§ Mr. Ernie Rossasked the Secretary of State for Scotland what the recommended pupil-teacher ratios in nursery schools are, as recommended by the Scottish Education Department; and if he will give the names and number of nursery schools in the Dundee division of the Tayside region with a pupil-teacher ratio in excess of that ratio.
§ Mr. Alexander FletcherThe report "Before Five", which was published by my Department in 1971, recommended the staffing standards for nursery schools set out in the table below:
Number of Places Number of Teachers Number of Nursery Nurses 20 1 1 30 1 2 40 1 3 50 2 3 60 2 4 70 2 5 80 2 6 At September 1978, the latest date for which information is available centrally, no nursery school in Dundee had fewer than the recommended number of teachers.
§ Mr. Ernie Rossasked the Secretary of State for Scotland what number and per 260W centage of four-year olds and three-year olds receive nursery education in (a) Dundee division of the Tayside region, (b) the Tayside region and (c) Scotland.
§ Mr. Alexander FletcherIn Tayside region, 656 three-year-olds and 1,065 four-year-olds (12.8 per cent. and 19.6 per cent. of the three-year-old and four-year-old population respectively) were attending nursery schools and classes as at September 1977, the latest date for which information is available. In Scotland as a whole, 10,065 three-year-olds and 19,159 four-year-olds (14.6 per cent. and 26 per cent. of the three-year-old and four-year-old population respectively) were attending nursery schools and classes as at September 1977. Similar information for Dundee is not readily available.