Teacher workforce plan
Plan recruitment around subject shortages and underemployment.
The RecordTeacher employment in ScotlandManifestos · Coverage · Statistics
Manifestos, coverage and statistics since 2008
Who promisedwhat onteacher jobs.
Party manifestos, news coverage, parliamentary records and official statistics on teacher employment in Scotland, each linked to its original source.
- Source records
- 345
- Reports & statements
- 320
- Manifesto extracts
- 25
- Years covered
- 19
Manifesto review in progress. Selected source extracts; campaign approval is still pending. This is not a complete policy audit or an assessment of delivery.
Timeline
Every source, by date
Each dot is a dated source, placed by publication date and type. Colours show the parties it names. Drag or scroll to move along, use the arrow keys to step between sources, and select one to read it.
2008–11
2012–17
2018–23
2024–26
Entries dated only to a year sit at mid-year. Position shows when a source was published, not when an outcome happened. Selecting a year filters the explorer below.
Issues
Browse by issue
Three topics, each with manifesto wording, coverage and statistics.
01
Issue
Temporary and permanent contracts
Manifesto commitments on secure work, reporting on temporary contracts, and figures on permanent posts.
Chapter 1 of 3Promises / 8 records in this collection
What the manifestos say
The recorded manifesto wording, including who is covered, any conditions and any deadline.
Convert temporary contracts
Ringfence council funding to move temporary teachers into permanent full-time posts.
Supply register and service
Create one supply application list and count work through it toward continuous service.
People
Who’s in the record
Ministers, MSPs and others named in the coverage. Select a name to see every source that mentions them.
Also named in the coverage
Portraits and party affiliations from the Scottish Parliament, used under its Copyright Licence, unless a profile credits another source. Party is shown for current MSPs only. A mention does not imply authorship of every statement in a source.
2026 manifestos
What each party’s manifesto says
Search
Search the record
Search by name, wording or topic. Each result links to its original source.
By year
Councils & COSLA 33 of 33 with entries
The HeraldNewly qualified teachers unlikely to find permanent work
Official post-probationer data showed only 24% of the 2024/25 cohort found permanent work in their first year, down from 58% in 2016/17; only three councils now hire more NQTs permanently than temporarily.
The Scotsman
SNP three year teacher guarantee 'could increase insecurity for experienced staff'
Experienced temporary teachers began lobbying MSPs over fears the SNP's pledged three-year guaranteed placement for new teachers (the Teacher Jobs Guarantee) would squeeze their route to permanent posts; FOI papers show ministers still considering it.
The HeraldGlasgow City Council demands £44k from parents group
Glasgow City Council is pursuing the Glasgow City Parents Group for over £40,000 in costs after its failed judicial review of the now-abandoned plan to cut about 450 teaching posts. The piece recaps FOI emails on softening budget wording around teacher reductions.
Glasgow
SSTATeacher Shortages Stem from Workforce Planning Failures and Deteriorating Working Conditions
SSTA blames specialist secondary shortages on years of poor workforce planning and worsening conditions, and highlights continued use of temporary and short-term contracts affecting newly qualified teachers.
EISEIS AGM 2026 General Secretary address (Andrea Bradley)
Andrea Bradley tells the 2026 AGM the workload deal will cut class contact and create jobs, with an extra £40 million to get more teachers into schools and begin tackling the precarity that has affected the profession for years.
The Ferret
Claim SNP government only increased teacher numbers by 75 is Mostly True
Ferret Fact Service rated Meghan Gallacher's claim Mostly True: FTE teachers rose only 75 between 2020 and 2025 (53,400 to 53,475) against a 3,500 pledge, and an estimated 939 surplus primary teachers were not working by 2022-23.
The Scotsman
'Broken promises': 9 in 10 newly qualified primary teachers do not have full-time permanent jobs
Official data showed post-induction primary teachers in full-time permanent jobs fell from 41.1% (2018/19) to 10.8% (2024/25); secondary fell from 57.9% to 42.5%. The Lib Dems and NASUWT criticised workforce planning.
