Teaching scheme to be scrutinised

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The education minister has ordered a review of the chartered teaching scheme aimed at modernising the profession.

MSPs, who have been conducting a review of the McCrone agreement on teaching, said it was difficult to tell if the scheme had delivered value for money.

The scheme offers higher pay, a more flexible way of working and the chance to take up extra training.

Hugh Henry called for a review after concerns were raised about how its impact was being measured.

Holyrood's audit committee also highlighted poor take-up of the scheme.

Introduced as part of the 2001 agreement, it aims to encourage good teachers to stay in the classroom on a salary of £38,000 and not seek better pay in a promoted post.

The main objective must remain to keep our best teachers in the classroom and to recognise their contribution Charlie GrayCosla spokesman

Committee convener Brian Monteith told BBC Radio Scotland's Good Morning Scotland programme: "We are happy with the teachers' agreement that came out of the McCrone report in as much as it has clearly improved working relationships in the classroom.

"What we're saying is that this was more than just a pay deal, this was about the modernisation of teaching in the schools and we expected to be able to put, with the £2bn that's been invested in it, some measure of output, some way of seeing what improvements had happened in the classroom with that investment."

The independent MSP said the committee would await a report from HM inspectors later this month and would be asking the auditor general about further work on "benchmarks" which could be introduced to rectify the situation.

Mr Henry, who succeeded Peter Peacock as minister last month, said the McCrone agreement was delivering improvements in education.

Hugh Henry said the McCrone deal had delivered improvements

"We now see a transformed teaching profession in the last few years, " he said.

One the issue of the low take-up of the chartered teaching scheme, Mr Henry told BBC Radio Scotland: "I'm pleased that the audit committee has identified that as an issue.

"I concluded that it was right to review the chartered teaching scheme, not to abandon it, but is it attracting the right people?

"We need to look at how many we're attracting in, I need to look at whether they're coming in for the right reasons.

"Is it doing what it was intended to achieve, I want that reviewed, I will have a look at it and I will be discussing it with stakeholders in the coming weeks."

The Educational Institute of Scotland teaching union said it would welcome improvements to the scheme.

However, a spokesman warned: "Any move to dilute the chartered teacher scheme - by introducing any sort of quota on CT numbers or by moving to a situation where local authorities, rather than teachers themselves, determine the career paths for experienced teachers - would be absolutely counter to the spirit of the 21st Century teaching agreement."

Charlie Gray, education spokesman with the Convention of Scottish Local Authorities, said: "The main objective must remain to keep our best teachers in the classroom and to recognise their contribution, but we must also try and attract more people of this calibre and use their skills effectively to improve both learning and teaching."