Starting your first Scottish teaching job after a teacher training qualification will be your one year Scotland probationary teacher induction period or choose to complete the training up to 5 years.
What is Scotland probationary teacher induction?
All newly qualified Scottish teachers that have successfully completed teacher training must complete a probationary one year period as their first Scotland teaching job before becoming a fully qualified primary or secondary school teacher in Scotland.
The Scottish government helps newly qualified teachers find a school job placement after university training where they can complete their induction year and administration of (TIS) scheme is through the General Teaching Council Scotland.
Teachers have the option to choose the flexible route instead taking a maximum of 1 to 5 years full or part time or supply teaching.
Teachers that wish to start teaching induction in Scotland that received a public funded teacher training grant from SAAS is automatically eligible to join the teacher induction scheme (TIS) and guaranteed their first job.
Guaranteed jobs are in conjunction with any local authority (LA) school in Scotland. You require to have successfully completed a teaching qualification such a PGDE diploma at a university in Scotland.
Once you’re probation is completed you become fully qualified to teach at a school in Scotland at primary or secondary depending on your qualification and teaching experience.
Probationary teacher process Scotland
The entire teacher induction process you follow is a well structured process, timed and recorded for each stage and evidenced outcomes towards Standard for Full Registration requirements.
You gather evidence and record each item and written date.
Full time teacher induction: From August to December
An action plan is created with your school supporter based on final ITE profile.
Teacher probation profile record:
- Professional learning experiences.
- Action plan for your teaching development.
- Observed classroom teaching and feedback.
- School supporter meeting information & record.
- Teaching timetable.
January to June you carry on recording portfolio evidence until you submit all induction evidence around early June.
Meeting Scotland’s standards for full teacher registration
Basically, you as a teacher on induction require meeting a number of required standards to successfully pass and enable you to advance from probationary to full registration with the General Teaching Council as a school teacher.
Your teacher development must meet 3 basic standards:
Skills & abilities as a professional classroom teacher in relation to teaching & strategies and other.
Personal commitment and values as a professional school teacher.
Deep knowledge & understanding of the subject and curriculum you teach as a professional teacher.
Flexible route to Scottish teacher induction option
An option for new teachers to complete the induction year part-time, independent school sector or you did not complete your training at a university in Scotland:
- Full time teaching position is not an option for induction.
- You are nor eligible for TIS scheme.
- You opted out of full registration for a second subject.
- Full registration a for second subject.
- Choose independent school sector to complete induction and not state council schools.
Additionally, you can choose the length of a teaching contract, location, and more than one school to complete flexible teacher induction Scotland.
Independent sector job training for probation teachers
The fee-paying independent school sector enables teachers to follow similar induction training, teaching and learning to fully qualify as a teacher in Scotland.
You still require completing in excess of 260 hours of teaching and professional teacher training.
The Scottish Council for Independent Schools (SCIS) provides the means for probationer teachers to gain the skills, knowledge and teaching practice require becoming a successful effective classroom teacher.
Professional practice learning & classroom teaching contact time
Induction teaching at school for registration:
- 18 hours of teaching (0.8 full-time equivalent) at least.
- 4.5 hours professional practice learning (0.2 full-time equivalent) at least.
Primary & secondary different requirements for teacher induction contact time
| Primary teaching: All 0.8 should normally spend with 1 class. If not possible, minimum 0.55 FTE spent in one class |
| Secondary teaching: 0.8 FTE timetable of full time teacher timetable or 0.55 FTE spent allocated to a subject |
Teaching supply or fixed term contracts
Hands up who wants a full time permanent teaching position in Scotland!
Not all new teachers will be able to secure a full-time job after their initial teacher training, and indeed, may not wish one.
Another option to completing your induction year is through school supply teaching with a local Scottish council or a temporary contract with a Scottish school.
A fixed contract in one school will enable you to have a much more structured training schedule to complete all the compulsory components of your induction including official classroom observations in one school setting.
Supply teaching in more than one school on short term contracts.
Thus route can be more problematic to show evidence, smoothly complete your required set training and portfolio evidence on short-term teaching job placements.
Think about it, you turn up to a school for say 2 weeks and then off to another school.
Who is looking after you on a week by week basis and recording all the evidence you require to collate and keep?
I have also completed supply teaching, although I was already qualified and I can tell you supply teaching is a different experience from being in one school.
You have up to 5 years to complete your induction and become a fully qualified teacher for schools in Scotland; at least, you have a bit of time. The time scale may change.
Another very useful reference is the general teaching council for information on what is required, process and where to find additional information to teach in Scotland.
Can a teacher in Scotland fail probation induction?
You can fail teacher induction for reasons such:
Not meeting the required professional teaching standard
Completing less hours of classroom teaching than required
Take longer to finish the required teaching hours of 3 or 5 years maximum
Teacher induction jobs Scotland
Teacher Induction Scheme (TIS) operates in public sector schools and provides a probation period for teacher support and mentor:
Maximum classroom teaching commitment is 0.8 full-time equivalents (190 days).
The scheme is open to all nationals in the UK and European citizens. You must have also completed your teacher training with a Scotland University.
Probationer teacher Scotland basics are that you apply for the teacher induction scheme on a full-time basis and you then choose up to 5 local authorities where you would like to complete your induction training.
The local authority you are placed with then allocates you a school at primary or secondary level according to your school age PGDE training.
You have the option of letting the GTCS choose a local council for you and get a Preference Waver Scheme payment of £8,000 for secondary and £6,000 for primary teacher’s approximately.
This option would be suitable if you do not mind where in Scotland you complete your induction, from an inner city school or an island school.
See the General Teaching Council Scotland website for full information under teacher induction scheme.
Induction teacher Scotland shortage subjects
Teacher shortage is more visible in core subjects and ICT, mathematics, sciences and English.
The General Teaching Council is the administrators for the (TIS) with an application deadline by end December each year.
You have a choice of a number of areas of Scotland, although you do not require taking a post through the scheme.
The scheme is open to all national in the UK and European citizens as mentioned.
Not joining the (TIS) scheme?.
As a Scotland teacher induction job you can still complete your teaching probation through public sector school. Teaching with one or more temporary contracts, and supply teaching by completing no less than 270 teaching days is possible.