What has changed for me?

Teaching service

From 1 August 2023, the requirement for satisfactory teaching service will be reduced from 270 to a minimum of 190 days.  

Headteacher or senior leader recommendation

After you have completed a minimum of 190 days service, you must request a recommendation from a headteacher or senior leader with current Full (General) Registration with GTC Scotland. 

The headteacher or senior leader must be fully satisfied that there is sufficient evidence to say you have met the Standard for Full Registration (SFR). They may decide you need more time to meet the SFR and will review your sign off later.   

This headteacher must have:  

• made at least one formal observation of your teaching practice; and   
• had a professional discussion with you to complete your final Key Strengths, Areas for Development and Professional Action Plan. 

You must have been employed at the school of the headteacher or senior leader making the recommendation. There are no minimum days required, but we advise that an observation is completed after the equivalent of a period of 20 days working in your recommending headteacher or senior leader’s school. This is to ensure that they can make an informed decision when recommending you for Full Registration.  

You must complete a minimum of 55% of your days in your subject and category of registration.  A maximum of 45% of your probation service can be completed in any other category, for example, Additional Support Needs. 

You still need to demonstrate you have met all other profile requirements. 

What do I need to do with my online profile to change it to 190 days?    

You don’t need to do anything.  We will be updating all online profiles to reflect the 190 days change in early August 2023.   

I am currently using a paper-based profile, will there be any changes to my submission process?  

Your paper profile must now be signed off by a headteacher or senior leader with current Full (General) Registration with GTC Scotland. When it is complete, please scan and email to gtcs@gtcs.org.uk with the subject line ‘completed Flexible Route Profile’. 

I am currently completing my paper profile outside of Scotland. How can I be signed off as my headteacher is not GTC Registered?  

Once you have completed your profile, you must ask a a headteacher or senior leader with current Full (General) Registration with GTC Scotland to sign the recommendation. 

They do not need to be working in Scotland, but they need to professionally endorse your ability to meet the Standard for Full Registration.  

They need to complete a declaration on your profile to confirm that they recommend you being awarded the Standard for Full Registration. Once they have recommended you, you must submit this completed declaration to us. 

What if I cannot access a GTC Scotland registered headteacher or senior leader? 

Please get in touch with us for more advice. Email gtcs@gtcs.org.uk with the subject line ‘Flexible Route Probationer Sign-off’. 

Will I have 3 or 5 years to complete the Flexible Route?   

If you were provisionally registered prior to 1 August 2023, and were given a period of 5 years to complete your Flexible Route from your date GTC Scotland granted you Provisional Registration, this will not change.    

Flexible Route Profile 

When we award you Provisional Registration, we will give you access to an online Flexible Route profile.    

This is where you will record:  

•  the minimum 190 days service required to meet the Standard for Full Registration.   
• other profile requirements.   

Headteacher or senior leader recommendation

Once you have completed your profile, you must request a recommendation by a headteacher or senior leader with current Full (General) Registration with GTC Scotland.  

This headteacher must have:  

• made at least one formal observation of your teaching practice; and   
• had a professional discussion with you to complete your final Key Strengths, Areas for Development and Professional Action Plan.  
• You must have been employed at the school of the headteacher or senior leader making the recommendation. There are no minimum days required, but we advise that an observation is completed after the equivalent of a period of 20 days working in your endorsing headteacher or senior leader’s school. This is to ensure that they can make an informed decision when endorsing you.  

The headteacher or senior leader needs to complete a declaration on your profile to confirm that they recommend you being awarded the Standard for Full Registration. 

Timescale for completion 

You have 3 years from the date of Provisional Registration to meet the Standard for Full Registration.  

Requirements for teaching service 

• You must complete a minimum of 55% of your days in your subject and category of registration. A maximum of 45% of your probation service can be completed in any other category, for example, Additional Support Needs. 

Flexible Route Profile 

When we award you Provisional Registration, we will give you access to an online Flexible Route profile.    

This is where you will record:  

•  the specified number of days we have given you to meet the Standard for Full Registration.   
• other profile requirements.   

Headteacher or senior leader recommendation

Once you have completed your profile, you must request a recommendation by a headteacher or senior leader with current Full (General) Registration with GTC Scotland.  

