More than one in 10 teachers carrying out their probation report having experienced bullying, harassment, racism or other discrimination, according to research by the General Teaching Council for Scotland (GTCS).
In a poll of almost 1,900 provisionally registered teachers, 11.5 per cent said they had experienced these problems, prompting a call from GTCS chief executive Pauline Stephen for experienced teachers to be given the time and capacity “to be better able to support beginning teachers”.
The survey also reveals that 28 per cent of teachers carrying out probation have an additional support need (ASN). Dr Stephen said this included mental health needs, disabilities and other ASN.
Highlighting the statistics at the annual conference of primary school leaders’ body AHDS, on its first day in Glasgow yesterday, Dr Stephen said it was not clear whether the bullying and harassment reported by teachers in their first year was coming from children and young people, parents or colleagues.
The GTCS plans to do more research to uncover that information, but Dr Stephen warned that the experience new teachers in Scotland get is “really variable”.
Experienced teachers need more time and support in order to effectively mentor new staff, Dr Stephen said. Some schools were doing “amazing work” with new teachers, but for other teachers there were issues about “the kind of welcome” they were getting, which was reflected in retention rates.
High dropout rate for probationer teachers
Tes Scotland revealed earlier this year that in the 2023-24 school year almost one in five probationers had opted out of the Teacher Induction Scheme by January.
Councils are also reporting higher dropout rates from the Teacher Induction Scheme. A number, including Glasgow, said this contributed to the overall fall in teacher numbers when the figures from last year’s teacher census were reported in December 2023.
Official figures also show that dropout rates after completion of probation are “very high”.
In 2021 the primary teacher dropout rate following induction was 19 per cent. However, by 2023 that figure - referred to as “wastage rate” - was 27 per cent.
Dr Stephen said the number of new teachers choosing to carry out their probation through the “flexible route” - as opposed to the Teacher Induction Scheme, which guarantees new teachers a job for a year in order to become fully registered - was increasing year on year.
Probationers on the flexible route, she said, tended to be more mature and a more diverse cohort, while more Black and minority ethnic teachers were on this pathway into the profession.
“There’s obviously still a lot of graduating teachers who undertake the Teacher Induction Scheme, but we have seen a bit of slippage in that and some more people exploring the flexible route,” said Dr Stephen
However, she said teachers on the flexible route were struggling to find work in order to get the classroom experience they needed to achieve full registration.
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