Teaching unions have welcomed a £5 million package to help them cope with the introduction of new qualifications.
The funding for secondary schools was announced by the Scottish Government and follows complaints from teachers that they were not been given enough time or resources to prepare for National exams and revised Highers.
Learning minister Dr Alasdair Allan said £4.75 million would go to councils to aid schools, along with an extra in-service training day for teachers during the 2014-15 term.
Another £250,000 will be spent on efforts to improve parents’ understanding of the system, which sees National 4 and 5 qualifications replace Standard Grades and Intermediates while Highers are revamped to provide a better fit with the overall curriculum.
Dr Allan said: “This £5 million support will ensure that teachers get the time and space they need to come together to work through assessment procedures, as well as other aspects of the new qualifications.
“In doing so, teachers will be able to make use of new ‘route-maps’ through assessment, developed by Education Scotland.”
EIS general secretary Larry Flanagan said the support package would be welcomed by teachers who had expressed “frustration and anger” at poor levels of support to date.
He said: “It is encouraging that the Scottish Government and the national education bodies are listening to teachers’ concerns that the EIS raised relating to both workload and bureaucracy, and are taking steps to lighten the load and increase support for teachers and pupils.
“In particular, the new route maps to assessment and the modifications to the verification procedures for internal assessment are positive steps towards lighteningthe burden on both teachers and pupils, freeing up more time to focus on core learning and teaching and vital exam preparation.”
Iain Ellis, chairman of National Parent Forum of Scotland, said: “Although we are reluctant to see children’s education further disrupted by more additional in-service days, we accept that it may be necessary for one last time next year to ensure that teachers have more time to prepare to deliver the new Higher.”