Scotland’s national and local government have reaffirmed their agreement to delivering improved outcomes for children and young people.

Local Government and Scottish Government are committed to working together to restore teacher numbers to 2023 levels next year, and freeze learning hours which will support the learning experience for pupils across Scotland. Both Local Government and the Scottish Government have also agreed to make meaningful progress towards reducing class contact time for teachers, in recognition of the asks made by teachers and teaching unions. Medium- and long-term joint workforce planning will take into account the importance of responding to issues including different local needs.

In order to support each of these measures, the Scottish Government is increasing the funding available to local government to £186.5m, and will issue £145.5m to local government in full this financial year.

Local Government will also receive additional funding of £28 million from 2025-2026 to develop the Additional Support for Learning (ASL) education workforce along with an enhanced offer in support, spanning all stages of the curriculum from the early years to the end of secondary. Further funding of £1 million is also being made available to support national initiatives which will help to recruit and train more ASL teachers.

To drive improvements in education across Scotland and at a local level, a joint Education Assurance Board will be established to achieve our shared objectives to improve attainment, attendance and improve relationships and behaviour. This activity will build on existing initiatives already in place in Scotland which see Local Government and the Scottish Government working together to close the poverty-related attainment gap, such as the Pupil Equity Fund, which is allocated to headteachers, and Strategic Equity Funding.

All these measures will contribute to and acknowledge the critical importance of delivering excellence and equity in education for all children in Scotland.