut 450 teachers from the city’s schools “may have a detrimental impact on the poorest children and young people”, The Herald can reveal.

Officials have also conceded that “there may be a potential impact on support for young people with additional support needs”.

The comments are made in an Equality Impact Assessment (EQIA) published by the council this month. It was completed by Samir Sharma, a Quality Improvement Officer for equalities in the Education Services team, before being signed off by Director of Education Douglas Hutchison on 11 July 2024, roughly five months after the teacher cuts were confirmed.

The EQIA explains that the council has held meetings, or received communication, from a range of groups in relation its plan to reduce teacher numbers, all of whom oppose the plans. These include the EIS, the AHDS, Glasgow City Parents Groups, individual parent councils, and School Leaders Scotland.

In a section entitled ‘Assessment and differential impacts’, the council considers each of the protected characteristics of the equality act and assesses whether or not they would be affected by the proposed change.

Parents and trade unions have previously raised concerns about the impact of the cuts on children with disabilities and broader additional support needs, but the council states that “no significant impact” has been identified for those with physical disabilities, sensory impairments, mental health issues or learning disabilities. This is because the specific cut being considered only applies to classroom teachers, with other staff, such as Support for Learning workers and those at the Glasgow Dyslexia service, unaffected.

However, a later part of the document appears to contradict these claims, stating that “there may be a potential impact on support for young people with additional support needs.”

Cathy Magee, Chief Executive of Dyslexia Scotland, warned that dyslexic pupils depend upon the support of classroom teachers, not just specialist support staff, and would therefore be directly affected by the council’s plans:

“The incremental effect of the cuts in local authorities is of course of great concern to Dyslexia Scotland, in terms of the potential negative impact on children and young people with dyslexia and other additional support needs.

“Whilst we welcome the fact that Glasgow City Council is not making cuts to support for learning workers and the other staff teams highlighted, the role of classroom teachers is vital for dyslexic learners.

“Pupil support begins with the class teacher - they play an important role in the initial stages and the continuing monitoring and assessment of learning for dyslexic learners – as they do for all their pupils.”

Those concerns were echoed by Rob Holland, Director of the National Autistic Society, who said that many autistic young people are already being let down by the education system:

“School can be a source of profound stress and anxiety for many autistic children and young people as they often don’t get the support they need. Because of that lack of support many end up excluded from school, sometimes on a long-term basis, a fundamental breach of their right to an education. 

“The number of specialist teachers has already been in decline for 10 years; with cuts to mainstream class teachers as well, the experiences of autistic children and young people will only get worse as class sizes grow and there are fewer staff to support individual children. This will undoubtedly have an impact on young disabled people, particularly autistic young people who are too often forced out of education.”

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The EQIA document also confirms that young people from deprived backgrounds are likely to be disproportionately affected by the cuts to teacher numbers.

The council advises that “just over a third of Glasgow’s children and young people live in the most deprived data zones in Scotland” and states that as a result they are “more likely to require targeted interventions to  ensure they reach their potential.” However, the planned cuts to teacher numbers will mean that the “flexibility to carry out such targeted interventions may be more limited.”

Further detail is provided in a section entitled ‘Summary of Socio Economic Impacts’, in which the council officials state: “Glasgow amounts to 10% of the Scottish population but contains 35% of Scotland’s children who live in the most deprived data zones.  A reduction in teaching staff may have a detrimental impact on the poorest children and young people.   Targeted intervention groups may be less likely to operate which previously targeted those children performing below the expected level for their age.”

Nicola Killean, Scotland’s Children and Young People’s Commissioner, said that it is “hard to see how disabled children would not be significantly affected by cuts to teaching staff.”

She added: “Glasgow City Council could have conducted a children’s rights impact assessment (CRIA) which would provide information around the evidence assessed to support its decision and assertion. 

“Children’s right to education is concerned with more than academic attainment, or a focus on a narrow range of subjects. Instead, a rights-based education is about ensuring the development of children’s personalities, talents, and mental and physical abilities to their fullest potential.   

