Teaching Scotland’s Future (TSF) was published in 2010 and is designed to significantly improve the quality of the teaching profession by attracting, retaining and continuously training high-quality individuals who will be able to implement Curriculum for Excellence at all levels of teaching and school leadership.

All who wish to teach in publicly funded early learning and childcare, primary, secondary and special schools are required to hold a Teaching Qualification (TQ) in order to be registered with the General Teaching Council for Scotland (GTCS). Registration is required before a teacher can be employed by a local authority in Scotland.

Scotland already had many of the key elements of a successful education workforce, such as an independent regulatory body (the GTCS), a degree-qualified (or equivalent) profession, framework of Professional Standards, structured induction for newly qualified teachers and contractual entitlement to professional development. However, since Teaching Scotland's Future was published, many of these building blocks have been further enhanced. Key changes to teacher education in Scotland since 2011 include:

• Revised suite of Professional Standards underpinned by the core values of social justice, integrity, trust and respect, and professional commitment
• August 2014 introduction of Professional Update
• Establishment of the Scottish College for Educational Leadership
• Establishment of the Framework for Educational Leadership
• Revised national guidance on Professional Review and Development
  PDF file: Professional Review and Development (1.36 MB)
• holding the GTCS Standard for Headship became a prerequisite for teachers taking up their first permanent headteacher post at local authority and grant-aided schools in Scotland from August 2020.

Related links

General Teaching Council for Scotland

College Development Network