SSTA News
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Member Bulletin 11 June 2026 – 7% Pay Claim Rejected and PVG changes
The SSTA Congress motion was submitted to this week’s SNCT Teachers’ Side meeting. The motion called for a 7% pay uplift for all secondary school teachers until the Scottish Government fulfilled its commitment to deliver a 90-minute reduction in class contact time. The Teachers’ Side considered the claim to be potentially counterproductive, arguing that it could…
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Teacher Shortages Stem from Workforce Planning Failures and Deteriorating Working Conditions
The Scottish Secondary Teachers’ Association (SSTA) has warned that growing shortages of specialist secondary teachers are the result of years of inadequate workforce planning, weak retention strategies, and increasingly challenging working conditions. Responding to reports that secondary schools are reducing subject choice due to difficulties recruiting specialist teachers. Scotland is now experiencing the consequences of…
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Member Bulletin – 3 June 2026 – WTAs and Part Time Teachers
Managing Teacher Workload (WTA) – Don’t Say Yes, Say How Working Time Agreements (WTAs) for the next school year are currently being negotiated in many schools. These agreements should determine how teachers’ 35-hour working week is organised and allocated. Remember that the maximum class contact time is 22.5 hours per week, with 7.5 hours allocated for planning, preparation…
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Member Bulletin – 22 May 2026
2026-2027 Pay Increase Confirmed The last step of the 2025-2027 pay settlement will see a pay increase of 3.25% on all SNCT grades from 1 August 2026. The Consumer Price Index (CPI) for the year 1 April 2025 – 31 March 2026 was 3.4% and had not gone beyond the 3.75% threshold. Therefore, the agreed…
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Report of the General Secretary
81st Annual Congress of the SSTA Friday 8 May 2026 @ 15:30 [Opening Remarks]Good afternoon, President, distinguished guests, and esteemed delegates of Congress. It is with profound gratitude—and a deep sense of duty—that I stand before you today,having once again been entrusted with the role of General Secretary. Over the past ten years, I’ve had…
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Presidential Address to Congress
81st Annual Congress of the SSTAPresidential AddressMonique Dreon-Goold Friday 8 May 2026 Part 1: A Journey, A Calling, A Commitment to Additional Support Needs Conference, colleagues, fraternal guests, members of the Press, friends— I began teaching modern languages in Scotland in 1990. It was demanding work then, as it is now—but there was a clarity…
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SSTA Congress 2026
The SSTA Annual Congress is taking place today (Friday 8 May 2026) at the Radisson Blu Hotel in Glasgow. The Congress is a hybrid event starting at 10.30am and will close at approximately 4.30pm with members able to follow Congress on our website The agenda and motions can be found on the Congress 2026 page on…
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SSTA Calls for Urgent Action on Education
SSTA Calls for Urgent Action on Education The Scottish Secondary Teachers’ Association (SSTA) is calling on the new Scottish Government to make education its top priority and commit to urgent, meaningful reform. SSTA Message to the new Scottish Government. Monique Dreon-Goold, SSTA President said. “Teachers across Scotland are clear: education must move beyond political division and be properly resourced,…
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Teachers’ Union Warns Violence in Schools Remains Unchecked
Responding to recent media reports highlighting the number of teachers hospitalised as a result of pupil violence, the President of the Scottish Secondary Teachers’ Association (SSTA) has reiterated the union’s long-standing concerns about safety in Scotland’s classrooms. Monique Dreon-Goold, SSTA President, said: “These deeply concerning reports reflect what teachers across Scotland have been telling us…
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SNCT Update – 4 February 2026
SNCT Pay Reopener Clause (2026–2027) – What Members Need to Know As part of the two-year SNCT pay agreement (covering 1 August 2025 to 31 July 2027), a reopener clause for 2026-2027 has been agreed in recognition of the Teachers’ Side position on pay restoration. Job Sizing Toolkit Changes – Implementation Delayed The SNCT has confirmed changes following recommendations from…
