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Committed to each of you
By David Drever, Convenor, GTC Scotland
Previously I've given a picture of what the Council does and how it works. Last time I spoke about the Policy and Strategy Committee and those dealing with Professional Conduct and exceptional admissions to the Register. Here I'll cover the work of the remaining committees.
The Education Committee deals with all educational matters, both of policy and practice. In the former instance it is a forum for educational debate, co-ordinates Council's research strategy and responds to key consultations. The latter has oversight of entry standards to teaching and reports on teacher supply - particularly important at a time of falling teacher numbers. Finally it works to deepen Council involvement in the further education sector, especially to increase the number of further education lecturers holding Council registration.
Funding of GTC Scotland comes exclusively from the Registration fee. It is very important that this income is used effectively and prudently, and this is a responsibility of the Finance and General Purposes Committee. In addition it has control of personnel matters, ICT and the conduct of elections. An Audit Sub-committee appoints and receives reports from Council's auditors and has scrutiny of all accounting matters.
The professional standards enshrined in the Standard for Initial Teacher Education, Standard for Full Registration, Standard for Chartered Teacher and the Standard for Headship increasingly define what it means to be a teaching professional in Scotland today. All matters related to these standards are the responsibility of the Professional Standards Committee, which also has scrutiny and accreditation of the related programmes - ITE, Chartered Teacher, Standard for Headship - that are delivered by our universities. This committee has responsibility for CPD, staff development and review of teachers and probation.
The work of the Professional Standards Committee is supported at times by adjudication panels that comprise committee members (all of whom are Council members), and for the accreditation of programmes, appointees from outside Council who are selected through a process of co-option and who bring experience and expertise to each particular accreditation event. The final, but necessary, committee is the Appeals Board which acts as a court of last resort. It hears appeals against the varied adjudication decisions that are made across the range of Council Committees.