Feedback on registration fee increase: findings and themes

Survey analysis

Respondent profile

The majority (98%) of respondents were registrants. We received 22 responses from employers of teachers and 2 responses from registrant representatives. Fourteen respondents chose ‘Other’, although they all stated that they were either a teacher or college lecturer.

In December, there were 81,086 individuals on the Register, which means that (assuming registrants only responded once) around 3% of registrants responded to this survey.

Most registrant respondents have been registered with GTC Scotland for 10 to 20 years.

Chart 1: How long have you been registered with GTC Scotland?

Bar chart showing: Less than 1 year = 35, 1 to 2 years = 81, 2 to 5 years = 268, 5 to 10 years = 522, 10 to 20 years = 810, 20 to 30 years = 357, More than 30 years = 119

Most respondents are employed by a local authority school. As around 79% of registrants have a Scottish local authority as their employer, this majority is not surprising.

4% of responses to this survey were from supply teachers while 0.3% of registrants have marked their employment as ‘Supply’ on the Register.

In our analysis of themes you will see that job insecurity was something that was mentioned.

Chart 2: Is the majority of your current employment as a registered teacher in:

Bar chart showing: Local authority school = 1885, Supply = 95, Independent school = 49, Local authority (other) = 41, Currently not working (seeking employment) = 40, Other = 38, Further education college = 25, Retired = 12, Currently not working (by choice) = 7

Multiple choice answers

There were 5 multiple-choice questions in the survey.

The first multiple-choice question asked: to what extent do you agree that the planned fee increases are reasonable?

Most respondents (96%) disagreed that a planned fee increase was reasonable.

Chart 3: To what extent do you agree that the planned fee increases are reasonable?

Pie chart showing: Agree completely = 15, Agree somewhat = 59, Neither agree nor disagree = 23, Disagree somewhat = 306, Disagree completely = 1826

The second multiple-choice question asked: given the reasons we have set out, to what extent do you agree or disagree with the incremental approach we are taking to increasing the fee?

The majority of respondents (84%) disagreed with the incremental approach we set out.

Chart 4: To what extent do you agree or disagree with the incremental approach we are taking to increasing the fee?

The third multiple-choice question asked for views on alternative methods for collecting the annual registration fee and if collection of fees from the individual was preferred.

The majority (60%) prefer to have their fee taken from their pay directly by their employer. Just over one-fifth (21%) said they would like to pay it directly to GTC Scotland.

Chart 5: Views on alternative methods for collecting the annual registration fee: Would you prefer if fees were collected directly from you as an individual?

Pie chart showing: Yes - I would prefer to pay my fee directly = 252, No - I would prefer my employer removes the fee directly from my pay packet = 1,300, Don't know = 462, Already pay my fee directly = 162

The fourth multiple-choice question also asked for views on different methods of fee collection and if we should consider monthly direct debits directly from individuals.

Just over half of respondents (55%) think we should consider other methods of collection.

A quarter (25%) answered ‘no’ to this question. From the comments associated with this question, we can see that many respondents feel this would add additional cost.

Chart 6: Views on alternative methods for collecting the annual registration fee: Do you think we should consider monthly direct debits directly from individuals?

Pie chart showing: Yes = 1202, Don't know = 1202, No = 562

The fifth multiple-choice question asked for views on differential payments. For example, fully registered teachers paying more than provisionally registered teachers.

Chart 7: The annual registration fee is the same for all registrants. Do you think we should explore differential payments?

Pie chart showing: Yes = 811, No = 1163, Don't know = 245

Around half of respondents (52%) answered ‘no’ to this question. Most people commented that all teachers should pay the same, regardless of time in the profession.