§ Mr. Gordon Wilsonasked the Secretary of State for Scotland what are the figures for the number of remedial teaching staff employed in Scottish schools to tutor 119W children with specific reading and spelling difficulties; and if he will give the figures for the five academic years 1976–77 to 1980–81.
§ Mr. Alexander FletcherThe precise information requested is not available centrally. The table below shows for sessions 1976–77 to 1979–80 the number of teachers principally engaged in remedial education in education authority primary schools, expressed in full-time equivalents. Comparable information for secondary schools is not available.
Number 1976–77 782.7 1977–78 780.3 1978–79 919.9 1979–80 933.9 Since 1978–79 the information has been obtained on a different basis and the figures are therefore not comparable with those for earlier years.
§ Mr. Gordon Wilsonasked the Secretary of State for Scotland what is his Department's policy on advising education authorities in Scotland on methods of remedial teaching and tuition for children diagnosed as dyslexic; what funds his Department make available for facilities for such remedial tuition; and how much has been made available in each of the past five years.
§ Mr. Alexander FletcherDyslexia is not an exact term; it is employed to indicate severe difficulties in reading and associated difficulties, not accounted for by level of intelligence. The term does not suggest any specific line of treatment other than remedial teaching.
Calendar Years 1977 1978 1979 1980 1981 (to date) Total Net reduction in number of academic staff 40 169 64 71 13 357 Percentage reduction in number of academic staff *2.9 *12.7 *5.5 *6.4 *1.3 †26.0 Notes: * as percentage of staff numbers at beginning of year.
† as percentage of staff numbers at beginning of 1977.
§ Mr. Gordon Wilsonasked the Secretary of State for Scotland how many academic staff in Scottish colleges of education left teaching during the last five years giving(a) the figure for each college, (b) expressing each figure as a percentage of the staff of each college and as a percentage of the total leaving, (c) giving the number of those leaving each college who were over 50 years of age and (d) the percentage of those leaving each college who were over 50 years of age.
§ Mr. Alexander FletcherInformation about the ages of staff who have left the colleges is not readily available. The other information which is requeated is given in the following table:
120WExpenditure by education authorities on remedial education is part of the expenditure taken into account in the calculation of rate support grant to regional and islands councils and it would not be possible to distinguish expenditure on remedial teaching.