Towards 2020
As we went to press, the report of the independent review into ‘Teaching and Learning in 2020’ was expected.
Chaired by Christine Gilbert, Her Majesty's Chief Inspector of Schools and a former Council member of the GTC, the GTC has welcomed the review as ‘timely and important’. Our hope is that it will create a shared understanding of what is meant by personalised learning.
The GTC presented its own evidence to the review body last term. We recommended:
- more provision for those at highest risk of underattainment, including higher ratios of staffing where needed
- significantly enhanced resources for local teacher development in the area of assessment for learning practices
- more use of summative assessment data to inform decisions about teaching and learning, with less emphasis on comparative institutional performance measures
- a further shift in the balance of schools’ accountability away from the centre and towards to the community, parents and pupils
- universal and properly resourced continuing professional development for all teachers and staff
- collaboration across institutions
- support for families in poverty and with low literacy and numeracy to enable them to better engage with their children’s learning.
To read our full response, see the Policy section.
Standards update
The Training and Development Agency for Schools (TDA) has been reviewing the standards for qualified teacher status, induction, post-threshold and advanced skills teachers, and the development of standards for the excellent teacher scheme. Since September 2005, the TDA has consulted extensively to inform its review.
In April 2006 the TDA gave advice to the Secretary of State on a revised framework of professional standards for teachers. The threshold, excellent teacher and advanced skills teacher standards are pay standards, and the Secretary of State has yet to consult on how these revised standards should be incorporated into the school teachers' pay and conditions document.
The intention is that these standards should be used for pay and progression purposes from September 2007. Publication of the revised framework of professional standards is planned for 2007.
Access all areas
The GTC-led disabled teacher taskforce is now looking into support for teachers who acquire a disability during their career. Key areas of this work include:
- highlighting appropriate and effective continuing professional development for disabled teachers
- promoting examples of ‘reasonable adjustments’ to the work environment that have helped disabled teachers stay in teaching.
One teacher, who lives with arthritis and Crohn’s disease, wrote to us saying:
'Some of the things I needed were implemented – ground level classrooms and toilets, an office next to my classroom – but others have not been.
'I am expected to go upstairs to use the phone, which is not always practical. I have not been provided with training to use the interactive whiteboards, so that I can teach sitting down when my arthritis is bad. My door is so heavy I cannot open it easily.
'As winter approaches, I will only have to fall once, and I will be on crutches for up to three months. Which is more financially viable: providing these adjustments or having to pay for a supply teacher for three months?'
If you would like to share your experiences of disability at work, or to find out more about the taskforce, please contact: disability@gtce.org.uk
