TEACHING unions slammed a report today suggesting school staff numbers could be slashed to save cash as enrolments fall.

The Institute for Fiscal Studies (IFS) paper estimates the number of students in Scotland’s schools is set to fall by 12.5 per cent or 90,000 by 2040.

It argues that if the SNP Scottish government ditched its commitment to holding teacher numbers at 2023 levels, it could save £500 million-a-year by then.