Furious Highland Council chiefs have warned the Scottish Government that its plans for a minimum 25-hour primary school week would be “catastrophic” for the region.
Senior councillors and officials rounded on Holyrood ministers yesterday – demanding they reverse a decision to impose a lower limit on the number of classroom hours.
A majority of schools in the north operate a 22.5-hour week for primary one to three – with a total of 272 classes across the region falling short of the proposed new 25-hour minimum.
The local authority warned last night that the changes would cost “at least” £2million at a time when its budgets may have to be slashed by more than £40million next year.
Education committee chairman Drew Millar said: “This latest announcement would be catastrophic for Highland Council, as we are already struggling to balance our budget in these extremely challenging financial times.
“I hope there is still the possibility for the government to consider the implications of this amendment, and its likely negative impact on children, communities and schools in the Highlands.
“Furthermore, I am disappointed that there has been no consultation about this matter, and hope that the cabinet secretary can now agree to take account of these views.”
Bill Alexander, the authority’s director of care and learning, said it was a “step too far”, adding: “It would mean providing more than 1,000 extra teaching hours, and recruiting more than 30 additional teachers, at a time when it is difficult to recruit to existing vacancies, and this number of available teachers simply does not exist.”
A Scottish Government spokesman said they were driving a “relentless effort” to close the attainment gap, with initiatives such as the £100million Scotland Attainment Challenge – which is supporting five north schools.
He said: “Scotland’s teachers are absolutely critical to these efforts. That’s why we have committed investment of up to £51million this year specifically to help local authorities to maintain teacher numbers.
“And it’s why we will legislate to provide certainty for pupils, parents and teachers about the length of the school week – a teacher time guarantee that every one of our children and young people should expect, and which they deserve. Decisions on the amount of time with teachers, in class and at school should always be made based on the potential educational benefit for children, rather than on how much money can be saved.”