The Educational Institute of Scotland (EIS), the country's
largest teaching union, has welcomed the announcement of an
additional £3.4 Billion in funding for public services in
Scotland, as a consequence of today's budget statement by
Chancellor or the Exchequer .
In her budget statement, the UK Chancellor announced additional
funding for schools, extra teachers, school buildings, free
school meals and the college sector in England. The EIS has
noted the UK government's decision to prioritise education, and
calls upon the Scottish Government to take a similar stance.
Barnett consequential funding to Scotland from today's budget
will be an additional £3.4Bn, providing a real-terms increase in
funding to the Scottish Government next year. The Scottish
Government's forthcoming Scottish Budget must include a
meaningful ringfenced increase in education funding to councils
to deliver additional resources to schools that address urgent
challenges in respect of pupil behaviours, inadequate additional
support needs (ASN) provision and excessive teacher workload.
Commenting, EIS General Secretary Andrea Bradley said, “Today's
budget statement by the UK Chancellor has highlighted the
importance of investing in education, to give all young people
the best start in life. The substantial additional investment
announced for public services south of the border, including a
major commitment to education, will result in a major cash boost
of around £3.4 Billion to the Scottish budget. It is now vital
that the Scottish Government grasps this opportunity to invest
the additional funding in education and in our wider public
services, for the benefit of all citizens of Scotland present and
future. By investing this additional money, and by
utilising their own financial levers including tax-raising
powers, the Scottish Government can sustainably deliver a high
quality education system that is rooted in social justice
principles.”
Ms Bradley continued, “Scottish education faces significant
challenges at present, many of them related to insufficient
investment in the system over many years. We need more teachers
in our schools to ensure a better learning experience for all
young people, and to guarantee that Scottish Government manifesto
commitments on additional teachers and reductions in teachers'
class contact commitments and levels of workload, will be
delivered. We currently have thousands of qualified teachers
seeking jobs, and many thousands more facing precarity of
employment on short-term, temporary contracts. This additional
cash injection must be used to create more, permanent, teaching
jobs to deliver a better learning experience in our schools. The
school estate is also in need of substantial investment, with too
many pupils and teachers working in old, poorly maintained
buildings, which do not provide a safe and sound working
environment for students and staff. The additional funding,
announced today, can start to address these issues for the
benefit of all involved in Scottish education.”
Ms Bradley added, “It is now incumbent on the Scottish Government
to act to ensure that the Barnett consequential funding, arising
from today's budget announcements on education, is utilised fully
to support high quality learning and teaching and the delivery of
a Scottish education system that will meet the needs of
Scotland's young people, and Scottish society, both now and in
the future.”
