Shirley-Anne Somerville was invited to speak at this year’s AGM, and to answer questions from delegates. Here, the SEJ looks at some key sections from the Cabinet Secretary’s speech.
Safety in schools
I would like to place on record my thanks for the exceptional contribution made by members of the EIS in supporting the education system as a whole, and children and young people in particular, during the pandemic.
Your commitment, working to ensure that every child and young person in Scotland has the opportunity to fulfil their potential, has been outstanding.
I do not underestimate the significant personal cost to each and every one of you in continuing to deliver education in these most challenging of circumstances.
Education Recovery and attainment
The disruption caused by COVID-19 has presented serious challenges for learning and teaching in Scotland, just as it has around the world.
There remains a need to address the ongoing impact on children’s health, wellbeing and learning, and the pandemic has shone an even brighter light on inequalities across societies. Progress in tackling the poverty-related attainment gap was made before the pandemic, but we now need to increase the speed and scale of such progress.
Education Reform
To achieve these ambitions – and our aims for excellence and equity for all remains unwavering – we need all parts of the system to support the highest quality of learning and teaching.
As we emerge from the pandemic, it is the perfect time to reflect on the things about our system which are already excellent, and which are helping young people to flourish and realise their ambitions.
It is also important to think about what we have learned during the pandemic, and how we want to build on what has been achieved over the last couple of years.
SQA/Exams
Prior to any reform being implemented, we have an ongoing commitment to ensure that the current cohort of young people receive a learning experience that allows them to fulfil their potential and become active contributors to Scotland’s future economy and civic society.
The teaching profession has been pivotal in supporting our young people through the challenges of the last two years. As well as providing the required support for learning, this also includes ensuring that learners can demonstrate their potential and achieve qualifications that reflect that.
Workload
I recognise that workload is a significant factor in teachers’ stress. That is one of the reasons why we have committed to reduce teachers’ class contact time by one and half hours.
Reducing class contact time will also create over 2,000 permanent teaching posts and reduce workload. The SNCT is currently taking discussions forward, and I hope an implementation date will be agreed soon.
Teachers’ Pay
I am aware of the strength of feeling across the public sector, including the teaching workforce, and recognise the desire by everyone for their efforts to be recognised by way of a pay rise, especially against the backdrop of the cost of living crisis.
Equally, I also understand the financial challenges Councils face, in common with the wider public sector, and the need for any pay rise to not only be fair to employees, but also affordable to the employer.
Whilst it is for the local government, as the employer, to make any revised offer of pay, I am committed to supporting a fair pay offer for teachers and we will work with the SNCT to conclude these negotiations as quickly as possible.
Temporary contracts
Although we have invested heavily over the last two years to ensure that additional teachers and support staff were available to support the response to the pandemic, I acknowledge that there are a significant number of teachers currently working on temporary contracts. I will continue to encourage local authorities to employ more teachers into permanent contracts, and I have provided a further £145 million, baselined into the local government settlement, to enable them to do so.
Following her speech, the Cabinet Secretary answered a series of questions from delegates on issues such as : Why are teachers being offered a 9% real-terms pay cut this year? (Mark Houston, West Lothian); Will adequate support for ASN and mental health in schools ever be provided? (James McIntyre, East Dunbartonshire); Will class contact reduction time be used for teachers’ own preparation & correction? (Alison Beattie, Glasgow); Given the delays in rolling out universal free school meals, is tackling child poverty actually a priority for the Scottish Government? (Nicola Fisher, Glasgow).