Recruitment and Retention of Newly Qualified Teachers: FOI release

Information requested

1. 'Can you confirm the true figures of the numbers of Temporary Teachers included in the Summary for 2022. This should include all the 32 Local Councils.'
2. 'Can you confirm if the Scottish Conservatives or other opposition parties have ever asked for this information of the Scottish Government ?'
3. 'Can you confirm how Supplies posts are treated in the Statistics? And the total number of Teachers holding such posts, either as NQTs or other?'
4. 'Can you confirm how this is undertaken, to ensure that funds allocated for additional teachers are used for the appointment of Permanent Staff?'
5. 'Have you ever had to recoup any funds that have been mis-used? , For obvious reasons you do not wish the identification of the Council.'

Response

1. Please see the following statistics which include all 32 local authorities plus teachers at grantaided schools. At the time of the September 2022 school staff census there were 7,036 full-time equivalent (FTE) teachers in temporary posts. This equates to 13.2% of the 53,459 teachers in total. These numbers do not include teachers on the Teacher Indication Scheme (TIS). At the time of the September 2022 school staff census there were 2,889 FTE TIS teachers, 5% of the total. At time of the September 2021 school staff census there were 7,178 FTE teachers in
temporary posts, 13.4% of the total (53,581). In addition, there were 3,214 FTE TIS teachers, 6% of the total.

2. Yes.

3. The Scottish Government teacher statistics will capture teachers on temporary contracts lasting over two days and short-term supply teachers (up to two days) where the teacher is employed by the local authority as part of its permanent supply pool. Information on the number of teachers on supply lists is not held by the Scottish Government.

4. Official Statistics on teacher numbers, delivered via the annual teacher census, have delivered robust data for many years and they will continue to be the definitive measure. Therefore, we will use the September 2023 annual census levels, which will be published in the Official Statistics Summary School Statistics in December 2023 and March 2024, to confirm whether numbers have been maintained.

5. In 2015, the Scottish Government withheld additional funding from 10 local authorities who failed to meet the Teacher numbers agreement with local government at that time.

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