Probationary Teachers

The following Reserch has been provided to Wendy Alexander by SPICE (The Scottish Parliament Information Centre):

Probationer teachers and employment
There are two key issues which have been reported in the media recently.

The first concerns a survey carried out by TESS which shows that only 15% of probationers have secured permanent teaching posts for the next school year. Further, that Glasgow, Inverclyde and Renfrewshire could not supply any permanent jobs. The article reports that even when temporary posts and supply lists are factored in, only half of last year’s probationers have found work (‘Probationer jobs slump’, TESS, P1, 21 August 2009). A reason often cited in the media for the ‘jobs slump’ is the recession which is causing teachers to delay retirement.

The second issue concerns the situation regarding the employment contracts of newly qualified teachers. It has been reported that in Glasgow, Renfrewshire, South Lanarkshire (‘Anger as teachers are denied a career’, Herald, P1, 4 September 2009) and South Ayrshire (‘Ayrshire teachers in row over jobs’ Herald, P4, 8 September 2009) that newly qualified teachers are not having their contracts renewed as they approach one year of continuous service. Achieving one year’s continuous service gives a teacher statutory employment rights and in some local authorities there is an agreement with teaching unions that those with one year’s continuous service acquire the right to seek a permanent contract of employment. The EIS may raise legal action against some councils on this issue.

Scottish Government
The Scottish Government published the Report of the Teacher Employment Working Group (TEWG) in October 2008. The TEWG was established by the Cabinet Secretary for Education and Lifelong Learning, Fiona Hyslop, on 5 June 2008 to consider whether any changes needed to be made to teacher workforce planning in Scotland. The group was made up of representatives from COSLA, Scottish Government, EIS, STEC, GTCS, SSTA, AHDS, ADES, and the SLS .

Twelve recommendations were made which were all accepted by the Scottish Government (see news release of 30 October 2008). Margaret Smith MSP asked a range of PQs in May 2009 regarding progress on the report’s recommendations (see S3W-23704 to S3W-23717, and S3W 726. I have included these at the end of the document). Below I highlight the key recommendations and the Scottish Government’s response to the PQs:

- The need for greater reconciliation between local teacher number decisions and the national job planning process.A seminar was held on 18 May 2009 with representatives from local authorities and officials responsible for workforce planning at a national level. Further discussions will be held (S3W-23704).

- GTCS to conduct a study of probationers to establish work patterns, while the Government, GTCS and local authorities consider how more reliable information about employment of post-probation teachers can be gathered annually. The Scottish Government has had discussions with the GTCS on this (S3W-23705).

- Research to see if the credit crunch is having an effect on the number of teachers who were previously predicted to be preparing for retirement. Officials wrote to local authorities in December 2008, the research is being undertaken within the Scottish Government (S3W-23708).

- Local authorities to use post-probation teachers to fill vacancies and also work as supply teachers rather than rely on retired teachers. This is a matter for local authorities as employers (S3W-23709).

- A review of winding-down arrangements for teachers who are approaching the end of their careers to make space for newly qualified teachers. The Scottish Government has been exploring options for early release with COSLA and the Scottish Public Pensions Agency. Discussions have included consideration as to how local authorities might make better use of the existing flexibilities contained in the Scottish Teachers Superannuation Scheme for members to access their retirement benefits early. Discussions are ongoing. (S3W-23711).

- Raising the preference waiver scheme level to £8,000 from £6,000 for secondary sector probationers. The preference waiver payment level for secondary school probationers was increased to £8,000 in August 2009. (S3W-23713).

- Commission research into how to persuade teachers to be more flexible and move to other parts of the country where demand for teachers is higher. The results are being taking forward within the Scottish Government and the results were expected in August 2009. (S3W-23717)

I am awaiting a response from a Scottish Government official on some of the above points.

Views from organisations
I have been in touch with GTCS, EIS SSTA and SLS.

EIS
The Educational Institute of Scotland made two suggestions. The first is to adopt a minimum national staffing standard across Scotland. This suggestion was initially raised by the teaching unions and associations in the TEWG, but did not raise support from other partners in the working group. According to the report, the minimum staffing standard would set an appropriate number of teachers in comparable schools across Scotland. At present local authorities can reduce the number of teachers required annually either directly, by altering the staffing standing which operates in that local area, or indirectly by, for example, cutting time for promoted staff in schools. The teachers’ representatives believe that a national staffing formula would provide more precision in workforce planning. The report notes that ‘among other considerations, there was a realisation that such centralisation would run counter to the general philosophy that underpins the new relationship between the Scottish Government and local government’(para 3.6).

The other suggestion from EIS is to regulate the number of pupils in any class, either through regulations or through teacher contracts. While the concordat set down a policy of reducing class sizes in P1-P3 to a maximum of 18, the statutory limit for P1-P3 is 30 pupils, as contained in the Education (Lower Primary Class Sizes) (Scotland) Regulations 1999/1080.

SSTA
The Scottish Secondary Teachers’ Association suggested a moratorium on teaching students for the next two years. Another solution would be to recruit experienced teachers to develop materials for the Curriculum for Excellence, as this is currently outsourced (according to SSTA), thereby freeing up jobs for new teachers.

GTCS
The General Teaching Council for Scotland said that it was for the Scottish Government to recommend solutions regarding the current lack of permanent jobs for probationer teachers. However, the GTCS has had a number of letters from teachers on this issue. The GTCS collects employment statistics for newly qualified teachers twice a year, the purpose of this is to gain information on teachers’ experiences of gaining employment upon completion of their probation and becoming eligible for full registration with the GTCS.

SLS
School Leaders Scotland made three suggestions which could help alleviate the current situation.

- Introduce a national minimum staffing standing (as described above under EIS).

- Delivering the Curriculum for Excellence will require additional support in terms of staff, and therefore experienced teachers could be recruited for this purpose, freeing up posts for probationer teachers. If it is possible to do this for the next few years it could be co-ordinated with a batch of retirements.

- Believes the way that local authorities are now financed, as a result of the concordat, is not helping the situation. While the intention behind the concordat is good, it is not working in the current economic climate and SLS suggest that now is the time for the Scottish Government to step in and take the lead.