Cole-Hamilton sets out commitment to lifting up Scottish education

Scottish Liberal Democrat leader Alex Cole-Hamilton has outlined how his party will lift Scotland’s education system back up the international rankings during a visit to a West Lothian bookshop.

Ahead of the party publishing its manifesto on Monday, Mr Cole-Hamilton visited the Far from the Madding Crowd bookshop in Linlithgow to set out plans to:

• Boost in-class support in every school by inflation-proofing Pupil Equity Funding;
• Ensure teachers are given proper stable contracts instead of short-term and zero hours work;
• Invest in high-quality early years education and close the attainment gap by supporting the introduction of a new Nursery Premium to provide extra support to children from a deprived background.

Scottish Liberal Democrat leader Alex Cole-Hamilton said:

“Scotland’s education system used to be one of the best in the world but under the SNP it has slipped down the international rankings and it is now just average. Pupils don’t have the support they need and teachers are feeling disillusioned.

“It took six years to persuade the nationalists to adopt the pupil premium introduced by Liberal Democrats in England and Wales. Since then they have delivered a £200 stealth cut for every eligible child - money that could have been spent on breakfast clubs, dedicated teachers and specialist support staff. They are pulling up the ladder from the poorest children in Scotland.

“We will lift up Scottish education through our plan for more in-class support, getting teachers off zero-hours and short-term contracts, and a new Nursery Premium to give children from poorer backgrounds the very best start. It's a big investment in our children’s potential and our country’s future.  

“Pupils, parents and teachers all deserve better and Scottish Liberal Democrats have the ideas to deliver it.”