Probationer teachers made welcome

Shetland schools have welcomed 10 new probationary teachers into the classroom this school year.

Eight of the teachers have been placed in primary schools while the other two have been allocated in secondary schools, one at Anderson High School and one working between Baltasound Junior High School and Mid Yell Junior High School.

Chairwoman of the education and families committee Vaila Wishart, said: “We are delighted to be welcoming our new probationers into the authority. Our probationers will be a real asset to schools and the local authority in general with new ideas and fresh enthusiasm. We hope they find Shetland a rewarding and supportive place to complete their teaching probation.”

Probationer teachers have completed a general or honours degree in primary or secondary education. Alternatively, they may have studied towards a degree in a subject, for example English, after which they have completed a one-year post-graduate diploma in education.

Probationers then work through a one-year teacher induction scheme programme based in one school, which leads to General Teaching Council Scotland (GTCS) registration, providing they demonstrate satisfactory competence against the GTCS Standards for Registration

Each year the Scottish government asks each local authority in Scotland to offer a certain number of probationer placements.

By offering placements to 10 probationers in Shetland, the local authority met its allocation target, and the number of probationers in session 2015-16 is very similar to the number of probationers allocated by the Scottish government in recent years.