Born in 1946 and brought up in Cupar, Fife, I was educated at the local school - 
North-east MSPs have welcomed news that 1,250 new teachers, and 155 support staff, have been recruited in schools across Scotland in recent months.
It comes after the Scottish Government pledged £80 million of support this summer to help local authorities’ recruitment for the safe re-opening of schools.
And Councils across Scotland have now indicated that an estimated further 200 teachers are also in the pipeline with 100 extra support staff also expected to follow.
Last month, figures from the independent Scottish Parliament Information Centre (SPICe) showed that the number of newly-qualified teachers going straight into employment has risen by nearly 30%.
Analysis also revealed that the number of teachers in Scotland under the age of 45 has risen to 61.5% of the workforce as of 2019.
This is in comparison with 2009, when most teachers were over 45.
Commenting, Gillian Martin MSP said:
“Thanks to significant investment from the SNP Government this summer, we now have hundreds of extra teachers and staff in our schools to support their safe re-opening.”
Commenting, Stewart Stevenson MSP said:
“These additional teachers and support staff will not only bring much needed resilience to Scotland’s education system, but they will help compensate for the loss of learning suffered by pupils during lockdown.
“I want to express my appreciation once again for our brilliant teachers, and wider workforce, who are helping to ensure our young people continue to get the education they deserve during these tough times.”
“I want to express my appreciation once again for our brilliant teachers, and wider workforce, who are helping to ensure our young people continue to get the education they deserve during these tough times.”
