File photo dated 08/02/12 of a primary school child at work in a classroom, as the leader of the Scottish Liberal Democrats has said that "expertise has been systematically stripped from nurseries" after the party found the number of teachers working in early learning and childcare positions has more than halved in the past decade. PA Photo. Issue date: Sunday May 1, 2022. There are now 219 fewer teachers working in taxpayer-funded nurseries north of the border than in 2017, the party said. In 2021 there were 704, with 1,641 working in nurseries 10 years before. See PA story SCOTLAND Nurseries. Photo credit should read: Dominic Lipinski/PA Wire