Student teachers ‘must feel confident and supported as they enter classroom’

An inquiry is to be held into whether student teachers are sufficiently prepared and confident to enter the profession.

MSPs on Holyrood’s Education and Skills Committee will explore whether students are leaving teacher education with the necessary skills to handle the challenges of the classroom.

The announcement of an inquiry follows the publication of a report in 2017 by the committee into the teacher workforce in Scotland.

It found there was “no baseline standard” for literary and numeracy in teacher education, as well as highlighting “patchy and inconsistent” student placements.

Speaking as the inquiry launched, committee convener Clare Adamson said MSPs hope to look more closely at whether changes have been implemented since the 2017 report.

“Teachers are at the heart of our education system and it is so important that our student teachers feel confident and supported as they enter the classroom,” she said.

“What this committee heard in 2017 was that there was work to be done at a national level, by the Scottish Government and the GTCS (General Teaching Council for Scotland), education authorities and initial teacher education providers.

“For some, the training on the work placements or the probation experiences they received did not sufficiently prepare them for the challenges they would face on a daily basis.”

Ms Adamson added: “We called for a closer look at course content, for example, in relation to online safety for pupils and supporting those with additional support needs.

“We also called for better provision of work placements. Now we want to find out whether changes were made.

“We want to hold the bodies to account to make sure that the learning experience, be it the theory or in practice in schools, being given to our future teachers meets the needs of Scotland’s education system.”