A total of 38 extra teachers will be recruited in West Dunbartonshire after the council received a cash boost from the Scottish Government.

The local authority has been allocated £2.62million to take on additional staff.

It’s believed the additional Scottish Government money could help offer permanent positions instead of temporary contracts and create more posts.

West Dunbartonshire Council has confirmed that it will enable education chiefs to recruit an additional 38 teachers.

Local Scottish Greens MSP Ross Greer welcomed the extra cash, commenting: “I am delighted that with Greens in government we’ve been able to deliver this significant extra funding for West Dunbartonshire to recruit more teachers.

“Education has been massively disrupted throughout the Covid crisis.

“We can’t forget though that even before March 2020 Scotland’s teachers had some of the longest hours and heaviest workloads in the developed world.

“Getting extra teachers into classrooms is the best way to support children and young people who have been so badly affected by the pandemic and to help the existing school staff who have gone to such herculean efforts for the sake of their pupils.

“I am sure that we’ll see the benefit of this funding across West Dunbartonshire in the months ahead.”

The extra £145m allocated to teacher recruitment in the 2022/23 Scottish budget is the largest single increase since 2007.

Mr Greer says by the end of the parliamentary term, Scotland’s schools will have 5000 more teachers than before the pandemic, as well as 500 additional classroom assistants.