This headteacher must have:  

• made at least one formal observation of your teaching practice and   
• had a professional discussion with you to complete your final Key Strengths, Areas for Development and Professional Action Plan.  
• You must have been employed at the school of the headteacher or senior leader making the recommendation. There are no minimum days required, but we advise that an observation is completed after the equivalent of a period of 20 days working in your endorsing headteacher or senior leader’s school. This is to ensure that they can make an informed decision when endorsing you.  

The headteacher or senior leader needs to complete a declaration on your profile to confirm that they recommend you being awarded the Standard for Full Registration. 

Timescale for completion 

You have 3 years from the date of Provisional Registration to meet the Standard for Full Registration.  

Requirements for teaching service 

• You must complete a minimum of 55% of your days in your subject and category of registration. A maximum of 45% of your probation service can be completed in any other category, for example, Additional Support Needs. 

Flexible Route Profile 

When we award you Provisional Registration, we will ask you to complete a document-based Flexible Route profile.

These documents are where you will record: 

• the minimum 190 days service required to meet the Standard for Full Registration.   
• other profile requirements  

Headteacher or senior leader recommendation

Once you have completed your profile, you must request a recommendation by a headteacher or senior leader with current Full (General) Registration with GTC Scotland.  

This headteacher must have:  

• made at least one formal observation of your teaching practice and   
• had a professional discussion with you to complete your final Key Strengths, Areas for Development and Professional Action Plan.  

You must have been employed at the school of the headteacher or senior leader making the recommendation. There are no minimum days required, but we advise that an observation is completed after the equivalent of a period of 20 days working in your endorsing headteacher or senior leader’s school. This is to ensure that they can make an informed decision when endorsing you.  

Once you have completed your profile requirements, you will need to engage with a headteacher or senior leader with current Full (General) Registration with GTC Scotland. They do not need to be working in Scotland, but they do need to professionally endorse your ability to meet the Standard for Full Registration. 

The headteacher or senior leader needs to complete a declaration on your profile to confirm that they recommend you being awarded the Standard for Full Registration.  Once they have recommended you, you must submit your completed profile to us.

If you do not have a GTC Scotland registered headteacher or senior leader, please contact us.

Timescale for completion 

You have 3 years from the date of Provisional Registration to meet the Standard for Full Registration.  

Requirements for teaching service 

You must complete a minimum of 55% of your days in your category and sector of registration.   A maximum of 45% of your probation service can be completed in any other category, for example, Additional Support Needs. 

Flexible Route Profile 

When we award you Provisional Registration, we will ask you to complete a document-based Flexible Route profile.

These documents are where you will record: 

• the minimum 190 days service required to meet the Standard for Full Registration.   
• other profile requirements  

Headteacher or senior leader recommendation

Once you have completed your profile, you must request a recommendation by a headteacher or senior leader with current Full (General) Registration with GTC Scotland.  

This headteacher must have:  

• made at least one formal observation of your teaching practice and   
• had a professional discussion with you to complete your final Key Strengths, Areas for Development and Professional Action Plan.  

You must have been employed at the school of the headteacher or senior leader making the recommendation. There are no minimum days required, but we advise that an observation is completed after the equivalent of a period of 20 days working in your recommendation headteacher or senior leader’s school. This is to ensure that they can make an informed decision when endorsing you.  

Once you have completed your profile requirements, you will need to engage with a headteacher or senior leader with current Full (General) Registration with GTC Scotland. They do not need to be working in Scotland, but they do need to professionally endorse your ability to meet the Standard for Full Registration. 

The headteacher or senior leader needs to complete a declaration on your profile to confirm that they recommend you being awarded the Standard for Full Registration.  Once they have recommended you, you must submit your completed profile to us. 

If you do not have a GTC Scotland registered headteacher or senior leader, please contact us.

Timescale for completion 

You have 3 years from the date of Provisional Registration to meet the Standard for Full Registration.  

Requirements for teaching service 

You must complete a minimum of 55% of your days in your subject and category of registration.   A maximum of 45% of your probation service can be completed in any other category, for example, Additional Support Needs. 

When we award you Provisional Registration, we will ask you to complete a document-based Flexible Route profile.

You must complete this profile and request a recommendation from a headteacher or senior leader with current Full (General) Registration with GTC Scotland.

This headteacher must have:  

• made at least one formal observation of your teaching; and   
• had a professional discussion with you to complete your final Key Strengths, Areas for Development and Professional Action Plan.  

