Labour pledges 1,500 new teaching assistants as teachers ‘struggling to cope’
Scottish Labour said the SNP has “left teachers struggling to cope” as it pledged to deliver an additional 1,500 classroom assistants in Scotland.
Party leader Anas Sarwar has revealed plans to deliver the additional classroom assistants, including 300 dedicated to specialist additional support needs (ASN) support.
Under Scottish Labour’s plans to reduce teacher workloads and offer more 1:1 support to pupils, local authorities across the country will get direct funding for the extra classroom assistants.
At least 300 of the new intake would be located in specialist ASN schools or units so that children with the greatest needs get increased support.
Mr Sarwar said children are “falling through the cracks” in the current education system.
He said: “Scotland’s education system was once the envy of the world, but under the SNP standards are slipping and children are falling through the cracks.
“The incompetence of John Swinney and the SNP has left teachers struggling to cope and robbed kids of the chance to learn.”
The number of ASN pupils is at its highest point on record, with Scottish Government figures showing 43% of all schoolchildren now require ASN support.
“The SNP cannot get the basics right and we owe it to the next generation to demand better.
“A Scottish Labour government led by me will fix the mess the SNP has made, deliver the leadership that has been missing and build an education system that sets every child up to succeed.
“We will put more classroom assistants in classrooms across the country and we will make sure ASN support delivers for the kids who need it most.
“In May Scotland has a choice between more of the same with the SNP or a better future for Scotland’s children with Scottish Labour.”
Scottish Labour has also pledged to include a new charter on behaviour and national standards for numeracy and literacy.
A Scottish Government spokesperson said: “All staff in schools support children with additional support needs – not just specialist staff – and all teachers already undertake ASN training during initial teacher education. There are 17,046 pupil support assistants in Scotland – the second highest level on record – as a direct result of our continued £15 million annual investment.
“The Scottish Government is providing £186.5 million to local authorities in 2025-26 to restore teacher numbers to 2023 levels and maximise the number of teaching posts available, and a further £28 million this year to support the ASN workforce. This is in addition to record spend of almost £1.1 billion by local authorities on ASN in 2024-25 – the latest available figures.
“Recommendations from a rapid review of additional support for learning (ASL) provision published earlier this month will aid the response to the shifting landscape in ASN – including how the pandemic has impacted ASL in schools, and the increase in percentage of pupils identified.”