Additional registration - advice for school leaders and teacher employers

We understand the recruitment and teacher deployment issues that you face. We also acknowledge that the recruitment challenges are nuanced across the country.  

There is significant variation in the availability of teachers with the registrations needed across contexts and geographical areas. This means that strategic approaches are needed to make sure that as a nation we have the right teachers where we need them.

In your context practically considering the following may help you address your specific issues.

1. Start with the teachers you have

Do any of your teachers already have the academic subject qualifications needed to explore additional registration?

Offering in school support to help a teacher gain Provisional Registration, refresh their subject knowledge, gain some teaching experience, then recommending them for Full Registration helps you and the individual teacher.

2. Sticking with the teachers you have

Do any of your teachers have a real interest in teaching another subject but don’t have the academic subject study needed?

Help them to identify relevant qualifications and consider offering them some specific time to focus on their studies. Some employers fund the costs of additional qualifications if there is a likelihood and shared expectation that undertaking the qualification will eventually lead to additional registration and teaching in the new subject.

3. Look a bit further afield

Are there primary teachers in your locality who already have relevant academic subject study?

Many primary teachers qualified to be teachers by completing a postgraduate teaching qualification following an undergraduate subject degree. With encouragement and the right support, individuals in this situation may welcome the opportunity to work across sectors with the appropriate additional registration.

4. Build additional registration into workforce planning

Employers could consider embedding processes for auditing the ambitions of their teachers. For instance, asking primary teachers about their interest in secondary teaching when they don’t have the underpinning academic subject study and then providing structured support for this to be gained may be an effective strand of medium to long term strategic workforce planning.  

5. Consider what teachers need from you

In Scotland trust is placed in school leaders to assess who belongs to the profession. This starts with beginning teachers in their induction where school leaders ultimately assess their practice and recommend them for full registration with GTC Scotland.

Once fully registered any teacher exploring additional registration, regardless of their starting point, is likely to need support. Interest and encouragement from school leadership can facilitate this process both in the interests of individual teachers and in improving flexibility of teacher deployment.