Not Really the Nursery School Provision Promised

The SNP were quite enraged about the removal of nursery school provision of teachers from some council areas. Indeed in their 2007 manifesto they promised:

Life should be easier for young families. The SNP will increase by 50% the
amount of free nursery education available for 3 and 4 year olds.

Well it appears that what they mean by the amount of nursery education being available only equates to a qualified teacher being available at least one day a week. Nothing new there the Lib Dems pointed out that this pledge was missing from last years budget. Indeed the First Minister has only promised to have 20,000 new teachers in training by 2011. In 2004 there were 22,231 primary school teachers, and in 2007 2,011 nursery school teachers in Scotland so one would have to assume that the First Minister has taken an overall figure for nursery, primary and secondary, to apply it in an answer to a question about nursery to get the wow factor of the figure.

But by using the claim that declining numbers had led to a slump in educational standards at nursery level and only aiming to provide a 20% educational week for nursery pupils aren't the Nats just covering up a scar with an elastoplast rather that really being committed as they claim to education. Of course the Nats also pointed out that the cutting of previous nursery teachers was councils ways to meet budget how many more have been reduced under a Nationalist centrally frozen budget?