No contracts available across the councils. Put on supply list. Only a day here and there offered on supply text but gone when you phone the number. Reapply every January through Generics, still no contracts so put back on supply list.
Scotland's teacher-led campaign
Stable work for Scotland’s teachers.
Only 23.5% of the 2024/25 induction cohort held a full-time permanent post a year on, down from 37.8% for the 2019/20 cohort. We campaign for contracts teachers can build a life around: stable, predictable, secure.
Every census figure links to its official table; every finding links to its FOI source.
Census year
2025 teacher census
Scotland, 2025 census figures
81.6%of FTE teaching posts permanent
- −0.4 pts since 2020
- Between 80.4% (2021) and 82.2% (2024)
- Temporary posts
- 6,792 FTE · 13.7% of posts
- Induction scheme (TIS)
- 2,326 FTE
- Councils mapped
- 32
- FOI requests on record
- 804 to 47 public bodies
- Source-checked findings
- 112
Compare councils and years Browse the evidence library
Hover, tap or use the arrow keys to move between councils. Coverage describes the research on record, not council performance.
Teacher census 2020 to 2025, primary and secondary FTE posts combined. Scottish Government · ONS boundaries. Island groups are shown at different scales.
In the news
- Start here How teacher employment worksProbation, supply, fixed-term and permanent posts, in plain English
- Your council What does your council say?FOI responses and census data for all 32 councils
- The public record Who said what, and whenMinisters, MSPs and councils on teacher employment, dated and sourced
01 / Our purpose
Teaching demands commitment.
Teachers need secure work.
A teacher should not have to wait for a call to know whether they can work or pay their bills. Teachers need contracts they can build a life around. We gather teachers’ accounts, research employment practices and ask decision-makers for secure jobs.
Meet the campaign6,792
temporary FTE posts in Scotland's primary and secondary schools at the 2025 census, not counting induction-scheme probationers.
▲ +954 FTE since the 2020 censusTeacher census supplementary statistics ↗15.1
points separate the council with the fewest permanent posts (Inverclyde, 73.2%) from the most (Angus, 88.3%).
Compare councils and years →10.8%
of primary probationers from the 2024/25 cohort held a full-time permanent post at the September 2025 census, against 42.5% in secondary.
Scottish Government · Table 1.6 ↗112
source-checked findings from 804 freedom of information requests to 47 public bodies.
Browse the evidence library →02 / The evidence
Qualification does not guarantee stable work.
Of the 2019/20 induction cohort, 37.8% were in a full-time permanent post at the next census. For the 2024/25 cohort it was 23.5%. Primary and secondary tell different stories: switch sector to compare.
Permanent employment is one indicator. This figure alone does not tell us how stable every teacher’s work or income is.
Compare councils and years23.5%
of the 2024/25 induction cohort across all sectors held a full-time permanent post a year on, at the next census.
▼ 14.3 points since the 2019/20 cohort
Same cohort by sector: primary 10.8% · secondary 42.5%
Full-time posts only. Part-time posts and other outcomes are in the table for screen readers and in the statistics explorer.
| Cohort | Cohort size | Full-time permanent | Part-time permanent | Full-time temporary | Part-time temporary | Other: teaching elsewhere, supply, other work or not teaching (not an unemployment count) |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2019/20 | 3,076 | 37.8% | 1.4% | 42.5% | 3.2% | 15.1% |
| 2020/21 | 3,123 | 30.9% | 1.4% | 42.0% | 6.1% | 19.6% |
| 2021/22 | 3,218 | 32.7% | 1.3% | 30.5% | 5.8% | 29.7% |
| 2022/23 | 2,892 | 28.8% | 1.5% | 33.2% | 7.2% | 29.3% |
| 2023/24 | 2,673 | 24.9% | 1.8% | 30.5% | 8.3% | 34.6% |
| 2024/25 | 2,294 | 23.5% | 1.3% | 34.2% | 10.1% | 31.0% |
Our demands
What we’re calling for
- 01
One jointly funded plan for secure teaching jobs
The Scottish Government, COSLA and councils should agree who pays for and delivers secure jobs, and report progress in public.
- 02
A fair route to permanent work for experienced teachers
Secure jobs, including permanent supply roles, should be open to teachers at every stage of their career, not only to new entrants.
- 03
Count every qualified teacher looking for work
Publish how many qualified teachers are seeking work, how much work they get and how much more they want.
- 04
A jobs guarantee that includes teachers already seeking work
The planned three-year guarantee should create extra secure posts, protect induction and treat experienced teachers fairly.
- 05
Train new teachers in line with funded jobs
Decisions on how many teachers to train should reflect funded posts, local needs and the teachers already seeking work.
03 / Teacher voices
Teachers’ experiences of insecure work
33 teachers, most on supply or fixed-term contracts, describe how insecure work affects their income, careers and lives outside school.
- 20 Casual supply
- 4 Seeking a teaching post
- 4 Fixed-term contract
- 3 Temporary
- 2 Permanent post
In their 20s to 50s and over; from newly qualified to 12+ years in teaching.
Read all 33 storiesI’ve been unemployed since my fixed term ended due to my council having a mass backlog of individuals who gained permanency through service.
I have applied to my local council in the hope of gaining permanency due to my length of service however every time I apply I am told that although I meet the criteria there are no positions available.
There is a huge turnover of temporary staff, despite this being detrimental to the children who find it unsettling.
I attended the Strathclyde open day in 2019 where I was told teachers were “guaranteed work” as they were “crying out for Primary teachers”.
Feedback from interview panel, (which included my own head teacher), was that I did not use enough jargon and did not have enough experience.
After all this dedication I was dropped without warning when supply money ran out.
After completing the undergraduate and then going onto my probation year, I was filled with hope that I would soon have my own class and be part of a school community.
04 / What councils told us
What councils told us under FOI
Three of 112 source-checked findings from 804 freedom of information requests. Each card opens the council’s own response.
3,320unsuccessful applications for teaching interviews in 2023/24 (3,421 the year before)
Unsuccessful teaching interviews
Unsuccessful interview applications: 2021/22: 2970, 2022/23: 3421, 2023/24: 3320
Context and source
Archived dashboard status (April 2026): Successful; response says figures cover all listed teaching post categories.
Archived document 4997e842 (TXT) · line 29
Reviewed 2026-09-07
32teachers gained permanency through accrued service in 2023/24, down from 38
Teacher permanency through accrual
Teachers achieving permanency: 2021/2022: 25, 2022/2023: 38, 2023/2024: 32
Context and source
Archived dashboard status (April 2026): Successful; no inference is made about teachers outside the reported process.
Archived document 1b682171 (TXT) · line 22
Reviewed 2026-09-07
8–14supply teachers covering classes each day in census week, September 2024
Census-week supply deployment
The council recorded 8, 14, 12, 12 and 10 supply teachers deployed Monday to Friday during 9–13 September 2024.
Context and source
Successful response; counts are authority-specific.
Archived document 12cfef44 (TXT) · line 6
Reviewed 2026-09-07
FOI investigation · Scottish Government · 10 December 2024
Inside the teacher-numbers agreement
A government letter obtained under freedom of information set out potential exceptional circumstances for teacher numbers. Tes reported the campaign’s findings on 27 January 2025.
05 / Campaign milestones
From teachers’ accounts to Parliament
10 media reports, 2 mentions in the Scottish Parliament and a ministerial statement between September 2024 and August 2025.
06 / Your next step
What can you do today?
Pick the description that fits you. Three things you can do right now, with the time each takes.
On supply, fixed-term, probation or permanent: your experience is the strongest evidence we have. Pick something that fits the time you have.