Meeting of the Parliament 06 February 2024
That is a substantive question and I would like to give Liam Kerr a more substantive answer. As he might be aware, I commissioned work on that very point from the strategic board for teacher education last year, which will provide me with a report on options for moving forward.
At the current time, we have a waiver system, which allows probationary teachers to tick the box, as I did some years ago, that incentivises young people—or perhaps older people—to go to other parts of the country to learn how to become a teacher. As Liam Kerr knows, we have seen a fall in the number of teachers who have been ticking the box. Part of that fall has been informed by the pandemic, with fewer people willing to move now than prior to the pandemic. However, we will need to look at that work in further detail.
The challenge that I, as cabinet secretary, face in that space is that I am not an employer of teachers—that is a matter for local authorities. I need to work with the Convention of Scottish Local Authorities on that very important matter, which is why the new Verity house arrangement that we have with COSLA will be pivotal to driving change in that area.
Liam Kerr might be aware that one of his colleagues has been raising questions on that very point in relation to issues in Aberdeenshire, which I will look to visit in the next couple of weeks. In doing so, I will look to address the member’s point in much more detail, alongside the General Teaching Council for Scotland, which makes decisions about where student teachers are allocated.
We cannot have a one-size-fits-all policy for the whole country. We need to recognise local differentiation, and local authorities can put in place some support. In the past, some of our island authorities have provided financial incentives to encourage people to move there, and there is a range of other opportunities that the strategic board for teacher education will give me further advice on.