23-24/93

I write with reference to your request for information (FOI 23-24 / 93) dated 15 February 2024 which we have handled under the Freedom of Information (Scotland) Act (FOISA).

You asked various queries for information on Gaelic Medium Education (GME) in Scotland. By way of explanation, please note that our statutory role requires us to advise and make recommendations to Scottish Ministers about matters relating to the supply of teachers. As part of this role, we participate in the Scottish Government’s Teacher Workforce Planning Advisory Group. As the independent registration and regulation body for the teaching profession in Scotland, we are able to provide insights to this Group from the data we gather through our statutory functions to keep a register of teachers and to establish, maintain and improve teachers’ professional standards.

Responsibility for setting targets for teacher numbers, including targets for GME, sits with the Scottish Government, with responsibility for the National Gaelic Language Plan sitting with Bòrd na Gàidhlig. For more information, please see our response to the Scottish Government’s call for views on a Scottish Languages Bill.

Our Strategic Plan 2023-2028: Trusted Teaching sets out the focus of our change and improvement work over the next five years. In essence, delivering our core functions of registration and regulation well.

For context, please note that a teacher’s ability to deliver lessons fluently in Gaelic is self-declared information collected as part of the application for registration. The data we hold has been collected since the introduction of the Teacher Induction Scheme (TIS) in 2002 for all such applications, whether they intended to participate in the TIS or follow the Flexible Route path to achieve Full Registration. Since 2020, this information has only been collected for those who intended to participate in the TIS and, therefore, the data may not reflect the complete number of Registrants who are able to deliver lessons fluently in Gaelic.

As part of your request, you submitted specific queries regarding the number of primary education Registrants on the Register of Teachers declaring GME. Please note that where I refer to Registrants in this response that this refers to individuals who hold registration in the Primary Registration Category and have self-declared their ability to deliver lessons fluently in Gaelic. Please see our response to each of your queries below.

Firstly, you asked “how many primary-level GME teachers” are registered at present. From data extracted on 26 February 2024, a total of 264 Registrants who hold registration in Primary, indicated that they could deliver lessons fluently in Gaelic as part of their application for registration.

Secondly, you asked “how many primary-level GME teachers have left the profession/register” in the past year. We are unable to confirm how many have left the profession as this is not information we hold, however, fewer than 5 Registrants who held registration in Primary and indicated that they could deliver lessons fluently in Gaelic as part of their application for registration, left the Register in the 12 months prior to 26 February 2024.

You will see that I have not provided the exact number as it is fewer than five. This is because disclosing these low numbers could enable individuals to be identified. This would breach the data protection principles set out in data protection legislation. FOISA does not require us to provide this sort of information as it is exempt under section 38(1)(b).

Thirdly, you asked “how many have left since 2020/21?” Between 1 July 2020 and 26 February 2024, a total of 11 Registrants who held registration in Primary and indicated that they could deliver lessons fluently in Gaelic as part of their application for registration, left the Register.

I hope this information is helpful. If you are dissatisfied with this response, you may contact informationgovernance@gtcs.org.uk to request GTC Scotland conduct a review of this decision. You should describe the original request and explain your grounds of review. You have 40 working days from receipt of this decision to submit a review request. When the review process has been completed, if you are still dissatisfied, you may use the Scottish Information Commissioner`s guidance on making an appeal to make an appeal to the Commissioner.