Axing support staff in Edinburgh schools would “prove absolutely devastating” for pupils, a coalition of care leaders have said.
It comes after a teacher working in the city warned cuts to the education budget could slash the number of staff who assist children with additional needs by a third.
Speaking out after seeing details of the cost-cutting plans the teacher, who asked not to be named, said they could impact assistants for neurodivergent pupils and also those whose first language is not English.
Education bosses are currently consulting staff on a wide-ranging ‘review’ of the department’s inclusion service and have mooted a £4m cut to its budget from 2026 as part of measures to bring down the council’s deficit.
The council said the measures being proposed were at “an early stage of development” but admitted they “will impact on staffing”.
In a statement issued today the Scottish Children’s Services Coalition (SCSC), an alliance of leading providers of specialist care and education to vulnerable young people, said they were “deeply concerned”.
The local authority was warned a “sticking plaster solution of budget cuts” would “simply lead to reduced life chances”.
The group, comprised of third sector organisations Falkland House School, LOVE Learning, Spark of Genius and Young Foundations, highlighted a “massive increase” in the number of pupils in Scotland’s schools identified with additional support needs (ASN), such as autism, dyslexia and mental health problems.
In Edinburgh, this has seen the number of pupils with ASN almost treble in number between 2013 and 2023, they said.
“It has been estimated that over 40 per cent of primary school and over half of secondary school pupils in the capital now have an ASN.
“Unfortunately, the necessary resourcing required for this group has not increased. For example, the number of ASN teachers in Edinburgh’s schools has declined by four over the period 2013 to 2023, from 170 to 166, despite the massive increase in the number of pupils with ASN.”
Any further axing of already “overstretched and under-resourced” staff supporting the most vulnerable pupils “will prove absolutely devastating,” SCSC’s statement added.
“This will impact not only them, but also fellow pupils who will face reduced teaching time given the need to support those with ASN, as well as putting even more pressure on teachers and support staff.
“We would urge City of Edinburgh Council to reconsider its approach, as this sticking plaster solution of budget cuts will simply lead to reduced life chances for these individuals, with the resultant impact on society and the economy.”
Council bosses recently gave a presentation on the ‘inclusion review’ to staff set to be impacted by the cuts, which promised “no job losses”.
However the source, who contacted the Local Democracy Reporting Service (LDRS) on behalf of a group of concerned teachers, said the plans involved not renewing temporary contracts. They said this constituted a third of all staff in the service, representing “at least” 40 employees.
The slideshow, seen by the LDRS, proposed “deleting” several posts including 10 service leaders who would be ‘managed via compulsory transfer of teachers’ process’.
The teacher said: “We are already a depleted service and none of the temporary contracts are going to be renewed or extended so we’re going to have less staff.
“And they’re expecting those staff to go into learning communities and the head teachers to line manage them who don’t have any of that specialism, so basically that specialism is going to be lost.
“I don’t think schools have any idea how many people are on temporary contracts in the additional support for learning service. You’re going to have a third less staff to manage with increasing numbers with kids with additional support needs.”
Edinburgh education convener Joan Griffiths said the review would bring an “exciting phase of development”.
But she added there was “no escaping” the fact that a lack of funding from the Scottish Government “means that our officers have to provide elected members with the least worst options in terms of setting the inclusion budget in the medium term”.
She said: “Whatever options we decide to take we will always try to do what is best for our children and young people.
“Our saving proposals are at an early stage of development and will require further work and wider consultation before they are progressed to budget decision in February 2025.
“We acknowledge that the measures will impact on staffing. However, our no compulsory redundancy policy remains in place and changes would be managed in accordance with the council’s existing managing change and redeployment policies, for example, the changes within the quality team outlined in the report sees a reduction of two posts that are already vacant.
“Where teacher numbers are affected, these savings will be achieved by removing additional provision and will not impact on front line pupil or teacher ratios.”
Independent city councillor Ross McKenzie said he had spoken to teachers, who as council employees are unable to speak out publicly about the cuts, whose posts were being proposed for ‘delection’.
The presentation to staff proposed “deleting” several posts including 10 service leaders who would be ‘managed via compulsory transfer of teachers’ process’.
Cllr McKenzie said: “They will leave, their post won’t get filled, and that’s it, the cut is made and the teacher is lost to the service, perhaps to the profession.
“This looks like an underhand attempt to avoid scrutiny while delivering education cuts. Formal consultation on these proposals went to staff and unions without being reported to councillors.”
He added this was “more evidence that Edinburgh basically has a technocratic administration”.
“There is no attempt to shape policy and no political control. Senior officers are running the show without being subjected to even the most basic levels of scrutiny and accountability.”
By Donald Turvill Local Democracy Reporter
The Local Democracy Reporting Service (LDRS) is a public service news agency. It is funded by the BBC, provided by the local news sector (in Edinburgh that is Reach plc (the publisher behind Edinburgh Live and The Daily Record) and used by many qualifying partners. Local Democracy Reporters cover news about top-tier local authorities and other public service organisations.
