Council's school shopping spree for extra teachers and staff

Angus Council is embarking on a school shopping spree of extra teachers, support staff and infrastructure to ensure the education system copes with a post-Covid return to normality.

Councillors on the authority’s children and learning committee have signed off on using £1.171m to create the equivalent of 20 full-time teaching roles and 10.5 support roles, along with millions of pounds’ worth of extra activities, transport, additional hygiene, and laptops and tablets.

Beth Reader, the council’s education support services manager, said the investment would support the roughly 15,500 school-age and 2000 nursery-age children educated in Angus – particularly those from disadvantaged backgrounds for whom learning may have taken a back seat during the pandemic.

“This additional staff resource will allow for identified groups of children and young people to receive small-group or individual support and tuition as required,” she said in her report to councillors presented on Tuesday.

“If levels of transmission of Covid-19 continue to remain at current levels or further decrease then we anticipate that our schools will remain open on a full-time basis.

“This [funding] will ensure that these additional staff will not be required to cover staff absences due to the requirement to self-isolate, as happened often in session 2020-21.”

Not every post is permanent, with some roles only lasting one year, but some of those in shorter roles will be moved into permanent jobs.

Alongside the additional staff, the council will use £300,000 to buy additional digital devices such as laptops and tablets and £335,000 to cover summer holiday activities for disadvantaged children, building on its existing Holiday Food and Fun programme.

A further £2.151m from Holyrood will help to cover the additional unexpected costs associated with providing extra hygiene measures and personal protective equipment, along with software that enables school staff to connect remotely to education systems from home.

In all, Angus has spent almost £10m over and above its standard education budget on Covid-related measures to date.

Education bosses have already been given permission and funding to recruit the equivalent of 40 teachers and 20.5 support staff through new posts or extended hours for part-time staff.

By local democracy reporter Jon Brady