Scottish Liberal Democrats Debate: A New Plan for Scotland’s Teaching Workforce

Willie Rennie S6M-17669 That the Parliament acknowledges the work carried out by Scotland’s teachers in schools across the country and commends them for all they do; recognises that the subjects that they teach provide important foundations for knowledge and skills in sectors that can be vital for Scotland’s economy; notes with concern, however, that there has been a sharp decline in the number of teachers in key subjects, such as maths, physics and modern languages, and that targets to train teachers in STEM subjects have been continuously missed; believes that, should these targets continue to be missed, and the decline in the number of teachers continues, it will add to the strain on the teaching workforce, Scottish education will suffer and Scotland's ability to compete globally in important sectors will be impacted; further believes that a lack of permanent contracts for teachers will further compound issues with recruitment and training; notes that there are also high levels of unemployment and underemployment of primary teachers and teachers for some secondary school subjects; further notes the failure of the Scottish Government to make sufficient progress on its 2021 commitment to recruit 3,500 more teachers, which is set to be missed by the end of the current parliamentary session in 2026, and calls, therefore, on the Scottish Government to develop a new, urgent plan for the teaching workforce, working with stakeholders. Jenny Gilruth S6M-17669.3 As an amendment to motion S6M-17669 in the name of Willie Rennie (A New Plan for Scotland’s Teaching Workforce), leave out from "further notes" to end and insert "recognises that local workforce planning is led by local government and must be undertaken in partnership with it; supports local authorities, as the employers of teachers, to use the significant additional funding made available, including £186.5 million in the 2025-26 Budget, to increase teacher numbers and create more permanent posts, and calls for the Scottish Government to commit to working in partnership with COSLA, through the joint education and assurance board, to develop a joint evidence-led education workforce strategy with stakeholders." Miles Briggs S6M-17669.2 As an amendment to motion S6M-17669 in the name of Willie Rennie (A New Plan for Scotland’s Teaching Workforce), insert at end “; continues to be concerned at the levels of violence being reported in schools, including unacceptable physical and verbal attacks and threats being experienced by teachers and the wider school community; notes the significant concerns over high levels of work-related stress being reported by teachers and the health and wellbeing of the profession; calls on the Scottish Government to bring forward a national coordinated education workforce plan, including data on additional support needs (ASN) and projections on workforce capacity for additional support workers and classroom assistants across local authorities as part of the ASN review; recognises concerns that absence cover is not being consistently applied across schools and local authorities, and supports the better provision of access to resources and training, including the delivery of a new model of support alongside the NHS Education for Scotland trauma informed practice training on neurodivergence and autism.” Pam Duncan-Glancy S6M-17669.1 As an amendment to motion S6M-17669 in the name of Willie Rennie (A New Plan for Scotland’s Teaching Workforce), insert at end ", and further calls on the Scottish Government to develop a consistent national system of supply to support supply teachers across local authorities, make Pupil Equity Funding permanent to empower schools to properly plan, address concerns with the teacher census to ensure that it is known where staff are and where they are needed, ensure places on teacher training are aligned to workforce planning needs, including in science, technology, engineering and mathematics (STEM) subjects, and collect and publish data around the number of senior phase lessons being taught by non-subject specialist teachers."