September 2008

last updated:March 2010

Meeting of Executive Committee, 16 September 2008

GTC Response to RAND Perceptions Audit
The Director of Communications outlined the background to the independent perception audit conducted by RAND Europe. Dr Ruth Levitt from RAND summarised the key areas in the report and answered a series of questions from Members that included the process, the range of Stakeholders and significant variations in their level of understanding of the GTC’s remit.

There followed a full discussion by the Committee of the four broad themes within the report, on the Council’s remit, governance and leadership, communications and proposals for the 2012 programme.

The Director of Communications stated that there were no real surprises in the responses and emphasised that perception was important and that many of the points raised and recommendations by RAND coincide with work that has been already planned.

Further discussion centred on views relating to the Council as a regulator, the need to interpret the findings with immense care and that the perception audit was a resource for the Council to draw upon as it looked to finalise the Teaching in 2012 programme.

The Committee believed that the document should remain confidential at this time pending a strategic response from the Executive Committee which would be reported through to Council in due course and that feedback would be given to organisations.

Turning to the recommendations within the paper a number of points were raised in respect of the Council having the capacity to undertake the full remit, the need for conceptual clarity regarding partner management and the need to recognise that many of our partners were part of the current Council governance structure and that these organisations need to recognise this governance responsibility. Equally, many of our partners are competitors for a share of influence and profile.

The Committee confirmed that the Council should retain its current remit. In terms of communications the Committee endorsed the way forward as proposed by the Leadership Team. The need to engage a wide range teachers, as well as trainee and newly qualified teachers, was raised by a Member. The Committee recognised the importance of work on stakeholder relationship management and the important step change being suggested in the engagement paper elsewhere on the agenda.

Committee:

• considered the report and presentation from RAND Europe and approved the basis of the proposed responses set out in paragraphs 4.1.1, 4.2.1, 4.3.1, 4.4.1 and 4.5.1 and to reflect the points raised at the meeting and recorded by the Director of Communications
• agreed that the perceptions audit remain confidential at this stage subject to further review before the Executive Committee’s strategic response is reported through to Council at a later date.

Programme management and Policy Development 2008-12 (Ref 03/08-09)
The Chief Executive introduced the paper which proposed how Members would engage with the major work streams that would flow from the corporate priorities discussed in the previous item. The Directors then gave a brief presentation of their individual programme remits covering professionalism, TLA, the Teaching Networks, Better Regulation and the Register and Corporate Governance together with identified risks.

In terms of the professionalism programme the Committee noted that this was a significant piece of work and questioned the capacity to deliver. In response the Director of Policy stated that there would be some scaling back of the current advisory remit and this was influenced by current vacancies within policy services. Some Members expressed concern regarding the scale back and the implications assessed but recognised that the Council needed to advise in the key areas within the corporate plan.

Further discussion centred on the possibility of using the TLA model for the Networks development and the Director of Policy stated that the aim was for teachers to own the Network debates and as a separate matter, the need for the key performance indicators for all projects to be more outcome focussed.

In respect of the Corporate Governance programme the Director of Corporate Services stated that legislative freedom was a major issue and that there were many links with the Better Regulation and Register programme.

The Committee then discussed the format of the paper to Council and agreed that the full draft was not appropriate and that Council should consider the outline proposed remit and objectives for the programme and the planned next stage of the process. The Committee agreed a minor amendment to the recommendations in terms of the Committee advocating the broad outline of the proposals at September Council.

Committee:

• noted the proposed charters for the suite of Professionalism programmes; the Better Regulation and the Register programme, and the Corporate Governance programme
• requested staff, having regard to the discussion and points raised at the meeting, to bring back more detailed proposals in line with the commissioning, terms of reference, reporting framework, and member engagement, as set out in 4.5 of the paper
• agreed to promote and advocate the broad outline of these proposals to the Council at its meeting on 24 September 2008.

Corporate Planning and Monitoring Processes
The Director of Corporate Services introduced the paper which proposed refinements to the corporate planning and budgeting processes. The Committee considered the proposed future process and the associated benefits and the Director of Corporate Services believed that it would ensure all relevant checks and balances were followed.
 
The Committee supported the move to a four year plan containing the corporate priorities which would determine the allocation of financial resources across the GTC for the next four years. The Committee noted that in an election year the newly populated Council would have in place a corporate plan determined by the existing Council but did not see this as problematic. In response to a Member question the Director of Corporate Services outlined the function of the annual business plan, and the proposed timescales for implementation.
 
