Douglas Ross plans £550m teacher recruitment drive in Scottish Tories' 'fresh ideas' for education
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THE Scottish Conservatives say thousands more pupils in Moray would be eligible for free school meals and more than half of the region's school buildings would be upgraded under the party's "fresh ideas" for education.
The party launched a new education policy paper on Friday, September 18, which includes a pledge to invest £550 million to recruit 3,000 teachers over the next parliament.
The offer of free school meals would be expanded to cover all children at both breakfast and lunchtime.
The proposals also committed to improving schools rated as being in "poor or bad" condition by the end of the next parliamentary term, which would apply to 29 of the 53 schools in Moray.
Scottish Conservative MP for Moray Douglas Ross said he had "a great education here in Moray" and wanted to ensure those opportunities were shared by the current and next generation of the region's pupils.
Mr Ross said: "Scottish Conservative policies on education would bring huge benefits to Moray.
"We have known for some time now that many of our school buildings have fallen into a poor condition. This is a direct result of insufficient funding from the SNP government in Edinburgh.
"The Scottish Conservatives would restore our schools – by investing in buildings and recruiting thousands more teachers.
"We are also proposing to expand the provision of free school meals because studies have consistently shown that well fed children engage better with lessons. These plans would make free school meals available to an additional 3,614 young people in Moray.
"We want to make sure that every child in Scotland has the best chance and the best start in life."
Other proposals in the second policy document which will go to inform the party's manifesto for next year’s Scottish Parliament Election include the introduction of a national tutoring programme to give extra support to pupils who have fallen behind during the Covid-19 pandemic, and the establishment of a new body for inspecting schools that would report to the Scottish Parliament rather than government.
