Pension pledge for private school staff

TEACHERS working in Scotland’s private schools will not be prevented from joining the profession’s public-sector pension scheme under proposed reforms, it has been confirmed.

Putting forward proposed pension changes, former Labour Cabinet minister Lord Hutton suggested it was wrong for those in the private sector to be able to access the state pension scheme.

However, under a “heads of agreement” reached between the UK government and some teaching unions on pension reform, the Department for Education said private school teachers would not be excluded.

Currently, teachers working in both private and state schools are able to access the pension scheme, allowing staff to move freely between independent schools and those under local authority control.