Teaching in Scotland
All teachers in Scottish public sector schools must hold a teaching qualification (TQ) and be registered with the General Teaching Council for Scotland (GTCS) . Teachers in independent schools must also be registered with the GTCS. Teachers who have trained in the rest of the UK are normally eligible for registration.
To become fully registered with the GTCS you must:
Teachers who qualify in Scotland should be able to apply for and obtain qualified teacher status (QTS) in England or Wales without further training or assessment. Contact the General Teaching Council of the appropriate country for more information.
Qualifications required for entry to teacher training courses are determined by the Scottish government. Details can be found on the Teach in Scotland website. The final decision on entry rests with each teacher education institution (TEI).
In brief, the entry requirements for primary courses are:
You will also need to show evidence that you have studied at least two of the following: science; social studies; expressive arts; religious and moral education; technology; and modern languages.
For secondary courses you will need a Higher English qualification (or equivalent) as well as a degree from a UK university or an equivalent degree from outside the UK. Beyond this there is some variation in entry requirements between TEIs and the subjects of study. However in general your degree should normally contain a minimum of 80 credit points in a subject relevant to the teaching qualification you are studying for. (40 credit points must be at second year undergraduate level or above.)
See the Teach in Scotland website for further details on required qualifications.
In addition to academic qualifications, you should demonstrate a genuine interest in working with and educating children of the age you wish to teach. You will need good experience of working with children, preferably in a Scottish school environment. Other relevant experience such as Brownie or Cub leadership, after-school clubs, sports coaching, music tuition, student tutoring, sessional work in community education and youth organisations, mentoring schemes and working as a classroom assistant will all be useful, so refer to them in your application.
See teacher training for further advice on gaining experience and current hot topics in education in the UK.
The main graduate route into teaching in Scotland is the full-time Professional Graduate Diploma in Education (PGDE) course run at six teacher education institutions (TEIs). In addition, there are some flexible and part-time options available. PGDEs are offered by the following Scottish universities:
The Open University (OU) in Scotland also offers a flexible PGDE in secondary mathematics.
Successful completion of a one-year PGDE course leads to a teaching qualification (TQ) primary education or a TQ secondary education and to provisional registration with the General Teaching Council for Scotland (GTCS) .
Applications for full-time primary and secondary PGDEs at Aberdeen, Dundee, Edinburgh, Glasgow and Strathclyde universities must be made through the Graduate Teacher Training Registry (GTTR) . The closing date for primary PGDE courses is 1 December for courses starting in the following autumn. If the GTTR has not received your application by then they cannot guarantee that your first choice training provider will consider you. There is no application deadline for secondary PGDE courses but it is recommended that you apply as soon as possible after the GTTR applications system opens in September for courses starting the following autumn.
The University of the West of Scotland accepts applications made directly and their closing date is 15 December.
Unlike England and Wales, there is no PGDE/PGCE (FE) qualification in Scotland. The TQ(FE) is the recognised teaching qualification for the FE sector in Scotland. Some people also choose to follow the secondary PGDE and then apply to teach their subject in the FE sector. The University of Aberdeen offers a programme for full and part-time lecturers already working in FE. The University of Dundee provides an online distance learning route to TQ(FE) at both undergraduate and postgraduate level, for in-service lecturers only. The University of Stirling offers a flexible programme, leading to TQ(FE) for both pre-service candidates and in-service lecturers.
The government bursaries and golden hellos that operate in England do not apply to Scotland.
Students studying full time can apply to the Student Awards Agency for Scotland (SAAS) for a loan and supplementary grants, which include travel expenses, lone parent grants, lone parent childcare grant and disabled students allowance. The exact amount awarded is dependent on household income. The closing date for those applying in 2011-12 is 30 June 2011. Most support funding is dependent on individual circumstances. Contact the SAAS to clarify your own situation. Some institutions may also have additional sources of funding - contact the institution concerned.
A revised curriculum known as the Curriculum for Excellence has been implemented in Scottish schools from the academic year 2010/11 and will continue to be phased in over the next few years. This will provide a single, coherent curriculum for all pupils aged 3-18 and aims to increase the emphasis on numeracy, literacy and pupil choice. Subject areas are expressive arts, health and wellbeing, languages, mathematics, religious and moral education, sciences, social studies and technologies.
Compulsory education begins in primary schools at the age of five, and the move to secondary school takes place at age 12. Compulsory education ends at age 16, although most pupils stay in education until the age of 18. The school year begins in August rather than September.
Further details are available from the Scottish Qualifications Authority (SQA) .
See Learning and Teaching Scotland for more information on the new curriculum.
To gain full registration with the General Teaching Council for Scotland (GTCS) , you must complete a probationary period on finishing your Initial Teacher Education (ITE).
Newly qualified teachers (NQTs) from Scottish teacher education institutions (TEIs) who have been publicly funded (UK or EU fees) for their teacher training are eligible to join the Teacher Induction Scheme (TIS).This is a one-year training post with a local authority (LA) in Scotland. Successful completion of your probationary period via the TIS will lead to full registration with the GTCS, enabling you to apply for permanent teaching posts.
The TIS operates in public sector schools and ensures that, as a probationary teacher:
Applications for the TIS are made centrally through the GTCS. The closing date is the end of December. You can prioritise your five LA choices, after which, you will be allocated to an LA that will decide which school to place you in for your TIS year. Research the different authorities thoroughly and consider in which region you would like to work after completing your induction period. Or, you can waive your right to state your preferences under the Preference Waiver Payment scheme. By agreeing to work anywhere in Scotland for your induction year, you will receive an additional payment of £6,000 for primary, and £8,000 for secondary, teaching.
The current starting salary is £21,438.
More detailed information about the TIS is available on the GTCS Probationer Teacher Scotland website.
If you do not wish to join the TIS or are not eligible to do so, you can still complete your probation in the public sector via temporary contracts and supply teaching, but it is likely to take longer (270 teaching days as opposed to 190). Information about the Flexible Route is available from the GTCS Probationer Teacher Scotland website.
Temporary posts are advertised in:
Contact individual local authorities to find out how they operate supply teaching. You can find links to local government jobs listings at Local Government Jobs in Scotland .
You can complete your probation period in the independent sector, although independent schools are not part of the TIS database-matching scheme. Advertisements for independent sector probation positions can be found in the sources listed above. It is also worth making speculative applications by sending your CV directly to schools.
Find out more about the independent sector and how to complete your probation period from the Scottish Council of Independent Schools .
If you trained to teach outside Scotland, you will need to register with the General Teaching Council for Scotland (GTCS) to teach in any public sector primary or secondary school. You will normally be eligible for exceptional admission to the teaching register, although you will be required to undertake a year’s probationary period. If you are already an experienced teacher, the main sources of vacancies are the same as for temporary posts.
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