FEARS over the quality of nursery education have been raised after a new report showed a drastic drop in qualified teachers in the sector.

An independent study by the Edinburgh-based Child’s Curriculum Group revealed a 30 per cent reduction in the number of nursery teachers in the past 10 years - but only a four per cent drop in children.

The study, which was funded by the Educational Institute of Scotland (EIS) teaching union, said the reductions meant there was now a ratio of one teacher for every 84 children.

Academics from the group concluded: "The numbers of registered teachers in pre-school services face further reductions. If Scotland is to achieve its aspiration of changing child outcomes, no further attrition in teacher employment can be tolerated and serious consideration needs to be given to the future composition of the early learning workforce."

In recent years, local authorities have replaced teachers with lower-paid child development officers – previously called nursery nurses – partly on cost grounds, but also because they work longer hours.

Councils argue child development officers are now better qualified than ever before following the introduction of new qualifications up to degree level and their use allows them to open nurseries for longer in order to meet the demands of working parents. However, research has consistently highlighted the importance of teachers in nursery education.

Susan Quinn, convener of the EIS education committee, said the report confirmed the importance of teachers in all pre-school settings.

She said: "It highlights the added value specialist early years teachers provide in nursery establishments while also questioning the varying commitment by councils across Scotland to the deployment of teachers in nurseries."

Ms Quinn also questioned the current demand on councils to provide children with "access" to a qualified teacher – without specifying what that means in practice.

She added: "The report highlights the ambiguous interpretations of access to a teacher which is particularly important in light of the planned expansion of the early learning and childcare entitlement."

However, a spokesman for council umbrella body Cosla criticised the report for "favouring" the teaching profession.

A spokesman said: "Unfortunately, this completely ignores the valued contribution made by an entire section of the early year’s workforce and the EIS case falls apart from the beginning.

"Evidence, including from Education Scotland, shows the best experiences for children are found where there is a range of staff with complementary skills and relevant higher-level qualifications.

"This includes teachers and non-teaching staff with qualifications such a BA in Childhood Practice, but it is revealing that the EIS refer to a ratio of staff to children as if early years settings are somehow an extension of the classroom."

A Scottish Government spokesman said ministers valued the role of teachers in nurseries and wanted more qualified staff in the sector – although some of these would not be teachers.

He said: "The First Minister has announced that from 2018 all nurseries in deprived areas should have an additional graduate with early learning and childcare expertise.

"The expectation is that this will be either a teacher or a holder of the BA Childhood Practice degree, in recognition that both of these professionals can effectively support young children's learning and development."

The report by the Child’s Curriculum Group found that notions of "teacher access" were "ill defined and inconsistent" and said a growing demand was being placed on primary headteachers and promoted primary staff visit nurseries rather than having dedicated staff.

It said: "Local authorities vary in their commitment to, and ways of, employing teachers. Not all three and four-year-old children in funded early learning and childcare settings currently have access to a teacher.

"In some local authorities, the nursery teacher’s role is being reduced and in some cases, despite the Scottish Government requirement for nursery children to have access to a registered teacher, such teachers are no longer employed."