* A Scottish parliament should set new national staffing standards to ensure greater consistency across the 32 local authorities, the EIS says. In a starter paper on the parliament and education, the union argues for fresh baselines beyond the regulations on class sizes and teacher preparation time within the working week. Variations in the promoted post structure between councils should also be ironed out through national negotiations.
It believes a parliament will improve Scottish education decision-making, address social and educational inequalities and reach fairer ways of distributing spending. It is pressing for “a more objective method of calculating he resourcing of education”. Links between development planning and funding should be “more transparent”. The parliament should further recognise the importance of staff development and put cash behind it.
The union does not envisage any weakening of the local authorities’ roles in education. “Local authorities will have a strategic role in managing educational provision within national guidelines, setting priorities for schools and offering guidance and support as to their achievement,” it concludes.