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Keynote: Government shows confidence in our abilities
By Anthony Finn, Chief Executive, GTC Scotland
In many respects, teachers may not notice much difference once GTC Scotland is finally granted independence in less than two years time. GTC Scotland will continue to engage openly with teachers and to improve, wherever possible, the services which we currently provide.
Arguably, too, some of the functional changes announced by Government may have little immediate impact on the way that GTC Scotland promotes teacher professionalism. For example, GTC Scotland will be given control of all professional Standards, current and future, but any plans for change will be made in association with other key stakeholders (Government, universities, authorities and unions).
The difference will be that the lead body for the Standard for Initial Teacher Education (SITE), Standard for Full Registration (SFR), Standard for Chartered Teacher (SCT) and Standard for Headship will now very clearly be GTC Scotland.
What is significant about the Government’s decision is that GTC Scotland, the oldest teaching Council in the world, will now become the world’s first self-regulating professional body for teaching. This independence, and the confidence of the Government and of the wider teaching profession which led to it, will allow the Council to speak authoritatively on issues of teacher professionalism and to consider new ways to assist teachers to develop their skills.
Of course, one of the main challenges facing an independent Council is the invitation by Government to ‘develop and consult on proposals for the re-accreditation of registered teachers’ (see left). We will require to consider this carefully and it could therefore take some time to plan and implement an appropriate way forward.
However, this is not the case for some other aspects of the plan for independence. A heavy workload lies ahead for the current Council and for its staff, as we begin to change practices, rules and some systems to accommodate Government plans. We have perhaps 20 months to complete this process!
That said, independence must not completely dominate our agenda or prevent us from completing other tasks which also need to be taken forward. These might include the promotion of professional regulation in the college sector (we are disappointed that this power was not confirmed by Government but we will continue to work with others to move this forward).
We will also look carefully at promoting collegiate leadership in Scottish schools and, given the importance of preparing for a new curriculum, we will consider the implications of Curriculum for Excellence for registration categories.
All in all, we have a lot to do in the months ahead. We would welcome your views and suggestions as we take this agenda forward, and we will need your support, understanding and occasional tolerance to help us meet the expectations which have been placed on us.