Chamber and committees

The package of support this year, including the "sensitive approach" to grading was agreed following discussion with stakeholders, including through the National Qualifications Group on which Scottish Government is represented.

SQA’s approach to grading the exams in 2023 was based on its established awarding processes where grade boundaries are set to determine the marks needed for each grade.

The key difference when taking a "sensitive approach" to grading is that decisions on where the grade boundaries are set at each subject and level, consider all factors that could have impacted on performance, such as the impact of course modifications, to ensure fairness to young people while maintaining national standards. Full information on SQA’s approach to awarding, including grading, is available in their National Qualifications 2023 Awarding Methodology Report .

Adjustments to grade boundaries are smaller this year than in 2022, reflecting the continuing recovery in skills, knowledge and understanding on the part of students.

The Scottish Government does not hold this information. It is the statutory responsibility of local authorities to manage and maintain their school estate.

The Scottish Government does not hold information on whether schools are over-capacity, i.e. have no places for additional pupils in a stage of education.

Data on physical capacity in all local authority primary and secondary schools in Scotland is published annually in the School estates supplementary statistics - gov.scot (www.gov.scot) . However, this has to be combined with other information, including the number of teaching staff in each school and whether there are any temporary buildings, to understand the available places for pupils.

All local authorities in Scotland have a statutory responsibility to provide a school place for all the children in their area, and will seek to match school capacity to demand in each area. Where schools are over-subscribed, local authorities will offer places according to their admissions policy, which may include priority for siblings.

The Scottish Government’s £2 billion Learning Estate Investment Programme is being delivered in partnership with local authorities and will benefit tens of thousands of pupils across Scotland. Scottish Government funding through the Learning Estate Investment Programme is intended to augment - not replace - local authorities own investment in their school estate.

The Law Society were approved by Scottish Ministers under section 7 of the Legal Services (Scotland) Act 2010 on 17 January 2017 and authorised by Scottish Ministers to exercise its regulatory functions as an approved regulator of licensed legal services providers, under section 10 of the Legal Services (Scotland) Act 2010 on 22 December 2021.

All newly qualified teachers (NQTs) are guaranteed a place on the Teacher Induction Scheme (TIS) probationer. Data on the number of teachers who are then in employment in a publicly funded school in the year following their probationary year will be is published in the Teacher census supplementary statistics in March and can be accessed at https://www.gov.scot/publications/teacher-census-supplementary-statistics/ .

The recruitment and employment of teachers in local authority schools are matters for individual councils, as they have the statutory duty for education expenditure and to deliver education.

All newly qualified teachers in Scotland must complete a period of probationary service to show that they meet the Standard for Full Registration.

In the September 2022 Teacher census there were 2,889 full-time equivalent probationary teachers employed in publicly funded schools on the Teacher Induction Scheme(TIS) or other single year induction schemes. A small number of teachers may also enter into teaching via a flexible or alternative route.

The General Teaching Council for Scotland (GTCS) is responsible for administering the Teacher Induction Scheme and as such undertakes seminars and information sessions with prospective probationary teachers. This includes encouraging probationary teachers to consider taking a placement further afield.

The Preference Waiver Payment (PWP) was introduced in 2004-05 to attract newly qualified teachers to more remote and rural local authorities who experience difficulties in securing probationers . Students can opt for the PWP whereby they waive their right to express a preferred local authority and will be prioritised to remote and rural local authorities such as the north east in return for an additional payment.

Currently the PWP is £6000 per annum for Primary teachers and £8000 per annum for Secondary teachers.

The number of probationers local authorities bid for was greater than the number of probationers required to be allocated.

As at May 2023, local authorities bid for 3,818 probationers. The number of probationers allocated were 3,161.

Teachers attain Newly Qualified Teacher (NQT) status on completion of their teaching qualification.

Information on the number of UK domiciled students qualifying from Initial Teacher Education (ITE) programmes at Scottish Higher Education Institutions is published in the “Diversity Teaching Profession Annual Data Report”. The latest information, covering 2021-22 academic year, can be found here:

Diversity in the teaching profession: annual data report - gov.scot (www.gov.scot)

The allocation of places on the Teacher Induction Scheme (TIS) is based on students selecting a preference of five local authorities in which they wish to undertake their probationary year. The system is set to ensure that all newly qualified teachers are, in the first instance, offered a place in one of their preferred choices.

As an alternative to selecting a preference of five local authorities, a student can opt for the Preference Waiver Payment whereby they waive their right to express a preferred local authority and will be prioritised to remote and rural local authorities in return for an additional payment.

TIS does not provide a guarantee of future employment within that council. The future employment of teachers is solely a matter for local authorities. While it is for councils to recruit and employ sufficient teaching staff to meet the needs and interests of children and young people living in their areas, we would expect them to fill posts in an open and fair manner.