Teaching

Our schools consistently perform above the national average for pupil attainment and receive positive inspection reports. We have invested heavily in new school buildings and facilities in recent years.

The area has one of the fastest growing school age populations in Scotland with 100 new primary places needed per annum. We currently have 69 Primary Schools and 4 Through Schools (Nursery, Primary & Secondary) and 1 Additional Support Needs School. Our school rolls range from our smallest primary school with 8 pupils to our largest High School with 1,461 pupils.

Two of our Secondary Schools, two through schools and three primary schools are based in Community Campuses. These beautifully designed state-of-the-art community campuses offer a superb new learning environment, as well as high quality community facilities such as libraries, sports hall, dance and drama studios and conference space.

Scotland's newest Secondary School, Bertha Park High School opened its doors in August 2019 and complements the existing four Perth City schools.

Teaching in Scotland is an all graduate profession. To qualify as teacher you have to complete a programme of Initial Teacher Education (ITE). There are two types:

• A 4 year Bachelor of Education (BEd) programme for primary teaching. There are also some BEd programmes for some secondary subjects such as Music, Physical Education and Technical Education.
• One year Professional Graduate Diploma programme for those who already hold a degree to become either a Primary or Secondary Teacher.

Aberdeen, Dundee, Edinburgh, Glasgow, Paisley, Stirling and Strathclyde Universities all offer these courses.

Church approval

Appointment to teaching posts in denominational schools requires the approval of the appropriate church. For further information, please refer to:

• Scottish Catholic Education Service
• Teaching is Believing website
• Teaching is Believing leaflet (PDF, 41 KB)

Future career opportunities

We are committed to supporting teachers' Continuing Professional Development at all stages of their careers, including excellent support for newly qualified teachers.

In addition to what the opportunities that the Council offers corporately to learn and develop, Education & Children's Services have developed a learning hub to provide ECS employees and our multi-agency partners with information and access to professional learning opportunities and training resources to assist their personal and professional development and growth. Take a moment to check out the ECS learning hub.

In order to join the teaching profession in Scotland you will first need to register with the General Teaching Council for Scotland (GTCS). You can contact them by visiting the GTCS website or phoning them on 0131 314 6000.