Newly Qualified Teachers (NQTs) and teacher employment trends: FOI release

Information requested

Newly Qualified Teachers (NQTs) and teacher employment trends in Scotland over the past several years.

Please provide the following information:

1. Backlog of NQTs Without Employment
   For each of the last five academic years (2018-2019 to 2022-2023), how many Newly Qualified Teachers (NQTs) across Scotland completed their probationary year but did not secure any teaching position (permanent, fixed-term, or casual supply) within 12 months of completing their probation?
2. Government Initiatives for Teacher Employment
   What initiatives, strategies, or policies has the Scottish Government implemented or planned in the last five years to address the employment prospects of Newly Qualified Teachers who have completed their probationary year but have not secured permanent or temporary teaching positions?
3. Teacher Workforce Planning Data
   Please provide any workforce planning data or reports from the last five years (2018-2023) that detail the projected demand for teaching staff across Scotland, including how this aligns with the number of probationers completing their probationary year.
4. Impact of Workforce Planning on NQT Employment
   Please provide any assessments or evaluations the Scottish Government has conducted in the last five years (2018-2023) on the impact of workforce planning on the ability of Newly Qualified Teachers to secure permanent or temporary teaching positions after their probationary year.

Response

1. Backlog of NQTs Without Employment
For each of the last five academic years (2018-2019 to 2022-2023), how many Newly Qualified Teachers (NQTs) across Scotland completed their probationary year but did not secure any teaching position (permanent, fixed-term, or casual supply) within 12 months of completing their probation?

The Scottish Government does not track the destination of Newly Qualified Teachers outwith the annual Teacher Census. Data on the employment of NQTs following their probationary year are published annually, available at the link below. Employment types are reported as permanent, temporary or other.
Note that ‘other’ includes those teaching elsewhere (including in the independent sector), those who have found supply work, those who are unemployed or who have left teaching and those who did not complete their probationary year, although this detail is not included in the census data.
https://www.gov.scot/publications/post-probationer-teacher-employment-dashboard/

2. Government Initiatives for Teacher Employment
What initiatives, strategies, or policies has the Scottish Government implemented or planned in the last five years to address the employment prospects of Newly Qualified Teachers who have completed their probationary year but have not secured permanent or temporary teaching positions?

While the recruitment and employment of teachers is for local authorities, as employers, the Scottish Government has provided local authorities with £145.5m per year, since 2021, to maintain teacher numbers. This additional funding provides assurance of funding for councils and should remove this as a barrier to employing staff on permanent contracts.

3. Teacher Workforce Planning Data
Please provide any workforce planning data or reports from the last five years (2018-2023) that detail the projected demand for teaching staff across Scotland, including how this aligns with the number of probationers completing their probationary year.

Documents from the Scottish Government Teacher Workforce Planning Group are published online at the following link: https://www.gov.scot/groups/teacher-workforce-planning-advisory-group/
This includes workforce modelling papers which bring together data including that on probationers completing their probationary year and projected demand for teaching staff across Scotland from 2019 and 2020, while modelling papers from 2017, 2018 and 2021-2023 are attached to this response.

4. Impact of Workforce Planning on NQT Employment
Please provide any assessments or evaluations the Scottish Government has conducted in the last five years (2018-2023) on the impact of workforce planning on the ability of Newly Qualified Teachers to secure permanent or temporary teaching positions after their probationary year.

The March 2022 TWPAG paper, under the heading 'Post probation employment - 2022', contains an assessment related to the ability of teachers to secure teaching employment after their probation. This paper is available online at the following link: https://www.gov.scot/publications/teacher-workforceplanning-advisory-group-meeting-papers-march-2022/

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FOI 202400431365 - Information Released - Annex

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