Trainee teacher Mark Melrose says that he already has beaches in Portobello so he is happy to stay there. 

Mr Melrose says that if he was offered a placement that sort of distance from home he would probable choose a different path. 

Trainee teacher Halla Price says, as someone who has just completed an options form, she and most of her peers have sought Edinburgh because that's where they have trained and built up a network.

Ms Price says people will want to stay where is familiar and few tick the "anywhere in Scotland box". 

"It is about going with what you know," she says. 

SNP MSP Gillian Martin pitches the benefits of Aberdeenshire to the teacher trainees saying that it is "beautiful at this time of year and has humpbacked wales on its beaches." 

This follows Tory MSP Ross Thomson's efforts to recruit for Aberdeen.

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Tory MSP Ross Thomson raises the issue of recruitment and retention of teachers in the North East.

Trainee teacher Willie MacLeod says Western Isles Council is paying him to get through this year.

Mr Macleod says there are financial barriers to being a teacher.

Trainee teacher Willie MacLeod says he knew where his placement was supposed to be but some of his peers were in college on the first day of their placement because they hadn't been told about it. 

Mr MacLeod says he lives on the Isle of Lewis and he ended up going to Ullapool which involved a lot of costs.

He says there is no mechanism to claim travelling expenses.  

Former trainee teacher Kimberley Miller-Drummond says she was able to claim the difference in journey between the university and the placement but only at the end of the placement not beforehand. 

Labour MSP Johann Lamont says her first teaching experience was to be told the teacher who was supposed to be training her was off and would she take the class.

Ms Lamont asks if it is now more formal than that.

Trainee teacher Mark Melrose says the allocation of placements is his concern because trainee teachers are often told on a Wednesday of a placement starting on a Monday.

Mr Melrose says that he has been "shunted about from pillar to post" and the main stakeholder should be the student teacher and it is not serving them.    

SNP MSP Clare Haughey asks what the panels experiences has been in their school placements.

Mr Melrose says the schools have to sign up to take a placement and the teachers give good feed back.

Former trainee teacher Kimberley Miller-Drummond says placement experience varies between the departments in school.

SNP MSP Clare Haughey asks if students are encouraged to give feedback to the university. 

Trainee teacher Halla Price says that there are student reps and feedback is generally given through them.

Ms Price says students do not often see whether or not feedback is acted upon.

Trainee teacher Carys Boyle says the negative experience of students benefit future students when changes are made.  

Trainee teacher Halla Price says every child is different and "you cannot learn how to teach every child with additional support needs."

Ms Price says the training should be more child specific and taught within schools.

"Each child is completely different and has different needs." 

Trainee teacher Mark Melrose says he believes that he will get more training within the classrooms on additional needs.  

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Green MSP Ross Greer asks if the witnesses have had enough training in additional support needs

Willie MacLeod says his training in this area was good. 

Trainee teacher Mark Melrose says not at all.

Mr Melrose says he was "not prepared in the slightest" to deal with a child with autism.

Former trainee teacher Kimberley Miller-Drummond says she is quite well equipped to deal with ASN but there was not enough at university, and people had to choose to do it.

Trainee teacher Halla Price says that in her four years of training she has had no provision for any form of ICT which is alarming.

After a brief fire alarm at the BBC in the Tun.

We've missed some of the committee but come back to hear concerns from Carys Boyle about Facebook.

Lib Dem MSP Tavish Scott asks if the balance is right between practice and theory and where could it be changed.

Trainee teacher Willie MacLeod says the placement time should be increased and variety should be added.

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SNP MSP Gillian Martin returns to the issue of numeracy and asks what qualifications are needed for teacher training.

Trainee teacher Halla Price says an A at Intermediate 2 can get you in and this can be taken over four years.

Ms Price asks if this is a high enough standard.

Mr Johnson says the challenges with composite classes have been raised as well as filling up spaces in S3. 

He asks if the witnesses have found similar issues.

Trainee teacher Mark Melrose says there is not enough time to teach nationals in one year which is why some start in third year. 

Mr Melrose says "teachers feel like they are letting kids down" because they are having to make early decision on whether that pupil is national 4 or 5. 

"It is going to end up failing pupils for me," he says 

Former trainee teacher Kimberley Miller-Drummond says a full week given to literacy is actually quite a lot of time.

Halla Price says choices students have to make mean there are aspects of teaching people do not experience, like, in her case, additional support needs.

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Ms Price says literacy training was very valuable, but more experience of schemes would have helped.

She says there was not enough focus on helping students to teach numeracy.

The trainee teacher says she does not believe students leaving Moray House will have sufficient skills to teach numeracy to 11 year olds to a sufficient standard.

Ms Smith asks Mr Macleod if when he sad there was a "one week" focus on literacy, if that was one week in the whole of the term.

Mr MacLeod says "yes" the training focuses on week blocks for training and there has been one so far on literacy.

Ms Smith asks if that is enough.

Mr MacLeod says he doesn't have a problem with it from a literacy point of view but more time should be given to numeracy. 

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Tory MSP Liz Smith says a number of people raise concern about additional support needs and literacy.

Willie MacLeod says at his university there was one week on both.

Trainee teacher Carys Boyle says her classroom teacher and deputy head were really involved in her placement.

Ms Boyle says she was not taught much behaviour management or about additional support needs.