Committee subject to some textual and presentational amendments noted and endorsed the proposed refinements to the corporate planning and monitoring processes.
Engagement and Communications Strategy

The Committee considered a comprehensive engagement strategy which was required to support the Council’s current and future planned work; the paper proposed specific initiatives for phase one of the engagement strategy covering the period October 2008 to March 2010. The Director of Communications highlighted the key areas of the paper and the recommendations.

The Committee focused in the first instance on the Council’s current performance in securing active engagement of teachers; a Member commented that this focus should not solely be on new starters but also on teachers who had been in the profession for a number of years. The Director of Communications explained the restrictions in the GTC working with school-based representatives due to the number of the schools and also GTC resources, but she undertook to look at suggestions make by Members for engaging with longer serving teachers in different ways. Members of the Committee strongly endorsed the particular focus on newly qualified and trainee teachers and the Director added that the NQT/teacher trainee presentations were well received and were an opportunity to reach relatively large audiences.

A further point was raised articulating a more realistic aim of ‘look for the recognition and respect of’ instead of ‘active engagement’ but the Committee believed that the aspiration should remain. Nevertheless the Committee believed that the objective to secure a greater engagement of registered teachers with the role and work of the Council should be seen in the context of where the Council is starting from.

Committee:

• considered and approved the paper and its recommendations summarised in section 4.9 of the paper as the basis of the Council’s engagement strategy for 2008 to 2010
• noted that the communications and engagement strategy will need to be refined in the light of Council discussion and decision on corporate priorities for 2009-2012
• noted that progress on communications and engagement will feature within the reporting for each of the Council’s major programmes and projects.

Review of Executive Committee (Ref 06/08-09)
The Council Secretary highlighted the key areas of the paper which reviewed the first year of the Executive Committee and provided an update on governance issues. The Committee having regard to the outcomes of the Service Committees’ Self Effectiveness surveys and the full Council survey believed that their first year had been successful in having managed the key business when viewed against the work programme but supported an annual review of its operations. In respect of the request from the Registration and Regulation Committee to increase its Membership the Committee believed this should be deferred until January pending any changes in the governance arrangements arising from the agreement of the corporate priorities in 2008-12. The Committee also reviewed Member involvement in Communications and its own remit which would need, in due course, to reflect the commissioning of work when Council agrees the new corporate priorities.

Committee:

• reviewed its first year of operation and reconfirmed its remit and terms of reference, pending consideration of Council in January 2009 of any revised governance arrangements arising from programme management of the agreed 2012 Corporate Priorities
• retained the current Committee structure and calendar of meetings for 2008/09 as reported to July Council pending consideration of Council in January 2009 of any revised governance arrangements arising from programme management of the agreed 2012 Corporate Priorities
• considered the issues regarding the Communications task group as set out in section 4.2.2. and endorsed the Director of Communications suggestions for future working involving the Lead Member for Communications
• deferred the recommendation for an enlarged Registration and Regulation Committee until January Council determines any revised governance arrangements as mentioned above
• recommend to Council in September that the Institute for Learning be granted observer status at Council meetings as set out in section 4.6.1 of the paper
• noted other current governance developments set out in section 4.6 of the paper.

Code Project Progress Report
The Director of Policy introduced the paper and made some amendments to the project timescales. The meeting of the Code Project board on 25 September will receive a sample of the draft material of the code and the December Executive Committee will receive a progress report that should include the first draft and progress on consultation responses.

The Committee welcomed this work although there were some concerns that the code could be cited beyond its remit and some care needed to be exercised.

Committee approved the writer’s brief set out at section 4 .1.5 of the paper.
 
Proposed Budget Adjustments
The Director of Corporate Services outlined the overall effect of the proposals within the paper and the rationale for the recommendations. In response to a Member question the Director of Communications reported on the web redevelopment timescales.

Committee:

• approved the new activity for web infrastructure at a cost of £180,000
• approved the proposed revisions to the 2008-09 budget set out in the paper
• noted the impact on the three-year budget strategy arising from the proposed changes to the 2008-09 budget.

Annual Research Report 2007/8
The Committee noted the Annual Research report for 2007-8 and the activities for
2008-9 and thanked the staff involved.

Committee believed that every effort should be undertaken to ensure wider dissemination of the Council research work through conferences and events.