Trainee teachers are being landed with the “burden” of longer hours to cover a shortage of experienced staff, an education standards body has warned.
Ken Muir, chief executive of the General Teaching Council for Scotland (GTCS), which sets the professional standards expected of staff, said the new starts are missing out on “crucial” mentoring due to a lack of teachers.
He told The Herald he knew of schools using probationers to teach longer hours than they are meant to, which eats into time set aside to learn from other teachers and develop lessons.
Schools are given extra money to cover for senior teachers mentoring trainee staff and this non-teaching time is protected.
Mr Muir said: “Sometimes, because of a shortage of teachers, probationers are being asked to cover a full timetable and that means they are not getting the mentoring time crucial to their development.
“There is an arrangement between the Scottish Government and the councils to make sure that mentoring happens and it is fully funded and it should be happening.
“Because new teachers are keen to impress they are more likely to take on an additional burden, but that is not what should be happening.”
Local government body Cosla said “probationer teachers are both valued and used in the appropriate manner”.
A spokesman added: “Councils take their duty of care to all staff very seriously indeed and they also treat teacher vacancies with the utmost priority.
“Councils are well aware of their obligations both contractual and otherwise relating to probationer teachers. If this is an issue as is being suggested, we would be happy to meet the GTCS on any concerns.”
A Scottish Government spokeswoman said: “The Scottish Negotiating Committee for Teachers (SNCT), made up of Cosla, teaching unions and Government, sets teachers’ terms and conditions. Probationer teachers have a contractually reduced class contact time to specifically allow for supported mentoring.
“Local authorities are obliged to provide placements for all newly qualified teachers on that basis and if this is not happening we would encourage the GTCS to take up Cosla’s offer to discuss it further. We have already contacted GTCS to seek further details on their concerns.”
But Labour opportunities spokesman Iain Gray said: “Under the SNP there are 4,000 fewer teachers in Scotland’s schools and class sizes are bigger. That puts more pressure on the teachers we do have, particularly trainee teachers who should be getting extra support to do their job.
“We need to invest more in education, not carry on with the SNP Government’s cuts. Labour has set out a plan to stop the cuts and protect the education budget in real terms over the next five years. The SNP should use the powers of the Scottish Parliament to stop the cuts and invest in the future of our economy.”
