The number of probationers entering the Scottish education system this August will the highest in seven years, with 3,494 probationers due to enter schools - some 250 more than last year.

The figure was revealed in a Tes Scotland interview with the chief executive of the General Teaching Council for Scotland (GTCS), Ken Muir, who also said that school placements were unlikely to start before the summer holidays.

Meanwhile, Professor Ian Rivers, the chair of the body that represents Scotland’s teacher education institutions, the Scottish Council of Deans of Education, has sought to reassure schools that the universities have been “rigorous” in their selection processes, and only “good teachers” will be entering the workforce in the coming school year.  

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Students completing teacher-education qualifications last year have already had their studies cut short due to the coronavirus pandemic, and this summer their achievements will be marked by virtual celebrations, as opposed to grand graduations.

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Mr Muir said that when teacher-education courses were cut short last year, universities were asked to place their students into three categories: those they were “absolutely certain” would satisfy the requirement for provisional registration; those who would “not make it”; and the students who were “on the cusp”.

The latter group numbered fewer than 100, said Mr Muir and the GTCS would be providing them with “individualised support”, on top of the mentoring they will receive when they join schools.

One professional providing that support - due to begin in the middle of this month - would be the clinical psychologist Dr Emma Hepburn, he said.

“The goal is to help them with two things really,” said Mr Muir. “To help them be potentially less anxious going into their probationary year knowing they were not able to fully complete their teacher-education programme. And secondly, to help them to plan well and maintain a work-life balance.”

Mr Muir said that the GTCS was in discussions with the Scottish Council of Deans of Education and councils about how student teachers would carry out placements next year, when social distancing would be in place in schools and pupils would be attending part-time.

He said it seemed unlikely that placements would start before the October holiday - and they could get underway later than the start of the term after that.  

“We are doing everything we can to make it workable because we can’t have a situation where we have a year with no new teachers coming into the teaching profession,” said Mr Muir. “One thing we are having to look at is the extent to which we count any online teaching teachers have done.”

Professor Rivers, meanwhile, said that in the coming academic year teacher-education institutions would likely have to take a leaf out of the Open University’s book and transfer their lectures online. At the University of Strathclyde - Scotland’s largest teacher education institution and where Professor Rivers is based - there could be up to 900 students in a lecture, he said, but even with just over 100 students social distancing would not be possible.

Professor Rivers added that he was optimistic about how next year’s probationers would fare in the “new normal” when schools reopen to all pupils in August.

It is expected that pupils will spend roughly half their time in school and half their learning at home. Professor Rivers argued that probationers, who would generally have a better understanding of the “online experience”, would be well-suited to adapting “their pedagogical practices to suit online learning” and would also benefit from being able to hone their skills with smaller classes.

He added: “All the higher education institutions putting students into the profession feel they are putting good teachers into the workforce. We are not in any way trying to say, ‘Oh well, there are going to be a few more that may not be meeting the standard who make it through.’ They have been rigorous; we are not going to be putting people into the workforce who are not ready.”