Teachers on temporary contracts have complained that they have been forced out of their jobs when their contracts expire to make way for probationers.

Newly qualified teachers who have already completed their probationary year have been told there are no full-time jobs for them as schools are under pressure to take on a new quota of probationers.

Supply teachers also maintain that they are also being laid off to make way for the fresh intake.

The McCrone report into pay and conditions guaranteed probationary jobs to 2,200 new teachers after training.

One probationer from Falkirk who qualified in January told The TES:“I am devastated to have my temporary contract terminated in order to accommodate the NQTs who started in August.

“McCrone stated that these probationers would be in addition to the teaching staff already in place in schools - not a replacement to temporary teachers already working in difficult circumstances as they strive to find a job.”

Implemented in August, the McCrone deal enables students to select the local education authorities in which they want to work - they provide a list of their five preferred authorities in order - and a school is found for them in one of those areas.

But probationers found they were being offered jobs that were long distances from their homes and not in the schools they would have chosen.

Many authorities had too many applications from students, while others, particularly rural ones, were undersubscribed.

Jane Fairweather, Scottish recruitment officer with the NASUWT, the second biggest English union, said: “People were promised jobs before it was worked out where those jobs were going to come from.”

Despite the problems, she said she supported the new scheme as it offered greater consistency and support to new teachers.

The probationary period is cut from two years to one, and NQTs are given three-tenths of their time for professional development away from the classroom.