Flexible Route advice for Headteachers and Senior Leaders

From 1 August 2023, the Flexible Route is changing.

This will mean changes to the requirements for both new and existing provisionally registered teachers and for teachers who are adding a subject or sector to their existing GTC Scotland registration. Advice for them, and the headteachers and senior leaders who support them, is available below.

Finalised arrangements for the implementation of the policy will be published here in due course.

Read the Refreshed Provisional Registration and Probationer Service policy

Advice for Headteachers and Senior Leaders

Has my role as a headteacher with Full Registration with GTC Scotland changed?

Your role as a headteacher with Full Registration with GTC Scotland continues to be fundamental in:

• ensuring that colleagues attaining Full Registration with GTC Scotland have met the Standard for Full Registration; and  
• endorsing their registration.  

What has changed, is that this now extends to all applicants for Full Registration, including those who:

• Qualified Outside Scotland and/or  
• are completing their probationary service outside Scotland.

Does the minimum requirement of 190 days teaching practice apply to all prospective applicants for Full Registration?

Yes. All applicants for Full Registration need to demonstrate that they have a minimum of 190 days satisfactory teaching practice. At least 55% of their teacher practice must be undertaken in their qualifying subject and/or sector. In other words, 105 days. A maximum of 45% of their probation service can be completed in any other category, for example, Additional Support Needs.  

This now applies to teachers with Provisional Registration who are completing their registration through the Flexible Route (reduced from 270 days).  

This also applies to teachers with Provisional Registration who have Qualified Outside of Scotland.

How long do teachers with Provisional Registration have to meet with requirements for Full Registration?

From 1 August 2023, teachers with Provisional Registration have a maximum of 3 years to demonstrate they have met the requirements for Full Registration.

Teachers with Provisional Registration who started the process before this date will have up to 5 years since the date of their Provisional Registration (as per the previous practice) to do so.

How can we be assured that teachers with Provisional Registration have attained the Standard for Full Registration?

You should undertake a minimum of 9 formal professional teaching practice observations. At least 5 of these must be observations of the provisionally registered teacher teaching their qualifying subject or sector.

This will provide sufficient evidence that a provisionally registered teacher has met the Standard for Full Registration.

These observations must be adequately spaced to facilitate effective professional learning and allow for any required development of teaching practice.

For those provisionally registered teachers qualified outside of Scotland, or who have completed probationary service outside Scotland, at least one formal professional teaching practice observation should be undertaken.

Observed teaching feedback template

How do I provide my professional recommendation as a headteacher with Full Registration with GTC Scotland of a teacher with Provisional Registration?

You need to sign a declaration in the teacher’s Flexible Route Profile. This will either be through an online profile or a document-based profile.

If you are happy to recommend them, you will complete the declaration that you are satisfied that the prospective entrant into Full Registration with GTC Scotland has attained and evidenced the necessary requirements and Standard for Full Registration in their subject and or sector.