Teacher statistics request: FOI release

Information requested

I am writing to you to request the following information. Please do not hesitate to contact me if you need further clarification or additional information.

1. Who decides how many probationer teachers are to be recruited per local authority?
2. How many primary school supply teachers are registered in Scotland?
3. How many secondary school supply teachers are registered in Scotland?
4. Who sets and oversees recruitment procedures and policies?
5. Can you advise on your plans for ‘non class contact time’ (NCCT) and the recruitment process to accommodate this, including any projected plans?
6. How many places have been funded for the undergraduate primary teaching training course for all Scottish universities collectively?
7. How many places have been funded for the undergraduate secondary teaching training course for all Scottish universities collectively?
8. How many places have been funded for the PGDE primary teaching training course for all Scottish Universities collectively?
9. How many places have been funded for the PGDE secondary teaching training course for all Scottish Universities collectively? 
10. What are your reasons for not capping the number of PGDE places available given the number of teachers who are unemployed or are registered as supply teachers and are seeking permanent contracts?
11. Can you provide statistics for the average number of hours supply teachers in primary schools work across all 32 Scottish local authorities?
12. Can you provide statistics for the average number of hours supply teachers in secondary schools work across all 32 of the Scottish local authorities?
13. Who oversees the funding provided to each local authority?
14. Why do some local authorities offer permanent supply while others offer casual supply?
15. Why do local authorities create their own supply system?
16. How are Local Authority supply policies monitored and quality assured to ensure that they are effective and supportive to pupils, teachers and schools? Are local authorities accountable for this?
17. How many primary school probationer teachers compared to fully registered teachers are there in full-time positions?
18. How many secondary school probationer teachers compared to fully registered teachers are there in full-time positions?
19. How many registered primary school teachers do not have a permanent contract?
20. How many registered secondary teachers do not have a permanent contract?
21. How much additional funding for hiring teachers has been allocated since 2014?
22. Is the funding allocated the same for each authority or does this differ depending on each authority? If the latter, how is this calculated?
23. Are local authorities responsible for disclosing and reporting how this money has been spent?
24. How much additional funding was given for the hiring of additional teachers for Covid recovery? How much money has been allocated from the start of the pandemic up to the year 2022/23?
25. With regards to covid recovery funding, could you please clarify how much has been spent on: 1) permanent staff members 2) fixed term teachers 3) casual supply.

Response

While our aim is to provide information whenever possible, in this instance the Scottish Government does not have some of the information you have requested.

Some of the information you have requested is publicly available, and website links have been provided below. Under section 25(1) of FOISA, we do not have to give you information which is already reasonably accessible to you. If, however, you do not have internet access to obtain this information from the website(s) listed, then please contact me again and I will send you a paper copy.

With regard to question 1, the General Teaching Council for Scotland (GTCS) allocates probationer teachers participating in the Teacher Induction Scheme (TIS) to local authorities on a five choice preference system. Participation in the scheme is not mandatory. Probationer teachers can also complete the full registration process by working on supply following the flexible route.

With regard to questions 2 and 3, the Scottish Government does not hold information in relation to numbers of registered supply teachers. This is a formal notice under section 17(1) of FOISA that the Scottish Government does not hold the information you have requested.

With regard to question 4, statutory responsibility for the delivery of education in Scotland sits with local authorities, as set out under the Education (Scotland) Act 1980. This includes recruitment procedures and policies.

With regard to question 5, issues related to this will be discussed with the Scottish Negotiating Committee for Teachers (SNCT), as the body responsible for teachers’ terms and conditions.

With regard to questions 6 to 10, the documents section on the Scottish Government’s Teacher Workforce Planning Advisory Group page includes tables providing intake targets and enrolment for undergraduate teaching training PGDE primary teaching training courses from 2016 to 2021 at an all Scotland level.

