Almost a third of pupils missing school and decline in support for teachers and pupils

By Bill Heaney

Scottish Liberal Democrat education spokesperson Willie Rennie MSP today urged the SNP to take immediate action after new figures revealed that almost a third of pupils are persistently absent.

While the number of Additional Support Needs (ASN) teachers has “cratered”, despite the number of ASN pupils being at a record high.

Supplementary Statistics for Schools, produced by the Scottish Government and analysed by Scottish Liberal Democrats, reveal that:

• The overall persistent absence rate for 2022/23 was 32%, meaning that 32% of pupils in Scotland are missing 10% or more of sessions across the whole school year.
• The number of ASN teachers has dropped from 3,524 in 2010 to 2,898 in 2023. This is despite the number of ASN pupils now being at a record high of 259,036, which makes up 36.7% of the entire pupil roll.
• The number of primary school teachers whose main subject is learning support has continued to fall, as it has done every year since 2008. There are now 309, down from 578 in 2008.

Mr Rennie, above right,  said: “The absence rates are a sign of young people who are disengaged, stressed and distracted.

“The shocking waits to get mental health support combined with the inadequate additional support for learning and also the high rates of unacceptable behaviour and violence are some of the reasons for so many young people just not turning up for school.

“It’s why the SNP government must cut waits for mental health support, ensure additional support for learning is adequately supported and there is a step change on behaviour.”