THE EIS has suspended plans for a national teachers’ strike after securing a deal with the Scottish government to cut workloads.

Members of Scotland’s largest teaching union had overwhelmingly backed industrial action amid a long-running dispute over the SNP’s failure to deliver on its 2021 election pledges to cut class contact time and recruit thousands more teachers.

But hours after the union issued the statutory 10-day notice for strike, Scotland’s Education Secretary Jenny Gilruth had convened emergency talks with unions and the Convention of Scottish Local Authorities (Cosla) in a bid to avert a strike in the run-up to May’s Holyrood elections.

The result was a draft agreement which will see councils receive £40 million in 2026-27 to enable recruitment and cut teachers’ class contact time by 90 minutes a week to allow more time for tasks such as class preparation and marking. 

Welcoming the deal, Ms Gilruth called it a “significant milestone for Scotland’s teaching profession,” while EIS general secretary Andrea Bradley said: “It is the collective strength of Scotland’s teachers, working through the EIS, that has delivered this positive outcome.

“This agreement will help to deliver a brighter future for our schools, and for all teachers and pupils across Scotland.”

Cosla resources convener, Cllr Ricky Bell, welcomed it being “fully funded by Scottish government,” adding: “Throughout implementation, Cosla will always prioritise what is in the best interest of children and young people.”

Despite that assurance, both the EIS and Ms Gilruth cautioned councils against any temptation to dip into the new cash to fund other services, with Ms Bradley urging politicians to “do right by children, young people, families and communities by increasing and protecting investment in education by ringfencing it.”