The number of specialist English and maths teachers in Scottish schools has declined by nearly 1,000 over the past decade, new figures show.

Since 2008 there are more than 500 fewer secondary school teachers with English as their main subject, a drop from 2,992 to 2,473.

The figures also show there are over 400 fewer secondary school maths teachers with a drop from 2,787 to 2,364.

This represents a combined drop in Maths and English teachers of 942 - although numbers in maths are up slighty this year.

Secondary school French teachers have also dropped by nearly 400 and the number of teachers in science and technology subjects is also down.

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The Scottish Conservatives blamed the Scottish Government for its "inaction" over the issue.

Liz Smith, education spokeswoman for the Scottish Conservatives, said: "Parents will be very angry when they see evidence of the decline in teacher numbers, especially in core subjects like English and Maths.

“This comes at the same time as many people in education are expressing their deep-seated concern about the reduction in subject choice.

“It is completely unacceptable that the SNP has allowed this situation to develop."

The Scottish Government also came under fire over an increase in the number of pupils in larger class sizes.

Tavish Scott, education spokesman for the Scottish Liberal Democrats, said the figures showed 43,193 primary pupils were being taught in larger classes – 12,000 more than in 2012.

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Mr Scott said: "The number of pupils being taught in super-size classes has soared on the SNP’s watch.

“Classes of this size make it harder to close the attainment gap. Smaller classes help pupils learn and increases the amount of contact time between teachers and those children who need extra help."

However, the Scottish Government welcomed figures which show the number of support staff in schools has increased by more than 1,000 in the last year.

In 2018, there were 14,547 such staff in Scottish schools - nearly eight per cent up on the previous year.

This figure includes pupil support assistants, home-school link workers, behaviour support staff, educational psychologists and school nurses.

John Swinney, the Education Secretary, said: "All children should get the support they need to reach their full potential.

“While all teachers work with pupils with additional support needs, I welcome the increase in specialist staff which shows education authorities are continuing to invest in having the right support, in the right place, to meet young peoples’ needs."

Overall, the figures show teacher numbers are at their highest levels since 2010, with primary teacher numbers at the highest level since 1980.

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However, an alliance of organisations that work with pupils with special needs called for more resources.

The Scottish Children’s Services Coalition said the amount of money spent on pupils with additional support needs (ASN) had fallen to a new low at a time when the number of such pupils had escalated dramatically.

Per pupil spend on those with ASN has dropped from more than £4,000 in 2012/13 to £3,387 in 2017/18.

A spokesman said: “It is vital those with ASN get the care and support they need, which is also key if we are to genuinely close the educational attainment gap.

"This is clearly challenging in an environment of austerity and evidence of cuts in spending per pupil with ASN."

Iain Gray, education spokesman for the Scottish Labour Party, said ASN pupils were ebing "badly let down".

He said: "The fact there have been such reductions in specialist staff, while the numbers of young people with an identified support need is going up is nothing short of disgraceful.

“The government can point to a small increase in teacher numbers, but it is nowhere near the demand.

"Almost a third of pupils are identified as needing additional support, all while there are fewer staff to provide it."