Press Releases

Almost 40 per cent of secondary teacher training places went unfilled last year as young people shunned careers in an education system failed by the SNP.

Recently published minutes from the Strategic Board for Teacher Education reveal “a downward trend in Secondary ITE [Initial Teacher Education]”, with the 2022 intake amounting to just 61 per cent of the target.

The figures for Modern Languages were down on previous years, while there are also over 300 fewer Maths and 300 fewer English trainee teachers compared with 2008, and 178 fewer computer science trainee teachers.

The Scottish Government’s Education Workforce Unit indicates that recruitment is particularly challenging in remote and rural areas, with members of the board pointing out “teacher mobility is limited due to transport and housing issues in rural locations”.

They also admitted the crisis was “about retention as well as recruitment”, as the number of secondary school teachers aged over 40 has fallen by more than a fifth since the SNP came to power.

This fall comes against the backdrop of delayed education reforms, plummeting teacher morale and escalating classroom violence.

Liam Kerr, the Scottish Conservatives’ shadow education secretary, has recognised these findings, saying that teachers are “overstretched and under-resourced”.  

Scottish Conservative shadow education secretary Liam Kerr MSP said: “The huge shortfall in teacher training applicants is sobering proof that after 16 years of SNP Government, young people are being turned off a career in this essential profession.

“Sadly people considering entering what should be a rewarding career see 5,000 teachers are stuck on temporary contracts and a profession that is overstretched, under-resourced, and facing a surge in classroom violence.

“Against that backdrop, it’s hardly surprising the number of student applicants has fallen.

“As with so many of the failings of the SNP-Green government, it’s Scotland’s rural communities that suffer most as this Government’s years of underinvestment in decent transport links and housing come home to roost.

“A responsible government would speak to teachers, students and those who might have considered a career or even career change into teaching to find out precisely why this decline was happening and immediately seek to address the issues which are putting people off.

“Teaching should be one of the most fulfilling and valuable careers there is – but there’s an obvious lack of effort from ministers both to make that case and to ensure that that is what these professionals are resourced to deliver.

“The Scottish Conservatives’ New Deal for Teachers recognises teachers’ essential contribution to the future success of our country.

“We’ll reduce the bureaucracy educators currently face, encourage professional development and launch a review into teachers’ career structure, along with an initiative to attract candidates from other careers into the profession.”

Notes

See the minutes here: https://www.gov.scot/publications/strategic-board-for-teacher-education-minutes-march-2023/

The number of secondary teachers aged over 40 has reduced by more than a fifth since the SNP came to power. Teacher census data reveals that in 2007 there were 17,750 secondary teachers over 40, this reduced to 13,933 in 2022, a reduction of 28%. (Teacher Census 2022, 21 March 2023, link).