In July, Scotland’s largest teaching union took legal action to try to prevent Glasgow City Council from appointing non-teachers to run nurseries, but lost the case.
The Court of Session in Edinburgh dismissed the EIS’ argument that the employment of staff with no teaching qualifications within nursery schools was unlawful. The decision meant that Glasgow City Council could continue with its plans to hire managers, rather than qualified teachers, to head nurseries.
It is the Scottish government’s policy that whether children aged five and under have access to a teacher is a matter for the discretion of each of Scotland’s 32 councils.
Gary Flanagan, EIS general secretary, said, ‘The EIS can confirm it will proceed with its legal challenge next year, as we remain extremely concerned about the implications of the ruling for the quality of nursery education.
‘The EIS continues to believe that all education in early-years settings should be led by appropriately qualified GTCS [General Teaching Council for Scotland] registered teaching staff.’
Latest figures from the Scottish government published this week suggest that one in four nursery-aged children in Scotland does not have access to a qualified teacher.
Mr Flanagan commented, ‘This highlights that far too many young children are not receiving adequate access to the high quality teacher-led nursery education that they deserve.
‘Despite the Scottish government’s commitment to improve access to teachers in the nursery sector, the lack of legislation to enshrine the right of nursery-aged children to be taught by a qualified teacher in law is leading to a postcode lottery of provision.’
Writing in a recent issue of the Scottish Educational Journal published by the EIS, Mr Flanagan said, ‘Statutory definition of what is meant by "access to a teacher" is urgently required. The importance of education… and the role of teachers as professional educators, should not be lost sight of in terms of the service available to children and their parents.’
Earlier this year, the Nutbrown Review acknowledged the importance of qualified teachers in nurseries, stating that ‘the sector seems to support the idea of strong leadership at all levels, but in particular recognises the impact that those with teaching qualifications can deliver. This is supported by research evidence linking qualified teacher leadership with better outcomes for young children.’
Last month, the EIS called on the Scottish government to introduce national, legally enforceable standards on access by children aged five and under to a qualified teacher. This followed the publication of a report by Education Scotland looking into the impact of staff qualifications on children’s learning in early years.
Bill Maxwell, chief executive of Education Scotland, said, ‘This publication shows that particular higher-level qualifications do make a real difference to improving young children's learning.’
In May, Scottish teaching unions expressed concern over the decline in nursery teachers, despite a commitment by the Scottish government to provide every nursery age child with access to a fully-qualified nursery teacher.A Glasgow City Council spokeswoman said, ‘We will watch with interest what comes out of the EIS’s appeal. We were very pleased with the judge’s decision in July.’