Following an agreement between the Scottish Government and COSLA
on education funding and provision, the following joint statement
has been issued by Education Secretary and COSLA spokesperson for
Children and Young People Tony Buchanan:
"Scotland's national and local government have reaffirmed their
agreement to delivering improved outcomes for children and young
people.
"Local Government and the Scottish Government are committed to
working together to restore teacher numbers to 2023 levels next
year, and freeze learning hours which will support the learning
experience for pupils across Scotland. Both Local Government and
the Scottish Government have also agreed to make meaningful
progress towards reducing class contact time for teachers, in
recognition of the asks made by teachers and teaching unions.
Medium- and long-term joint workforce planning will take into
account the importance of responding to issues including
different local needs.
"In order to support each of these measures, the Scottish
Government is increasing the funding available to local
government to £186.5m, and will issue £145.5m to local government
in full this financial year.
"Local Government will also receive additional funding of £28
million from 2025-2026 to develop the Additional Support for
Learning (ASL) education workforce, along with an enhanced offer
in support, spanning all stages of the curriculum from the early
years to the end of secondary. Further funding of £1 million is
also being made available to support national initiatives which
will help to recruit and train more ASL teachers.
"To drive improvements in education across Scotland and at a
local level, a joint Education Assurance Board will be
established to achieve our shared objectives to improve
attainment, attendance and improve relationships and behaviour.
This activity will build on existing initiatives already in place
in Scotland which see Local Government and the Scottish
Government working together to close the poverty-related
attainment gap, such as the Pupil Equity Fund, which is allocated
to headteachers, and Strategic Equity Funding.
"All these measures will contribute to and acknowledge the
critical importance of delivering excellence and equity in
education for all children in Scotland."
