GTC Chair Judy Moorhouse sets the scene
Welcome to the autumn issue of Teaching: The GTC Magazine.
What is the most effective way for parents to be involved in their child's education? The Government's reform agenda sees parental choice as a major driver of change in the school system, but will this raise standards? How real will choice be for the majority of parents? And how far have we moved away from the traditional fundraising efforts of parent teacher associations to focus more firmly on raising children's attainment, by involving parents as directly as possible in their own child's learning?
This autumn the GTC visited the three major political party conferences to talk to politicians about actively engaging parents and, at the same time, share with them teachers' own hopes and fears for their own careers and the future direction of education.
Much of what we know about teachers' views is based upon our annual independent national surveys. Now in their third year, we believe that the information they provide is the authentic voice of the teaching profession, telling us what everyone – from established heads to supply teachers – is thinking and feeling.
Amongst the questions we asked this time around was: what would most help teachers to address underachievement? Almost eight out of 10 teachers thought that working to raise pupils' self-esteem and self-confidence was very important. Teachers identified this as a challenge for schools themselves, but also identified how crucial it is for parents to have high aspirations for their own children. To read the full story, see Chapter 7.
But parents are just one in a group of stakeholders who, as Geoff Whitty describes in his opinion piece in Chapter 8, have had a dramatic effect on the notion of teachers' professionalism. He outlines a new concept - 'democratic professionalism' - that builds alliances between colleagues and others, including parents. Through encouraging collaborative cultures, ultimately children's opportunities to learn are maximised, he argues.
Indeed the new children's agenda requires teachers to strengthen their working partnerships with a whole host of other professionals. It is early days for implementation of Every Child Matters. Inter-professional working is challenging and demanding, but to help smooth some of the way, the GTC has worked with our counterpart councils (those with responsibility for nurses, midwives and social care staff) to create a statement of shared values. We have also revised our own statement of professional values and practice - see the centre pages for a pull-out copy.
To coincide with this important work, we asked teachers with different levels of experience and who work in a variety of settings to tell us about the values that underpin their work. We also asked colleagues from different professions to share their thoughts too. Read Chapter Six and see if you agree. And to find out whether working together works in practice, see Chapter 7 .
Judy Moorhouse
Chair
General Teaching Council for England
