Professional Registration
Professional registration allows fully registered teachers to gain registration in another subject area or sector.
A number of changes were made to our registration rules for Professional Registration as of 1 January 2016. More information regarding the changes can be found within our Useful Links section.
Professional registration is available to primary and secondary teachers. It allows teachers who hold full registration to add additional subjects/ sectors to their current registration.
In order to achieve or gain full or provisional registration in the additional subject/sector, applicants for Professional Registration need to meet the following criteria:
- Hold full registration
- Have met the academic and/ or professional learning requirement required for registration in the additional subject/sector in which Professional Registration in sought
- Have completed appropriate foreign residency (Modern Foreign Languages only). Information about the foreign residency requirement can be found in our Downloads section. We have accredited a Languages for Education Europe (LFEE) immersion course which is specifically designed to meet the three month residence requirement for a second/subsequent modern foreign language in an intensive three week block - information can be found on the LFEE website - . Important - if you have not yet completed the foreign residency but have completed the CCEd at the University of Strathclyde or the Graduate Diploma in Modern Languages at the University of Dundee the LFEE programme is available and acceptable for meeting residence requirements.
Applicants for Professional Registration in a Secondary Education Subject area, who hold full registration but do not fully meet the other criteria, may still be considered for Provisional (Conditional) Registration in the subject area. Please see our Provisional (Conditional) Registration information page for further .
Routes to Professional Registration
Information on what is required for Professional Registration can be found below:
For Primary teachers
If you are a fully registered primary teacher you can gain professional registration:
For Secondary teachers
If you are a fully registered secondary teacher you can gain professional registration:
Your Right to Review
If we award you registration but not to the extent you wished you have the right to ask for the decision to be reviewed by a Registration Panel. Further information can be found under Right to Review for Applicants for Registration.
Useful Links
For primary teachers wishing to teach in S1/S2
To become registered to teach in S1 or S2 you will need to demonstrate that you have the necessary academic requirements and have undertaken CPD activities to develop your professional knowledge and skills in the subject at S1/S2 level.
What subjects can I teach in S1/S2
As long as you meet the appropriate academic requirements you can gain registration in:
- S1/S2 Community Languages (applicants must also have a degree equivalent to a degree from the UK along with study of their native tongue up to "A" level or equivalent)
- S1/S2 English (in addition applicants must have a degree with at least 60 credit points in English, 30 of these in English or Scottish literature)
- General science
- S1/S2 Mathematics (applicants must also have a degree with at least 60 credit points in Mathematics covering pure mathematics, calculus and algebra>
- S1/S2 Modern Foreign Languages (applicants should have more than one language and for the first foreign language they should have a degree with at least 60 credit point in the language they want to teach, some of which must include literature)
- Social subjects
Academic requirements
The academic requirements for a primary teacher to teach a particular S1/S2 subject are, 60 credit points, at least 40 of which must be SCQF level 7 (equivalent to first year of a degree course) and at least 20 credit point at SCQF level 8 (equivalent to the second year of a degree course.
For primary teachers wanting to gain registration in a secondary subject
To gain registration as a secondary teacher, eligible primary teachers are required to demonstrate that they have the necessary academic requirements and have undertaken an agreed Professional Learning (PL) programme to develop their professional knowledge and skills of teaching in the secondary sector, before being recommended for registration by a Head Teacher or other GTCS approved individual. This individual should be in a relevant context, i.e. a secondary school.
What Subjects can I teach
View the full list of subjects that you can gain registration in.
Academic requirements
The academic requirements for a primary teacher to teach a secondary subject are:
- 80 SCQF credit points in the secondary subject – some subjects have specific requirements
- at least 40 credit points must be SCQF level 7
- at least 40 credit points must be SCQF level 8
Professional Learning programme
If you are a primary teacher applying for registration in the secondary sector you are required to complete an agreed PL programme that enables you to teach the subject in which registration is being sought in secondary schools.
This PL is not organised by GTCS, but should be organised/ accessed by you (in conjunction with your employing authority if appropriate). You should first find an appropriate Supporter at a secondary school (Head Teacher or other GTCS approved individual). You should meet with your Supporter to discuss your knowledge and understanding of the teaching of your chosen subject and pedagogical practices across the secondary school. We recommend that you use the Standard for Provisional Registration as the basis for this discussion, mapping your experience and knowledge against this (with specific reference to teaching the subject in which registration is being sought).
As part of this discussion you should agree with your Supporter what Professional Learning (including formal PL courses where available) you will require to complete in order to obtain the knowledge and understanding required in order to be ready for recommendation for provisional registration in your chosen subject n Secondary Education (this is what we mean by 'an agreed PL programme'). Generally speaking, once you have completed the Professional Learning agreed in your PL plan, you will be expected to be able to demonstrate that you have knowledge and understanding of teaching your chosen subject across the secondary age range. It may be necessary for this plan to be agreed with your employing authority (particularly if you are currently in full-time employment in a primary school).
To support this planned learning, you should maintain a reflective record of this and related evidence. This might include evidence of completion of, or engagement in, planned PL (such as certificates) as well as evidence of the impact of this PL on you and your practice, as appropriate. Information about PL and evidence of impact can be found at the links below. We recommend setting up a PL record on your MyGTCS account.
After completion of the PL agreed in the plan, and once your Supporter is ready to make a recommendation for provisional registration, you can then submit an application for Professional Registration.
Useful Links
For secondary teachers wanting to register as a primary teacher
To gain registration as a primary teacher, eligible secondary teachers are required to be recommended for registration by an appropriate Supporter (a Head Teacher or other GTCS approved individual) after they have completed an agreed Professional Learning (PL) programme that enables them to teach the nursery/ primary curriculum. Their Supporter must be based in a relevant context – i.e. a nursery/ primary school.
Professional Learning programme
As per above, a secondary teacher applying for registration in the primary sector is required to demonstrate that they have undertaken an agreed PL programme that enables them to teach the nursery/ primary curriculum.
This PL is not organised by GTCS, but should be organised/ accessed by you (in conjunction with your employing authority if appropriate). You should first find an appropriate Supporter (Head Teacher or other GTCS approved individual). For teachers who are currently employed at a secondary school this would usually be the Head Teacher of one of the 'feeder' primaries for that secondary school. You should also meet with your Supporter to discuss your knowledge and understanding of the nursery/primary curriculum and pedagogical practices across the primary school. We recommend that you use the Standard for Provisional Registration as the basis for this discussion, mapping your experience and knowledge against this (with specific reference to Primary Education. A useful check list can be downloaded below:
To support this planned learning, you should maintain a reflective record of this and related evidence. This might include evidence of completion of, or engagement in, planned PL (such as certificates) as well as evidence of the impact of this PL on yourself and your practice, as appropriate. Information about PL and evidence of impact can be found at the links below. We would recommend setting up a PL record on your MyGTCS account.
After completion of the PL agreed in the plan, and once your supporter is ready to make a recommendation for provisional registration, you can then submit an application for Professional Registration.
Alternatively, the University of Aberdeen offers a distance learning course for fully registered secondary teachers which leads to registration in Primary Education. Information about this course appears on their website .
After completion of the above course, you will be required to submit an application to GTCS for Professional Registration.
Useful Links
CONTACTS
For more information, please contact:
T: +44 (0)131 314 6000
E: registration@gtcs.org.uk