Who can be employed to teach in Scottish schools and colleges

Employees must be registered with GTC Scotland

It is law in Scotland to employ only GTC Scotland registered teachers as teachers in Scotland’s schools. This employment must align with the teacher's GTC Scotland registration category. 

The integrity of the Register and the application of it in this way is essential in assuring the public that only those with suitable qualifications are allowed to teach in our schools.

College lecturers must also register with GTC Scotland.

Registration is eligibility for employment

GTC Scotland registration is about ensuring that teachers have the character to teach and are suitably qualified to teach. A teaching qualification is the foundation for registration and ensures teachers have the right knowledge, understanding, skills and abilities. This is an essential part of ensuring and maintaining a trusted teaching profession. Registration with GTC Scotland is fundamental to what it means to be a teacher in Scotland.

To be awarded registration, an individual must have a relevant teaching qualification, an academic qualification and have met either the Standard for Provisional Registration or the Standard for Full Registration.  

Teachers who successfully apply for registration with us will be awarded either Provisional or Full Registration.  

Achieving registration with us makes an individual eligible to be employed as a teacher in Scotland’s schools. 

Learn more about gaining registration

GTC Scotland’s Registration and Standards Rules 2015 set out the requirements for registration. In summary these set out that:

1. Teaching is a profession in Scotland
2. A teaching qualification is the foundation for registration with GTC Scotland
3. Standards in teaching must be maintained
4. Integrity of the Register is critical
5. The Register needs to work for the different settings teachers work in
6. Registration informs employment

Registration informs employment

Our Registration Rules presentation is a detailed commentary about GTC Scotland registration. It focuses on our registration function and discusses who GTC Scotland is, what we do and why we do it.  Watch the presentation.