More than 300,000 staff days have been lost in the past two years in Scotland’s schools and nurseries as a result of mental ill-health, figures show.

Statistics from 31 of Scotland’s 32 councils show 310,739 sick days were taken among teachers, support staff and nursery staff between April 2021 and October last year.

Of those days, 202,128 were taken in 2021-22, while the remaining 108,611 were taken in the first half of 2022-23.

The figures were given under freedom of information legislation to the Scottish Liberal Democrats, with education spokesman Willie Rennie saying staff were being “pushed to their absolute limit”.

He said: “Over the past years, teachers, support staff and nursery staff have all seen class sizes rise and classroom support plummet.

“It is little wonder that they are now suffering from such poor mental health. The impact on staff and the consequent disruption for children and pupils should make the government sit up and pay attention.

Rennie said pay and conditions should be reviewed for staff in the education sector, with more time made available for lesson planning and class sizes being cut.

“That’s how we tackle Scotland’s pressure cooker classrooms,” he added.

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