To ask the Scottish Executive how many Initial Teacher Education programmes for primary teachers have been accredited and approved since the new Guidelines for Accreditation of Initial Teacher Education and Standard for Initial Teacher Education came into force in December 2006.
The General Teaching Council for Scotland (GTCS) is the professional body for the teaching profession and as such has responsibility for accrediting courses of Initial Teacher Education that are either new or that have had any changes made to them. The Scottish ministers subsequently approve these courses.
The current versions of the Guidelines and the Standard for Initial Teacher Education dated December 2006, but were officially launched in September 2007 and have had effect since academic year 2007-08.
Since January 2007, the GTCS has accredited:
Aberdeen''s BEd and PGDE Primary programme (February 2007)
Stirling''s Primary programme (May 2008)
Glasgow''s BEd, MA Primary (Crichton Campus) and PGDE Primary programmes (August 2008)
Strathclyde''s BEd programme (April 2009)
Edinburgh''s BEd and PGDE Primary programmes (August 2009).