New route into teaching gains its accreditation

The General Teaching Council for Scotland (GTCS) has accredited an innovative new route into teaching developed by Dundee University and the University of the Highlands and Islands.

The partnership was chosen as the successful bidder in the Scottish Government’s procurement exercise to create a ‘genuinely new and distinct’ route into teaching that is attractive to ‘high-quality graduates’ and career changers.

The new pathway aims to alleviate the shortage of STEM teachers, complementing the 11 new routes into teaching already developed to tackle teacher recruitment challenges that have been accredited by GTC Scotland over the past 18 months.

The new Postgraduate Diploma in Education Secondary Partnership Induction Model (PIM) (STEM subjects) takes a partnership approach which sees the universities work with four local authorities, including Argyll and Bute and Highland, to support student teachers to learn in their local area while being financially supported by one of the partner local authorities.

Professor Morag Redford, head of teacher education at the University of the Highlands and Islands, said: ‘This programme is an exciting opportunity for rural Scotland. It provides a new route into science, technology, engineering and maths (STEM) teaching for those living in four rural authorities and complements the current range of initial teacher education programmes offered by the University of the Highlands and Islands.’