Anonymous survey answerSurvey Nº 164

People have given up careers to retrain as teachers. Then after probation year we are left hanging with no idea what’s going on.

Career changers left hanging after probation

Published 5 October 2026 · 1 min read

Employment situation: Temporary part-time, wants more hours
Sector: Primary

People have given up careers to retrain as teachers. Then after probation year we are left hanging with no idea what’s going on. Councils all have different policies and timelines regarding a permanent role. Then teachers are placed in roles, without having a choice of school or role. Pressured into ASN roles, for example.

This is answer 164 of the 269 written answers that teachers let us quote anonymously in the Scottish Teacher Employment Survey 2026. It answers the survey’s last question: what do the people who make decisions about teacher employment need to know?

We have corrected spelling, added paragraph breaks and removed details that could identify anyone. Words in square brackets are ours.

Every answer in the report (PDF) Survey results

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