Over half of headteachers have said that staffing, staff time and workload is a ‘potential barrier to success’ in a Scottish Government report published today.
The Headteacher Survey on the Attainment Scotland Fund has highlighted that headteachers appear to be losing confidence in the fund.
Compared to two years ago, more head teachers now think the improvements from attainment funding will not be sustainable and only 42 percent think the improvement is sustainable, a 16 percent drop.
Of those headteachers who felt the improvement would not be sustainable, 4 out of 5 stated it was because of ‘loss of staffing, resources and skills.’
Lastly, 7 in 10 schools highlighted the funding of teachers under the Attainment budget as a major contributor to success, showing how badly schools need more teachers.
Liz Smith, Scottish Conservative shadow education secretary said:
“There is no doubt that the attainment fund is very welcome as is clearly set out by this reaction from headteachers.
“It is striking however, just how much concern there is about the ongoing pressures on resources - specifically that the attainment fund is so often being used to plug gaps in teacher numbers which, under the SNP, have plummeted by 3,000.
“The attainment fund was meant to be additional funding not a replacement for other cuts in the system which is why teachers are worried about the sustainability of programmes to raise school attainment.”
