Eilidh

🚨We have sent a direct response to Cabinet Secretary @JennyGilruth this evening, addressing the letter that was published earlier today.🚨 —- Dear Cabinet Secretary Gilruth, Thank you for your letter dated 27 June 2025 (Reference: 202500468990) in response to Bill Kidd MSP’s correspondence regarding stakeholder inclusion in ‘A New Plan for Scotland’s Teaching Workforce’. We appreciate your acknowledgment of the important work being undertaken to address teacher recruitment and retention challenges in Scotland, and we welcome your commitment to continued engagement with our group. However, we must clarify that we have received no formal communication from your office since our meeting in November 2024. While your letter mentions that you “have committed to do so again in the future” and that you are “due to meet representatives of the group later this year,” we have not been informed of any specific meeting arrangements or received any correspondence regarding proposed dates. We were particularly disappointed that numerous letters were sent to constituent MSPs asking for Scottish Teachers for Permanence to be officially included in the ‘New Deal for Scotland’s Teaching Workforce’ that was voted through Parliament. Your letter mentions engagement with universities, local authorities, other stakeholders, School Leaders Scotland, COSLA, the General Teaching Council for Scotland, and other professional associations - yet there is a notable absence of any reference to Scottish Teachers for Permanence, despite the clear relevance of our members’ experiences to this workforce strategy. We very much welcome the opportunity for further engagement and would be grateful if you could: 1. Confirm the proposed meeting dates you referenced in your letter 2. Provide formal notification of the meeting arrangements through your office 3. Clarify the scope and format of the proposed engagement As you acknowledge in your letter, the challenges facing experienced teachers seeking permanent employment require urgent attention. The reduced ITE intake targets, while understandable, highlight the critical need to support and retain existing qualified teachers who are struggling to secure permanent positions. Our group remains committed to working constructively with the Scottish Government to address these challenges. We believe that meaningful stakeholder engagement, including the lived experiences of teachers affected by these issues, is essential to developing effective solutions. We look forward to receiving confirmation of the meeting arrangements and to continuing our dialogue on these important matters.