Equality Survey FAQs

1. Why is GTC Scotland seeking equality data about its registrants?

GTC Scotland wishes to understand more about the demographics of our registrants. We want to know more about the changing nature of teachers by surveying those who are entering the profession and what their experiences have been so far.

2. How will you use the data?

We will use the anonymised information to reflect on our work as the teaching profession’s independent registration and regulation body and having a better understanding of our registrants and their equality data will allow us to do this.

We will also use the information in our work with partners in our important role of speaking up for teaching. For this reason, we will only seek information which we believe will be helpful in our work.

Following the survey, an assessment will be made of the process and results to examine whether the data in meaningful enough and of sufficient quality to justify continuing or extending this work. The nature of data gathered and published by other organisations, such as the Scottish Government, will also have a bearing on how this work continues in the future.

3. Why are you only surveying provisionally registered teachers?

The early career phase has been identified as a crucial time in a teacher’s career journey. We are aware that there are challenges for teachers in terms of employment. We want to understand more about lived experiences, the changing nature of professionals and what we can do to improve the way we work with teachers at the start of their careers.

4. How have you chosen the questions in this survey?

We only seek information which is relevant to our work with registrants. Some of the questions relate to equality aspects which are Protected Characteristics under the Equality Act 2010. There are also questions related to caring responsibilities, nationality, routes into teaching and your experiences as a provisionally registered teacher.

5. Will the data I give you be anonymous?

Yes. The link to the form is a generic link and we will not ask for any identifying information such as your name or contact information.

6. How can I be sure that the data I submit will be held securely?

This survey is anonymous. We ask that you do not provide any information that may identify yourself in your responses. Do not, for example, provide names, job titles or contact information. Our privacy notice tells you more about us and how we process personal data, and the rights individuals have in respect of the personal data we access. You can read it here: https://www.gtcs.org.uk/privacy-notice/.

7. Do I have to give you this information?

No, this survey is voluntary. You can answer all the questions, or none, and you can skip any question you do not wish to answer.

If you have any other questions about this survey, please get in touch via our Contact Form and select ‘Something else’.