THE General Teaching Council for Scotland has the important job of maintaining the standards of training required to be a teacher, but these are challenging times for the profession. Most councils do not have the teachers they need and the GTCS has proposed relaxing its entry requirements and allowing those who have proven experience and the academic credentials to be registered in Scotland without necessarily having the appropriate level of teaching qualification.

However, the move has not gone down well with the unions. The Scottish Secondary Teachers’ Association is concerned giving full registration in these circumstances could be the start of deregulation. The EIS also says it has concerns about any dilution of standards.

To some extent, the concerns are understandable given the standards laid down by the GTCS have helped build an impressive cohort of teachers in Scotland. However, in the face of a serious shortage of staff in the classroom, the GTCS is right to look again at its rules and procedures.

In fact, the organisation has been playing catch-up on the issue after losing a 2014 court case concerning a science teacher from England who was prevented from working in Scotland because he did not have a degree. He successfully argued that his professional qualifications were the equivalent of a degree and, faced with the ruling and teacher shortages, the GTCS has decided to look again at its whole attitude to regulation of the profession.

What the new approach must never mean is a relaxation of the standards required of teachers, but a strict interpretation of the rules had not been serving Scotland well. The unions say they are concerned the new procedures are the start of a slippery slope towards deregulation, but what the changes are really about is sending a signal that teachers are welcome to come to Scotland. They will still need the necessary experience, but a more nuanced approach from the GTCS has the potential to help address the teacher shortage, which is good for teachers, pupils and Scotland as a whole as long as the required academic standards are maintained.