Scottish Church turns to Ireland for way out of teacher crisis

A number of teachers from Ireland are to be offered retraining in the Scottish curriculum and posts in Scottish Catholic schools, in a new initiative aimed at addressing the current acute shortage of staff, writes Brian Morton.

The scheme has been organised by the University of Glasgow and funded by the Scottish Government. A first group of 15 teachers will this year start working in Scottish Catholic schools, with a day-release arrangement allowing them to study for a Master’s degree.

Moyra Boland, deputy head of the University of Glasgow School of Education, pointed out that while teacher training numbers in Scotland are limited by quota, there is no such restriction in Ireland, leading to a surplus of trained teachers.

Archbishop Philip Tartaglia of Glasgow last year identified a looming crisis in Catholic teaching in Scotland, leading to a new arrangement whereby Catholic teaching certificates could also be offered at Edinburgh and Strathclyde universities.

More than 100 such certificates are currently being pursued at Edinburgh and Strathclyde. The initiative has been welcomed by the Scottish Catholic Education Service.