The Scotland Teaching Profession PLD System is structured around the annual cycle of 35 hours of Professional Learning required by the General Teaching Council for Scotland (GTCS).
A new cycle begins each August in line with the Scottish academic year, enabling you to plan, record and reflect on your learning across the full school year.
Your activities are grouped, tracked, and reported to support both your Professional Review and Development (PRD) discussions and your five-year Professional Update sign-off.
Your school and line manager play a vital role in your professional journey.
Through the system, you can share your learning records, receive feedback, and align your goals with school and local authority priorities.
This PLD system is built around the GTCS Professional Standards for Teachers, ensuring that every learning activity you record contributes meaningfully to your professional growth.
It aligns to the key areas of:
- Professional Values and Personal Commitment
- Professional Knowledge and Understanding
- Professional Skills and Abilities
Each PLD activity can be linked to one or more of these standards, creating a clear evidence trail of your professional engagement and impact.
Your Professional Update is supported through detailed records of completed PLD activities, reflections, and goals.
The system makes it easy to provide evidence of ongoing learning, ready for discussion with your reviewer or GTCS registration renewal.
An Activity represents a single professional learning instance — such as attending a course, participating in a learning community, or engaging in self-directed research.
Each Activity can be logged using a flexible template, categorised by Learning Method (e.g., Structured, Collaborative, Self-Directed) and linked to relevant Standards.
This provides insight into the balance of your professional learning across the year and helps identify areas for future focus.
We hope this PLD system becomes a key partner in your professional journey — a tool that not only helps you meet the 35-hour requirement, but also inspires reflection, collaboration and continuous growth.