Inverness CourierInverness Royal Academy among Highland schools with highest teaching vacancies
A council answer to Cllr Alasdair Christie showed 57 unfilled teaching vacancies across Highland, with pressure in STEM, English and primary cover; council leader Raymond Bremner expected the primary picture to improve.
Highland
GTC ScotlandGTC Scotland publishes report on future vision for teacher induction
GTCS published 'Reimagining Teacher Education in Scotland: Teacher Induction', feeding into the government's review of the Teacher Induction Scheme, with five recommendations including reaffirming the true purpose of induction and aligning funding.
TesSingle national approach to teacher induction essential, says GTCS
The GTCS said the Teacher Induction Scheme had drifted towards probationers filling vacancies rather than development, and called for one national induction model. 4,372 provisionally registered teachers on 11 March 2026: 2,258 on TIS, 2,114 on the flexible route.
EISAgreement on Teacher Workload Dispute Reached - All Industrial Action Suspended
EIS suspends industrial action after the Scottish Government, COSLA and EIS agree the promised 90-minute cut in weekly class contact time, which the union says will create jobs for newly and recently qualified teachers seeking secure work.
COSLAScottish Government
Landmark deal for teachers
Deal with the EIS, ratified by COSLA, phases in a 90-minute cut in class contact time from August 2027, with £40m in 2026-27 to recruit the additional teachers needed and later funding modelled jointly with COSLA.
COSLAManifesto wording, reported claims and official statistics are different kinds of evidence. Dates are shown only at the precision recorded. Related topics do not establish causation.
Official school census
From 13% to 57%
and back to 23%.
Share of each Teacher Induction Scheme cohort in a full-time permanent post in a publicly funded Scottish school the following September.
2025
23%What was said in 2025
2024/25 cohort · September 2025
The latest census point: 23% full-time permanent, down from a high of 57%.
Use the slider or select a year. These figures describe posts at the census date, not everyone’s contract or employment history.
Source for 2025 ↗View the figures and sources
| Census year | Induction cohort | Full-time permanent | Source |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2008 | 2007/08 | 25% | 2008 statistics ↗ |
| 2009 | 2008/09 | 17% | 2009 statistics ↗ |
| 2010 | 2009/10 | 13% | 2010 statistics ↗ |
| 2011 | 2010/11 | 16% | 2011 statistics ↗ |
| 2012 | 2011/12 | 28% | 2012 statistics ↗ |
| 2013 | 2012/13 | 35% | 2013 statistics ↗ |
| 2014 | 2013/14 | 39% | 2014 statistics ↗ |
| 2015 | 2014/15 | 45% | 2015 statistics ↗ |
| 2016 | 2015/16 | 55% | 2016 statistics ↗ |
| 2017 | 2016/17 | 57% | 2017 statistics ↗ |
| 2018 | 2017/18 | 55% | 2018 statistics ↗ |
| 2019 | 2018/19 | 48% | 2019 statistics ↗ |
| 2020 | 2019/20 | 38% | 2020 statistics ↗ |
| 2021 | 2020/21 | 31% | 2021 statistics ↗ |
| 2022 | 2021/22 | 33% | 2022 statistics ↗ |
| 2023 | 2022/23 | 29% | 2023 statistics ↗ |
| 2024 | 2023/24 | 25% | 2024 statistics ↗ |
| 2025 | 2024/25 | 23% | 2025 statistics ↗ |
Explore the full employment statistics See this chart in context with teaching posts, council comparisons and retention measures.
These figures describe employment after induction. They are not a score for a party or evidence that a particular statement caused an outcome.
How to read this collection
Manifesto wording, reported claims and measured outcomes are different kinds of evidence. Source checks show the date recorded in the data, not a live verification. Manifesto source checking is AI-assisted, not campaign approval or a delivery assessment.
Coverage is curated, not exhaustive. Predecessor campaigns remain separate from STfP. No matching entry does not establish that no statement or policy exists. Original wording, conditions and source inconsistencies remain available in every record.