Keep up to date with the latest developments
Taskforce scope widened
The GTC-hosted Disabled Teachers Taskforce, set up to explore the barriers facing disabled people in entering teaching, is extending its remit to examine the retention and professional development of disabled teachers in the profession.
(See the summer 2005 edition of Teaching: the GTC magazine.)
Other recent taskforce proposals include:
- Member organisations to hold better data about the profile of disabled students and teachers, helping them better support teachers and informing their policy work.
- Better support from initial teacher training (ITT) providers for disabled people in entering teaching, including information on how to succeed in ITT.
- Taskforce members to share good practice in supporting disabled teachers.
Media interest includes an interview with Taskforce chair and GTC member Barry Carpenter, aired on BBC Radio 4's The Learning Curve. On Teachers' TV, Careerwise interviewed Shiraz Chakera, who leads the GTC's work on equality. For more information visit: www.gtce.org.uk/equalities/disability
New in print
The GTC's Teachers' Professional Learning Framework (TPLF) features in Every child matters: a practical guide for teachers. Written by Rita Chemnais, an adviser with Cheshire Children's Services, the resource explains the impact of the Every Child Matters agenda for teachers working in a range of educational settings. Based on the latest national legislation and developments in education, the book aims to help teachers respond to the challenges and opportunities that lie ahead as extended schools develop.
- Priced at £15, the guide is published by David Fulton Press, ISBN 1-84312-463-7.
- The six leaflets in the TPLF series are available for download on www.gtce.org.uk/tplf or by phoning 0870 001 0308.
What do parents think?
Last term, our article on what parents really want from assessment looked at GTC research that said parents rank verbal feedback on their children higher than written reports.
Martin Sacree, deputy head of King's Manor community college in West Sussex, has carried out research in three large secondary schools. His research shows parents prefer frequent statistical reports - current grade, target grade and attitude traffic lights - to less frequent descriptive reports. He says: "When tied in with form tutor open days, parents' evenings and subject-based improvement strategies, frequent statistical reports give the evidence of attainment, achievement and progression required for frequent achievement-raising dialogue to take place."
Janet Vokes, from Chester, has also conducted research,but from a primary school perspective, as part of her MEd degree. Her findings parallel those of the GTC study.
"Parents' communication preferences were very diverse," she found, "but there was a general trend towards favouring verbal methods which limited communication to their own child. The demand for information about how their child was getting on at school was high, with individuals having personal priorities. The effectiveness of communications was related to the quality of the relationships, the relevance of the content to individual parents' perceived need and the time and the place in which the communication occurs."
The GTC will be running a short series of consultation events on assessment. For dates and venues, visit: www.gtce.org.uk/events
