VSO Scotland says the over provision of teachers in Scotland is proving a rich resource, with successful recruitment drives pushing up the numbers qualifying while the number of Scottish-based teaching posts has fallen.

The charity needs to recruit 100 teachers in the first three months of 2010 so they can be assessed and matched to suitable placements for their skills and experience in time for them to make arrangements during this academic year. Teachers who apply after March 30 will still be able to volunteer with VSO Scotland, but to guarantee a volunteer placement that starts in August or September, teachers must apply more promptly.

Volunteers work in some of the world’s most under-developed countries, helping to tackle poverty by sharing their professional skills. Scottish teachers who take up VSO’s challenge are likely to find themselves working with schools, colleges or ministries of education, to improve the quality of education and teaching practice in countries from Guyana to Nepal, Mongolia to Uganda.

For teachers currently in a post, a volunteer placement is now easier to arrange, VSO claims, because of a new career break scheme allowing teachers to take up to two years off.

VSO also argues that volunteering can also support a teacher’s ability to deliver the new Curriculum for Excellence, as a key component of the curriculum focuses on educating schoolchildren in Scotland about global issues and encouraging greater cross-cultural awareness.

Susanne Darcy, manager for VSO Scotland, says: “We want to encourage educational professionals in Scotland to see volunteering with VSO Scotland as a vital way to improve the lives of children and teachers in some of the poorest places in the world and as an opportunity to develop their own career and enhance the global awareness of children in Scotland.”

www.vso.org.uk/educationscotland