The number of new teachers willing to be placed in any school in Scotland for their probation year has fallen for the third year in a row, Tes Scotland can reveal.
For 2024-25, the number of new teachers who have agreed to spend their first year in the job anywhere in Scotland has halved when compared to 2020-21, which is as far back as the statistics published by the General Teaching Council for Scotland (GTCS) extend.
Some 155 new teachers have signed up this coming school year to the “preference waiver” scheme - a programme which means they agree to be placed in any school in Scotland in exchange for a cash boost of £6,000 (minus tax and national insurance) if they are a primary teacher and £8,000 for secondary teachers.
In 2023-24, 207 probationer teachers signed up for the scheme; in 2020-21 that figure was 310.
Shortage of secondary teachers
The dwindling popularity of the preference waiver scheme will ratchet up the pressure on more remote and rural authorities, in particular, which have been struggling to recruit secondary teachers for some time - especially when it comes to subjects such as computing science, technological education and maths.
The secondary teacher shortage has implications for the range of subjects schools can offer and means that, in the worst cases, subjects could be cut from the curriculum altogether.
There are also reports of non-specialists being used to deliver classes because of teacher shortages and primary teachers being recruited to plug gaps in English and maths.
Last year, Tes Scotland reported on difficulties in Aberdeenshire Council where every secondary was being hit by teacher shortage, according to the council’s director of education and children’s services, Laurence Findlay.
This coming academic year, Aberdeenshire has been allocated 10 secondary probationers through the preference waiver scheme. That is up on the two it was allocated last year, but down on the 21 in 2020-21.
Overall, the council was allocated 29 probationers for 2024-25 through the preference waiver scheme - up on the nine it was allocated last year and 21 in 2020-21 (in 2020-21 the authority received no primary probationers through the scheme).
That means that this coming academic year Aberdeenshire Council is the biggest beneficiary of the preference waiver scheme.
Intervening to improve the flow of teachers
However, the GTCS makes it clear the figures on its website are from the date of allocation in May. Aberdeenshire Council has already had issues with probationers dropping out ahead of the 2024-25 school year - despite education secretary Jenny Gilruth intervening in a bid to improve the flow of teachers into the authority.
Ms Gilruth has also spoken about intervening to help improve Highland Council’s staffing situation. That authority, according to the figures, has been allocated 10 primary and secondary probationers through the preference waiver scheme in 2024-25, up on the seven it was allocated last year - but down on the 16 it was allocated in 2020-21.
The authority that has seen the biggest drop off in probationers via the scheme is Fife. It was allocated 89 probationers who in 2020-21 had “ticked the box” - as choosing the preference waiver scheme is often referred to - but was allocated just 14 for the coming school year. In 2023-24, it was allocated 16 probationer teachers.
Challenge to recruit teachers in parts of Scotland
Scotland’s system of one-year probationary placements for new teachers, funded by the Scottish government, is known as the Teacher Induction Scheme.
A government spokesperson said: “We recognise there is a challenge around the recruitment of teachers in certain geographical areas and in certain subjects. It is for this reason that we have manually allocated PWP (preference waiver payment) probationers this year. This will ensure that probationers are placed in the areas who have the most difficulties in securing probationers.”
The Strategic Board for Teacher Education, the government says, is “looking at issues around the recruitment and retention of teachers in Scotland in detail, this will include the operation of the Teacher Induction Scheme”.
The spokesperson added: “While we cannot direct teachers where to work, it is important to note that teacher vacancies arise across Scotland throughout the course of the year and we are aware that there are areas of the country with jobs available.
“The education secretary has discussed the national picture on recruitment with [local authorities body] Cosla, and she looks forward to working with our councils on the issue of recruitment and retention - noting that it is they who employ our teachers and not the Scottish government.”
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