“The Scottish Government and local authorities must use the maximum available resources to realise children’s right to education. Decision-makers, such as those in councils, must involve children meaningfully when making decisions which will impact their rights.”

Leanne McGuire, chair of the Glasgow City Parents Group, told The Herald that the assessment now produced by the council is a “flimsy and inadequate attempt at fulfilling a crucial responsibility.”

She added: “It lacks the depth and comprehensiveness necessary for such an important document, missing key details and failing to address the real concerns of the groups it affects.

“It's evident that the EQIA has been tailored to fit decisions that were already predetermined, rather than objectively assessing the potential impacts. This raises serious questions about the integrity and transparency of the process, leaving many to wonder whether the council is truly committed to equality or simply going through the motions.”

Mike Corbett, National Officer for the NASUWT teaching union, was also scathing about the council’s position: 

“It is simply not credible for Glasgow City Council to claim that cutting teacher numbers will have no adverse impact on pupils with disabilities. Given the policy of presumption of mainstream, coupled with a decline in the number of specialist teachers and ASN services, classroom teachers work directly with increasing numbers of pupils with disabilities and additional needs and any reduction in teacher numbers will therefore inevitably reduce the support available to these pupils.

“The Council is admitting that its plans will likely hit the poorest children and those with additional needs the most. Tackling the poverty and disability-related attainment gaps requires considerably more ambition than merely adhering to minimum staffing regulations. It is difficult to see how these cuts will result in anything other than greater barriers to achievement, higher disengagement and increasing inequality for the pupils who are most in need.”

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Commenting for the EIS, Glasgow branch secretary Jane Gow said that members “strongly disagree” with the council’s conclusions in the EQIA, which she dismissed as “delusional at worst”:

“To be clear, we place the highest value on every support service and partnership that the Council lists where cuts have not been administered but, to avoid doubt, it is classroom teachers who interact most frequently with all our young people.

“It is the Education Department’s policy that all mainstream pupils, with or without ASN or disability, remain in class settings for the majority of their daily educational experience to be primarily supported by their classroom teachers.

"This support is multi-faceted because teachers counsel their pupils, mentor and advise them, regulate their behaviour and mediate through conflict in the course of a lesson. To cut this workforce by 10% then claim there will be no impact on ASN and disabled pupils is erroneous at least and delusional at worst.

“Further, the ill-judged proposal to remove these posts in Glasgow will have significant and damaging effect on Scottish Government’s policy to close the poverty related attainment gap which is widening in front of our eyes.

"The city contains 35% of Scotland’s children who live in the most deprived data zones. These pupils need more targeted teaching and support, more small group learning and more teachers to nurture them towards attainment and achievement not fewer.

"The loss of 172 teachers at the start of this session with the hammer blow threat of more to go will only ensure that it is our most vulnerable young people and communities who will suffer the most.”

Scottish Labour’s education spokesperson, Pam Duncan-Glancy MSP, also rejected the idea that teacher cuts won’t harm young people with disabilities and other additional needs:

“The notion that reducing teacher numbers won’t impact pupils with ASN is for the birds. Teachers, with the support of other staff, are essential to ensuring children with ASN reach their potential.

 “That Glasgow City Council know this impacts on the poorest children the most is a damning indictment on SNP and Green councils who support these cuts. The poorest children have been  thrown under a bus.

 “The People of Glasgow will not forget or forgive this. They know we need change to protect the future generations of our incredible city.”

A council spokeswoman said: “It would not be appropriate to comment extensively on this matter at this time due to potential legal action pertaining to the EQIAs.

“What we can say is that our position is that the decisions have been taken lawfully and in compliance with the local authority’s public sector equality duty. 

“An EQIA was attached to the budget proposals document in February and included an assessment of the impact of the proposed service reforms. 

“The progress of the service reforms is kept under review and a further EQIA was completed in June 2024.”

“It’s important to note that the purpose of an EQIA is to highlight and make decision-makers aware of potential risks thus enabling them to embed actions to mitigate or avoid those risks.

“The budget agreed by councillors in February also agreed to put in place processes to continually monitor the impact of decisions and actions taken to mitigate potential negative outcomes.”