Scottish Government

Introduction

All newly qualified teachers in Scotland are required to complete a period of probation before being awarded full registration as a teacher with the General Teaching Council for Scotland ( GTCS). Scottish trained, newly qualified teachers are eligible for a guaranteed one-year teaching post with a Scottish local authority. This widely-acclaimed scheme is known as the Teacher Induction Scheme.

So, what is the Teacher Induction Scheme?

• A one-year teaching post guaranteed to every eligible student graduating from a Scottish university with a Teaching Qualification.
• A maximum class commitment time - equal to 70% of that of a full-time teacher - is guaranteed, with considerable time set aside for professional development.
• Access to the services of an experienced teacher who will provide support and act as a mentor.

At the end of the Teacher Induction Scheme, probationary teachers will be granted full registration as a teacher with the GTCS, assuming they have met the requirements of the Standard for Full Registration ( SFR). The SFR and the Scheme together serve to ensure that those entering this challenging and rewarding profession are given the very best start to their career.

Rewards

A teacher's salary compares well with other professionals starting off in their career. The salary in August 2007 will be £19,878, and will be paid in equal instalments over the school year. Probationers will be employed by the local authority to which they are allocated with contracts of employment lasting the school year.

Should you be allocated to a post which qualifies for Distant Islands Allowance, the local authority will ensure that the allowance is paid to you. At present the allowance is £1,536 pa.

Similarly, an allowance of £957 or £1,791 will be paid if you qualify for Remote Schools Allowance.

Probationers will be eligible for the Preference Waiver Payment, if they are willing to work anywhere in Scotland (see Preference Waiver Payment Pilot).

Allocation System

All students expecting to complete their programme of Initial Teacher Education should apply for the Scheme in December by completing the relevant section of the GTCS Application for Registration pack. They will be asked to list, in order of preference, the five local authorities in which they would be willing to work. You may find it useful to check the following website for a map of Scotland and links to local authorities' websites www.scotland.gov.uk/Topics/Planning/Modernising/About/12767

Students must be realistic in their choices of authority, as they could be allocated to any one of the five preferences given.

A computer system will match and allocate students to local authorities using each local authority's vacancy list and student's preference list. Each student will be chosen at random and matched against their five preferences, beginning with their first preference. Where an appropriate vacancy is unavailable, they will be matched against their second preference, and so on until an appropriate match is found. This may not happen until the system reaches the student's fifth preference. The allocations of students to local authorities and schools must take full account of the needs of the service as well as the preferences of students.

Those who will be seeking approval to work in denominational schools will be asked to declare this interest on the GTCS Application for Registration pack. You will be required to apply for approval from the Catholic Church and to forward confirmation of approval onto the local authority to which you have been allocated. Details of how to apply for approval are available from: www.sces.uk.com . Authorities will try to allocate these students to denominational schools, but this may not always be possible.

Students will also be asked to indicate if they speak Gaelic fluently, and wish to teach in the medium of Gaelic. If you have undertaken teacher training designed to support progression into Gaelic medium teaching, you will be allocated to a Gaelic medium post, as far as is possible.

Those who have a disability which would need to be taken into account when being placed are invited to declare this when completing the form. The GTCS will then write to you to invite you to provide more details regarding your disability. This is to ensure that appropriate support mechanisms can be put into place.

Preference Waiver Payment Pilot

The Preference Waiver Payment is payable to those students who are prepared to accept a post anywhere in Scotland for their probationary year. Students are invited to tick the appropriate box on the Application form if they wish to take this option. The payment is currently £6,000, which will be payable in three instalments; £3,000 in August 2007, £1,500 in January 2008, and £1,500 in April 2008. Payments are made by the local authority to whom the student is allocated, and are gross amounts, non-pensionable, and subject to deductions in respect of income tax and National Insurance contributions.

Students should be aware that if they take this option, and then do not take up the place they are allocated, they will not receive the Preference Waiver Payment, and they will give up their place on the Teacher Induction Scheme. In the rare event of a student being allocated to an authority outwith their five preferences, they will automatically qualify for the Preference Waiver Payment.

Frequently asked questions

Do I have to join the Scheme?

No, but the benefits of the Scheme are considerable, and you are strongly advised not to miss out on the advantages that it offers. You can achieve the Standard for Full Registration without joining the Scheme, and this is called the Alternative Route. However, you would need to secure employment yourself and it is likely that your probationary period would consist substantially of periods of short-term employment in a supply capacity. The GTCS may also require you to complete a probationary period of longer than one year.

The policy of local authorities only to employ fully-registered teachers in permanent appointments means that you would have to seek a temporary post. You are free to do this on the basis of your provisional registration.

