Now primary staff will teach high school maths
PUPILS in secondary schools are to be taught maths by teachers who do not have a degree in the subject, amid a growing recruitment crisis.
Last week, the headteacher of an Edinburgh school asked parents for help after being unable to fill two vacancies for maths teachers.
Now, some teachers will be allowed to work in both primary and secondary schools – teaching maths without necessarily having a degree in the subject.
It comes after Holyrood’s education committee expressed concern about trainee teachers lacking skills in the ‘three Rs’.
Unions warn that the changes could ‘weaken the standard’ of teaching, while parents have also raised concerns.
Scottish Secondary Teachers’ Association (SSTA) general secretary Seamus Searson said: ‘This is weakening the standard and it’s not fair to these people who will become second-class citizens in the [secondary] school.’
The General Teaching Council for Scotland (GTCS) said allowing teachers to work across the broad general education (BGE) phase – from nursery to S3 – would help to tackle the teacher recruitment crisis because councils would have greater flexibility.
The organisation also claimed it was in line with Curriculum for Excellence and could lead to an easier transition from primary to secondary for pupils. The GTCS said a new type of teaching registration, known as the Broad General Registration Category, was expected to be up and running during this school year.
The universities of Edinburgh and Glasgow have already decided to offer new teaching qualifications. At Glasgow, students with a maths Higher who have just started on the postgraduate route into primary teaching will be offered the chance to become maths specialists.
When they complete their course, they will be qualified to lead maths classes up to S3, according to Moyra Boland, deputy head of the university’s school of education. She said: ‘This could free up time for secondary maths specialists to concentrate on certificated maths courses. We know there is a shortage of maths teachers and this is a creative way of looking at how we support that.’
Last week, Bryan Paterson, head of Trinity Academy, in Edinburgh, wrote to parents asking for help in finding maths teachers.
Larry Flanagan, general secretary of the EIS teaching union, said the move could create a ‘two-tier system’ because some teachers would have degrees in the subjects they were delivering, while others would not.
Joanna Murphy, chairman of the National Parent Forum of Scotland, warned the move risked ‘a brain drain’ of teachers out of the primary sector due to shortages in secondary.
Comment – Page 18
HIT squads are to be sent in to councils to investigate what they are doing to close the ‘attainment gap’ between the best and worst-performing schools.
Closing the gap between schools in affluent and deprived areas is a key mission for the SNP. Education Scotland has announced plans to inspect nine local authorities.
The year-long programme will be piloted by West Dunbartonshire Council before moving on to East Ayrshire, North Ayrshire, Renfrewshire, Glasgow, Dundee, Inverclyde, Clackmannanshire and North Lanarkshire. ‘Free up time for specialists’