IS our system of teacher training doing all it can to prepare students for the reality of the classroom? In one respect it would appear not. The number of pupils with additional support needs has doubled in Scotland since 2010 and yet many student teachers say their training does not prepare them to support such pupils, leaving an obvious gap at the heart of the way we educate our teachers.
The good news is that action is now being taken. Earlier this year the Scottish Parliament’s Education and Skills Committee delivered a report which highlighted some of the problems with special needs education and now the General Teaching Council Scotland has responded by saying that every student teacher will be issued with a guide on supporting young people with learning difficulties.
This is welcome news and, because every student will receive the guidance, should help probationers recognise when they need help and where to go to find it. However, there can be a huge difference between guidance and reality and the most obvious problem in Scottish schools in reality is the shortage of additional support teachers.
The new guidance may mean that many student teachers are better prepared for the classroom. But no amount of guidance can fix the real problem: the lack of funding and resources to support inclusion.
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