Scottish councils must reverse cuts to the number of registered teachers in nurseries, union bosses have warned.
The call from the Educational Institute of Scotland (EIS) comes after the total more than halved from 1,543 to 729 between 2010 and 2020.
Statistics show there was another fall last year, with 704 General Teaching Council for Scotland (GTCS)-registered teachers working in the funded early years sector. Headcounts at several local authorities were in single figures.
Ahead of May's council election, EIS bosses have demanded a "commitment to the restoration and role of GTCS-registered teachers in nursery schools, as an essential step towards enabling statutory public sector provision of early years education for all children, with guaranteed meaningful minimum access to qualified teachers for all 3-5 year olds".
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They also want to see "further embedding" of play-based pedagogy in nursery and the early years of primary, insisting this will be crucial to a curriculum that supports "equitable education recovery" in the wake of Covid-19.
The demands are among a number set out in the EIS council election manifesto. Published today, the document calls for increased investment in staff and a commitment to fair pay following long delays in remuneration talks.
Other priorities include: enhancing assistance for schools; proper resourcing to help young people with additional support needs; funding to boost initiatives aimed at tackling the equality impact of poverty on education.
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Larry Flanagan, EIS general secretary, said: "There is a very clear and urgent need to address shortages within the teacher workforce to support education recovery. This must include the employment of additional teachers, on permanent and secure contracts.
"Currently, around 10 per cent of Scotland’s teachers are employed on short-term and temporary contracts - this is a scandal that local authorities must commit to tackling as a matter of urgency.
"Early delivery of existing commitments to reduce teachers’ class contact time must also be a priority, and steps to reduce class sizes to support education recovery must be taken by councils. We are also calling for urgent improvements in support for teacher wellbeing, including mental health, in the wake of the Covid pandemic which has heaped huge additional pressures on staff.”
Mr Flanagan added: “The EIS is challenging all political parties and all election candidates to make clear commitments to providing improved support for Scottish education.”
COSLA, the local authority representative body, declined to comment on the manifesto.
In a separate development, the EIS Council is due to decide today whether to ballot members over the latest revised teacher pay offer.
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