With regard to numbers of places, the Scottish Government conducts a teacher workforce annual planning exercise to project the requirement for newly qualified teachers in Scotland. This leads to advice to the Scottish Funding Council (SFC) on setting student teacher intake targets for ITE programmes at universities. Information on recommendations made can also be found on the Planning Advisory Group page.

With regard to questions 11 and 12, the Scottish Government does not hold information in relation to the average number of hours worked by supply teachers in primary or secondary schools. This is a formal notice under section 17(1) of FOISA that the Scottish Government does not hold the information you have requested.

With regard to question 13, local authorities are accountable for the expenditure of funds provided as part of the block grant. Where funding is directed to a particular purpose (e.g., Covid recovery) then appropriate monitoring is in place; however, the Scottish Government recognises that local authorities are independent corporate bodies with their own powers and responsibilities to decide upon and manage spending priorities.

With regard to questions 14, 15 and 16, statutory responsibility for the delivery of education in Scotland sits with local authorities, providing local authorities with the flexibility to meet the needs of each of their schools and its pupils in light of their local needs and circumstances. This includes supply arrangements in the event of teacher absence.

With regard to questions 17 and 18, the Scottish Government holds some information on primary and secondary probationer teachers employed through the TIS. All probationers on the scheme are full time.

As of 30 September 2022, GTCS reports that there are currently 1609 primary probationers and 1291 secondary probationers allocated to local authorities under the TIS.

You may wish to note that table 1.3 of the teacher census supplementary statistics illustrates the number of primary and secondary teachers working full-time and part-time.

The Scottish Government does not hold information on probationer teachers working on supply following the flexible route. This is a formal notice under section 17(1) of FOISA that the Scottish Government does not hold the information you have requested.

With regard to questions 19 and 20, the Scottish Government does not hold information on how many registered primary and secondary teachers do not have a permanent contract. This is a formal notice under section 17(1) of FOISA that the Scottish Government does not hold the information you have requested.

You may wish to note that table 2.6 of the teacher census supplementary statistics illustrates the number of teachers recorded with a permanent employment type for their post.

With regard to question 21, the recruitment of teachers is the responsibility of local authorities. To support this, and in addition to the money provided through the local government general revenue grant, since April 2014:

• From 2014, permanent annual funding of £51m was added to the Local Government settlement
• Additional funding of £240m was provided to local authorities during Covid-19 to support the recruitment of additional education staff to support education recovery
• From 2021-22, further funding of £145.5m per annum was baselined into the local government general revenue grant to support the sustained employment of additional teachers

With regard to question 22, funding support is distributed using a needs-based formula agreed between the Scottish Government and COSLA and is based on the number of pupils and teachers in each local authority area, with additional support for small rural schools and for schools with high levels of deprivation.

The full funding formula is published on the Scottish Local Government Finance 'Green Book' 2022-23 page on the Scottish Government website.

Most of this support is not ring-fenced for teaching, but is simply a means of ensuring that relevant need-drivers are considered when distributing funding between authorities. Each local authority receives a block grant from the Scottish Government and then makes decisions at a local level as to how that is spent.

With regard to question 23, yes, local authorities provide financial returns to the Scottish Government including how much money they have spent on individual services. These are published on the Local government finance statistics page on the Scottish Government website.

With regard to post-Covid-19 recovery funding, a precise breakdown of spend, by the criteria set out in question 25, would need to be sought from each local authority. This is a formal notice under section 17(1) of FOISA that the Scottish Government does not hold the information you have requested.

With regard to teacher recruitment, latest figures from the teacher census show teacher numbers rose for the sixth year in a row, rising to 54,285, in 2021 – an increase of 885 on the previous year. A range of data can be found in the teacher characteristics section on the school education statistics page on the Scottish Government website: School education statistics.

With regard to question 24, please note bullets two and three in response to question 21.

With regard to question 25, with regard to post-Covid-19 recovery funding, a precise breakdown of spend would need to be sought from each local authority. This is a formal notice under section 17(1) of FOISA that the Scottish Government does not hold the information you have requested.

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