You must have been employed at the school of the headteacher or senior leader making the recommendation. There are no minimum days required, but we advise that your recommending headteacher or senior leader completes a formal observation of your teaching after the equivalent of a period of 20 days working in their school. This is to ensure that they can make an informed decision when recommending you for Full Registration.  

They do not need to be working in Scotland, but they do need to professionally endorse your ability to meet the Standard for Full Registration. 

The headteacher or senior leader needs to complete a declaration on your profile to confirm that they recommend you being awarded the Standard for Full Registration.  Once they have recommended you, you must submit your completed profile to us. 

From 1 August 2023, you will no longer need to meet a requirement for a set number of days of probationary service in the subject or sector you wish to add to your registration.

However, we would recommend that you have completed the equivalent of at least 20 days of service in the additional subject / sector, and that this service takes place in the school of the headteacher or senior leader who is recommending you for registration. 

From 1 August 2023 you must use the document-based Flexible Route profile to support a professional dialogue with your headteacher or senior leader. They will work with you to determine when you are demonstrating satisfactory standards in your additional subject / sector.  

They must conduct at least one observation of your teaching as part of their decision making.  

When they are satisfied, you must work together to complete the document-based profile. Your headteacher or senior leader must sign the recommendation and return it to gtcs@gtcs.org.uk with the subject line ‘Professional Registration declaration “your name”’.

Your role as a headteacher with Full Registration with GTC Scotland continues to be fundamental in: 

• ensuring that colleagues attaining Full Registration with GTC Scotland have met the Standard for Full Registration; and  
• endorsing their registration.  

What has changed, is that this now extends to all applicants for Full Registration, including those who:

• Qualified Outside Scotland and/or  

• are completing their probationary service outside Scotland. 

Yes. All applicants for Full Registration need to demonstrate that they have a minimum of 190 days satisfactory teaching practice. At least 55% of their teacher practice must be undertaken in their qualifying subject and/or sector. In other words, 105 days. A maximum of 45% of their probation service can be completed in any other category, for example, Additional Support Needs.  

This now applies to teachers with Provisional Registration who are completing their registration through the Flexible Route (reduced from 270 days).  

This also applies to teachers with Provisional Registration who have Qualified Outside of Scotland. 

From 1 August 2023, teachers with Provisional Registration have a maximum of 3 years to demonstrate they have met the requirements for Full Registration.

Teachers with Provisional Registration who started the process before this date will have up to 5 years since the date of their Provisional Registration (as per the previous practice) to do so. 

You should undertake a minimum of 9 formal professional teaching practice observations. At least 5 of these must be observations of the probationer teacher teaching their qualifying subject or sector. 

This will provide sufficient evidence that a probationer has met the Standard for Full Registration. 

These observations must be adequately spaced to facilitate effective professional learning and allow for any required development of teaching practice. 

For those probationers Qualified Outside of Scotland, or who have completed probationary service outside Scotland, at least one formal professional teaching practice observation should be undertaken.

You need to sign a declaration in the teacher’s Flexible Route Profile. This will either be through an online profile or a document-based profile. 

If you are happy to recommend them, you will complete the declaration that you are satisfied that the prospective entrant into Full Registration with GTC Scotland has attained and evidenced the necessary requirements and Standard for Full Registration in their subject and or sector.  

To recommend a probationer teacher for Full Registration with GTC Scotland, you need to complete a declaration that you are satisfied that an applicant for Full Registration with GTC Scotland has attained and evidenced the necessary requirements and Standard for Full Registration in their subject and or sector.  

You must: 

• Hold current Full (General) Registration with GTC Scotland. 
• Have completed at least one observation of the probationer teacher’s teaching practice in the subject and / or sector in which they are seeking Full Registration. 
• Have had a professional discussion about the probationer teacher’s profile, including Key Strengths, Areas for Development and the Professional Development Action Plan. 
• Not have allowed your GTC Scotland Registration to lapse or moved to Full (Associate) Registration status.  

You do not need to hold the Standard for Headship, but you do need to be employed as a headteacher or senior leader in your school and country. 

We recommend that the probationer teacher has worked at your school, or within your partnership of schools, for a minimum of the equivalent of 20 days, and have completed a minimum of 190 days teaching service overall.

If you need support in making your recommendation, please contact us on gtcs@gtcs.org.uk with the subject line “Flexible Route Senior Leader Recommendation”.