Meeting of the Parliament 25 February 2015
I am glad that the member acknowledges that there are links between teacher numbers and the experience of young people in learning. I certainly acknowledge that there is an issue in some subjects, not least computing science, which has been mentioned. I accept that the number of teachers of computing science has reduced, but efforts are under way to deal with that. For instance, I am pleased to note that the Government-chaired teacher workforce planning working group met this morning to discuss, among other things, that very subject. I am also pleased that the targets that we are setting for a number of the subjects in question, not least computing science, will move upwards every year; I certainly plan for them to do that.
The qualifications front is very important and, as has been mentioned, maths, physics, chemistry and biology are among the six most popular national 5 and higher qualifications for which pupils sat exams in 2014. In comparison with 2006, the number of pupils who took higher biology in 2014 increased by 14.2 per cent, and the number of pupils who took highers in maths, physics and chemistry increased by 17 per cent, 18 per cent and 24 per cent respectively.
I suggest that the on-going enthusiasm for and positive interest in science and maths in schools have been influenced by the considerable investment—in what I am sure that Ms Smith will acknowledge has been a very challenging fiscal period—that local authorities and the Government have worked together to make to allow the STEM subjects to flourish in schools. There has been such co-operation on investment not only in learning and curriculum support but in the quality of our teachers and of our school buildings and infrastructure. It is worth saying that the £1.8 billion schools for the future programme demonstrates our commitment and will ensure that we have science facilities in our new schools that are fit environments in which to learn in the 21st century.
Arguably, the most important thing is the quality of our teachers. We are committed to having the right number and quality of teachers in our schools. That is why we have just secured the commitment of each of Scotland’s local authorities to maintaining teacher numbers over the coming year. We have added £10 million to the £41 million that is already included in the local government settlement explicitly for maintaining teacher numbers.
Ms Smith mentioned the General Teaching Council for Scotland, and I appreciate her knowledge of that body. It is worth making it clear that, as an independent body, it makes its own rules, but I understand that it is alive to the need to make sure that we deal with hotspots around the country, where there is a need to ensure that teachers come into the system. However, on the basis of what the GTCS has said until now, I would be very surprised—I am not in any way prejudging what it decides—if it were to be flexible to the point that it was enthusiastic about anyone who was not a qualified teacher becoming a teacher in a Scottish school. I appreciate that the member was not suggesting that, but some voices elsewhere in the country have taken that line.
Last year, we founded the Scottish College for Educational Leadership and, earlier this week, we announced that from 2018-19 the new masters qualification for headship will become a mandatory requirement for new headteachers.
I accept that there are challenges. We recognise that STEM subject teacher numbers have faced challenges in recent years and, as I mentioned, we are taking steps to address that through the targets that we have set.