Achi news desk-
In a recent letter to headteachers, the council’s Director of Education, Douglas Hutchison, confirmed that “a number of business cases outlining specific concerns” had now been reviewed, but said that “for most of these the answer was to allocate’ those on trial.” This has happened, he added, because “there is no pot of money left in the middle.”
The possibility that some schools will lose even more teachers after the summer holidays is also raised, and reference is made to those currently on probation in Glasgow schools, as well as those on fixed term contracts , with Hutchison expressing “regret” that there are “very limited options”. ” offer permanent jobs to these groups.
Those on probation are those who are still receiving teacher education as part of the Teacher Induction Scheme (TIS), which guarantees a year of work on completing Initial Teacher Education (ITE). Probationers do not teach a full timetable, are entitled to much more support and mentoring than fully qualified colleagues, and are not meant to be used to fill vacancies. The Scottish Government rather than the council they work for pays most of the salary costs of those on probation.
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A spokesman for the General Teaching Council for Scotland (GTCS) told The Herald that probationers’ introduction to the teaching profession should “focus on the experience of the individual conditionally registered teacher, with a focus on their education and u continuous development, and with the help of colleagues in their school and local authority.”
It was added that although some expect provisionally registered teachers to be ‘classroom ready'”, this was never the intention of the SGT programme, which was actually designed on the assumption that those on trial operating in addition to the provision of core school staff, not as part of the programme. of it:
“Allocating probationary workers to fill vacancies does not fit with the structure to become a teacher which was devised to include ITE and induction,” it added, before highlighting that only the Standard for Conditional Registration – rather than Registration Full – these new teachers have reached it. this early stage in their careers.
A spokesperson for the EIS Glasgow local union, which is currently polling members for a possible strike in response to the cuts, said that the latest developments have reinforced the union’s position on the impact of the council’s decisions:
“It is unfair to the school and the teachers on probation to make the school run more smoothly depending on their year of establishment. In the 45 primary schools where only head teachers are available to support staff and pupils, the school will have limited capacity to provide the support it deserves to the probationary teacher.
“EIS members want to see those new to the profession get the best start in their careers and not just be thrown in as an extra to close a gap caused by cutting 172 jobs. These are inexperienced teachers who need the support of their colleagues to develop their practice and should not be used to fill posts that have been eliminated.
“Furthermore, EIS Glasgow condemns any hope that more teachers will lose their jobs in the new session if pupil numbers fall and the new strict staffing formula is implemented again.
“We are clear, this formula is a formula of cuts and a blunt instrument. If it was fit for purpose, there would be no need for the plan to have basically untrained teachers as core staff in some of our primary schools.”
Mike Corbett, NASUWT National Officer for Scotland, argued that probationers “deserve a safe and supportive environment in which to learn the art of teaching.”
“Leaving them to schools to fill staffing gaps and replacing more experienced teachers with more experienced teachers takes advantage of these new recruits and deprives pupils of the benefits of more experienced teachers.
“Glasgow City Council is trying to educate pupils cheaply without considering the detrimental effect this will have on children’s progress and educational development.
“Together with the loss of at least 172 teaching jobs, with the threat of more cuts to come, the picture for the education system in our largest city is very worrying.
“The Scottish Government must use the powers it has to intervene with local authorities to maintain teacher numbers and, in this case, protect education provision in Glasgow.”
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A spokesman for Glasgow City Council said:
“Those on probation are not used to fill any budget-saving gaps in our schools.”
“They are professional, valuable members of a school’s staff structure and it is disrespectful to say otherwise.
“As probationers work towards reaching the full standard for registration, they are mentored by an experienced member of staff, but have their own class for 0.8 full-time equivalents or four days per a week.
“This has been normal for several years and it is the same across all local authorities and no concerns were raised about this in previous years.
“It’s no different in our schools this year.
“During our annual staffing exercise, headteachers offer a portion of their staffing to secure a probationary officer or probationers.
“It is a matter for headteachers to consider how probationary staff are used in their schools, but historically there is flexibility to free up senior leaders to focus on other activities related to the school’s priorities.
“Staff allocation will always vary based on the number of pupils in a school.
“The director of education will send regular communications to update headteachers on the education savings – and he had a meeting with all the headteachers days after the budget decisions.”
A spokesman for the Scottish Government said:
“The Scottish Government is determined to close the attainment gap linked to poverty and ministers are clear that this will not be achieved by councils employing fewer teachers in our schools.
“To that end, we are offering £145.5 million to local authorities in this year’s budget to protect teacher numbers.
“Councils have statutory obligations in terms of education, and they have a joint commitment with the Scottish Government to ensure the best outcomes for people and communities under the Verity House Agreement.”