Can I work in an Independent school?

You can do your induction year outwith the teacher induction scheme in one of the Independent schools in Scotland. To do so you should apply for posts which are advertised. Applicants may be interviewed by the school and will be asked to provide a report from their university. Arrangements for the induction year are made with the school, in conjunction with the GTCS and the Scottish Council for Independent Schools ( SCIS). On completion of your probation, you will be eligible to apply for full registration with the GTCS, provided that you meet the Standard for Full Registration. Most teachers in the independent sector are fully registered with the GTCS. More information can be found at www.SCIS.org.uk

Once I have completed the GTCS registration form can I change my five preferences?

Should your circumstances change having completed the application form, you can ask the GTCS for your preferences to be altered. You should contact the GTCS directly, induction@gtcs.org.uk , by 31 March 2007 and every effort will be made to take your new preferences into account. However, they cannot guarantee any changes after the 31 March deadline.

Can I delay joining the Scheme?

You must have successfully completed your initial teacher education course before you are eligible to join the Scheme. If you fail to qualify by 7 July, you would have to apply again to join in the subsequent school session, assuming you have satisfactorily passed your course. If you have satisfactorily completed your course, but there are extenuating circumstances that prohibit you from joining the Scheme at the beginning of the school session, you may be able to delay joining the Scheme until the subsequent year. The precise circumstances that might allow an individual to delay joining the Scheme would be considered on an individual basis and would be determined by the Scottish Executive, the GTCS, and representatives of local authorities. Your Provisional Registration would enable you to work on a supply basis as a teacher in a non-permanent capacity in the meantime.

What if I can't work in the local authority I've been allocated to due to a change in my circumstances?

If it emerges that you are unable to take up the placement you are allocated, you may ask to be placed elsewhere, but there is no certainty that this would be possible. You should firstly contact the local authority to which you have been allocated, and they will advise you of whether they are willing to release you. There is no guarantee that they will be willing to release you, although your reasons will be fully considered by the authority. If the authority is not prepared to release you (and bear in mind that they would be a teacher short if they did), the Scottish Executive Education Department would be unable to attempt to reallocate you.

If the local authority is willing to release you, you must firstly officially confirm to the local authority that you wish to turn down your initial allocation, so that SEED can then attempt to reallocate you. However it should be noted that there is no guarantee that SEED will be able to find an alternative allocation, and in that case you would no longer be part of the Teacher Induction Scheme, and the supply teaching route to meet the Standard for Full Registration would have to be taken.

What if I don't wish to work in the school I've been allocated?

Local authorities' prime responsibility is to deliver education to children throughout their area, and they will first and foremost ensure that the needs of the pupils are met. They will endeavour to take your wishes into account in allocating you to a school, but there can be no guarantee of an allocation to a particular school.

What if I cannot complete my training post?

Depending on the circumstances, which would not include issues arising from incompetence or indiscipline on your part, but would usually be due to health issues, you would be given credit for that part of the posting which you have completed. Subsequently, it may be possible for you to rejoin the Scheme later in the school session, or rejoin the Scheme the following year or in a subsequent intake. However, consideration of these options will depend on the precise nature and timing of your withdrawal, and there can be no guarantee that a place will be available.

Initially you should speak with your employer, the local authority, regarding the best way forward in these circumstances.

What if I do not attain the Standard for Full Registration at the end of my training post?

Provisional registration is granted just prior to starting on the Teacher Induction Scheme. A probationer on the Scheme will be removed from the register if full registration is not achieved within 3 years of being granted provisional registration. The expectation is that a probationer will achieve the SFR by the end of the Induction year. However, there are a variety of circumstances that may mean this is not possible. These circumstances and associated requirements fall into three basic areas:

• A probationer does not complete the year, or misses out a significant part of it, due to personal circumstances usually associated with health issues. In such circumstances the missed time would need to be completed within the 3 year limit and is usually done so in the period directly after the Induction year.
• A probationer withdraws from the Scheme during the year in order to complete their probationary service via the Alternative Route. The probationer will need to complete the necessary probationary service within the 3 year limit.
• A probationer reaches the end of the probationary year and is required to carry out an extension (usually a 12 week period) because he/she has been judged to have not yet achieved the SFR, but there is a reasonable prospect of them doing so having completed the extension. In such circumstances the probationer usually carries out the extension shortly after the end of the Induction year, as soon as a post is found for them. In exceptional circumstances, for example where ill health does not permit it, the extension may not be completed so soon after the Induction year but will have to be completed within the 3 year limit.

Further information about the induction scheme can be accessed from the following website www.infoscotland.com/teaching

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Timetable

www.scottish-schools.gov.uk
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