The number of places on primary teacher education programmes is to be cut in 2025-26, while places on secondary programmes will be maintained at the same level as 2024-25.
The move to cut places has come in response to the number of primary teachers unable to find stable jobs. The annual workforce planning exercise carried out by Scottish government statisticians estimated that about 1,000 too many primary teachers had been trained since 2016-17, with most of the surplus “accumulated in recent years”.
show that places on the postgraduate route will be cut by 220 as universities aim to fill 735 places in 2025-26, down from 955 in 2024-25.
Meanwhile, places available on primary undergraduate and combined courses will rise to 826 places in 2025-26, compared with 779 in 2024-25.
Overall fall in primary student teachers
Overall, therefore, the number of primary student teachers to be recruited in 2025-26 is 1,561, down from 1,734 in 2024-25 - a fall of 173 places.
Meanwhile, the universities will continue to have 336 undergraduate and combined places available for secondary student teachers, as well as 2,000 places available on the secondary PGDE postgraduate route.
For the past two years, only about half of the places on secondary PGDE courses have been filled. Recently published figures showed that in 2024-25, of the 2,000 places available, just 1,062 - or 53 per cent - were filled.
The SFC announcement says that “universities have historically found it challenging to achieve target intakes in some subjects”.
It explains that the SFC and the Scottish government “remain open to continued work with universities to develop alternative routes into subjects which have traditionally been difficult to recruit to”.
‘Challenges likely to remain’
The announcement adds, however, that “challenges are likely to remain”.
The SFC says it is “vital that universities continue to be proactive in the promotion of teaching as a career choice for undergraduate students, both in their own institutions and in other universities that do not offer teaching provision”.
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