One third of teachers employed under flagship Pupil Equity Fund are temporary

Opposition politicians and teaching unions said the figures raised concerns over whether the Scottish Government scheme was a “quick fix”.

Launched in 2015 by First Minister Nicola Sturgeon, the £750 million Scottish Attainment Fund aims to target resources at councils serving areas with the greatest concentrations of disadvantaged pupils.

Analysis: Questions emerge over the permanence of new classroom staff

The initiative includes the Pupil Equity Fund, which targets money directly to schools and can be used at the discretion of headteachers.

Earlier this year, the Scottish Government welcomed figures that showed hundreds of new staff had been employed by schools as a result with overall teacher numbers rising to more than 51,000 – the highest level for six years.

However, Liz Smith, education spokeswoman for the Scottish Conservatives, said the revelation that many were on temporary contracts highlighted “serious problems”.

She said: “We know from recent statistics that many local authority schools are finding it difficult to make the best use of the attainment fund should they wish to use this to hire more teachers.

“There are clearly gaps in the availability of teachers to take up posts and now we learn that a third of those teachers who have been hired are only on temporary contracts.

“All of this suggests there are serious problems being encountered by schools who are doing their level best to raise attainment by appointing new staff and I am sure this will be a matter of great concern to parents.”

Analysis: Questions emerge over the permanence of new classroom staff

Iain Gray, education spokesman for the Scottish Labour Party, said the SNP approach had been to slash core education budgets, forcing schools to use additional money to plug gaps in provision.

He said: “These figures show the additional teacher numbers, while welcome, are by no means safeguarded. This is merely an attempted quick fix to a teacher recruitment crisis wholly of the Government’s making.

“The change we need to see in our schools is enough teachers with enough support and resources.”

Tavish Scott, education spokesman for the Scottish Liberal Democrats, said the Government’s claims on teacher numbers “do not add up”.

He added: “Temporary contracts are not full-time teachers. Temporary contracts do not provide the continuity of classroom teaching that young people need.

“Local authorities are under great financial pressure so it cannot be a surprise that they are employing teachers in this way. The Government should come clean.”

Larry Flanagan, general secretary of the Educational Institute of Scotland teaching union, said the extra funding was welcome, but there was legitimate concern over the types of post created.

He said: “The fact these funds are not delivered through core budgets may make local authorities reluctant to commit to creating permanent posts, even where there is a clear need.

“In recent years, there has been an over-reliance on short-term contracts for teachers, particularly recently qualified teachers, which leads to uncertainty for individual teachers and for schools, pupils and parents.”

Last week, an official evaluation of the attainment fund found that, of the £52m distributed in the first two years, £15m was unspent because of recruitment problems.

The Scottish Government report concluded: “A significant challenge for local authorities and schools was around the recruitment of staff.

“This put extra pressure on schools and impacted negatively on the success of planned interventions, leading to frustration and underspend.”

A freedom of information request submitted by The Herald showed 230 full-time equivalent staff employed under the Scottish Attainment Fund were on temporary contracts. Responses show 306 were permanent. Five of Scotland’s 32 councils failed to respond to the request.

Analysis: Questions emerge over the permanence of new classroom staff

Glasgow City Council has employed 217 teachers under the fund and all have been given permanent contracts.

A Scottish Government spokeswoman said: “Teacher numbers – including secondary teachers – are increasing, and a majority of those employed through the attainment fund are in permanent posts. The fact is there are more secondary teachers than at any time since 2014 and the ratio of pupils to teachers is at its lowest since 2010.

“We’ve taken decisive action to help recruit and retain teachers. Our Teaching Makes People campaign focuses on attracting new teachers and career changers into STEM and other subjects including English and home economics.”