The General Teaching Council for England How can professional learning, standards and accountability impact on the quality of teaching? July 2011 Kathy Baker, Sarah Jennings and Owen Neal

The General Teaching Council for England Introduction and Context Kathy Baker Head of Policy Development

The General Teaching Council for England Background GTCE is the independent professional body for teaching in England Statutory remit to register, regulate and advise in the public interest to improve standards of teaching and learning Government intention to abolish announced 2 June 2010

The General Teaching Council for England Legacy Education Bill progressing through Parliament. Closure likely March Some functions will transfer. Part of the organisation’s legacy is to pass on the value of what it has learnt to others with an interest in the quality of teaching…to ensure that the Council’s knowledge and expertise is not lost.

The General Teaching Council for England Quality of Teaching project A suite of papers concerned in different ways with enhancing the quality of teaching and upholding the public interest in teaching The purpose of the papers is to capture thinking in key areas of the GTC’s remit reflecting evidence gathered and policy formulated over 11 years looking to future developments in each field The audience for the papers is the community of interest in teaching

The General Teaching Council for England Structure of papers 1.Overview 2.Standards-based professional practice 3.Entry to teaching 4.Accountability 5.Performance management 6.Professional learning and development 7.Pedagogy 8.Research-informed practice 9.Innovation 10.Pupil assessment 11.Pupil Participation

The General Teaching Council for England This Session Focus on certain aspects which are key factors in teaching quality What do professional standards need to look like to support and improve teaching? Discussion How can teacher learning better support the quality of teaching? Discussion What is the role of the profession in improving teaching quality and accountability for teaching? Discussion Conclusions and proposals

The General Teaching Council for England What do professional standards need to look like to support and improve teaching? Sarah Jennings Senior Policy Adviser

The General Teaching Council for England Professional standards and their role They can provide: –transparency about the standard of teaching expected for the learner –a means of consistent teaching practice across settings –A benchmark for the accountability of teachers –A development framework for the individual

The General Teaching Council for England Standards in England Current professional standards framework: –Qualified Teacher Status –Core –Post-Threshold –Advanced Skills Teacher (AST) and –Excellent Teacher Aligned to pay and progression As in other professions and countries, accompanied by a code of ethics and conduct

The General Teaching Council for England Key issues and proposals from evidence Provenance in research lit on foundation, effective and high impact practices Focus on developing effective pedagogy Articulate expected practices and expertise Clear relationship to ethical dimension of teaching through a Code of Conduct and Practice

The General Teaching Council for England Key issues and proposals from evidence Generic common set of standards to ensure minimum level Framework of improvement for all and specialist standards Relationship to professional qualification and right to practise

The General Teaching Council for England Key issues and proposals from evidence Mechanisms to ensure consistent use of standards to maintain & improve practice Support for teachers to meet standards, and maintain and improve practice

The General Teaching Council for England What do professional standards need to look like to support and improve teaching? What support do teachers need in order to meet and improve against professional standards? What should the role of teachers/the profession be in developing and setting the standards? Discussion

The General Teaching Council for England How can teacher learning better support the quality of teaching?

The General Teaching Council for England Entry to teaching Those who enter teaching need, with support, to reach a minimum accepted standard of practice to teach effectively and respond to learning needs of all children. Create a sound basis for high-quality professional learning and development over a teacher’s career. Evidence clearly shows that good CPD improves teaching and pupil learning.

The General Teaching Council for England Effective learning and development involves teachers in defining learning opportunity for reflection explicit outcomes for practice and learners time and structured opportunities access to external expertise, coaching and leadership professional collaboration addresses what teachers do and how they change what they do challenges problematic beliefs and practices applies knowledge of pupil learning to teacher learning enquiry model of learning reliable research evidence

The General Teaching Council for England Issues drawn from evidence Relationship of training, education and practice Continuity, coherence and relevance of provision Access to effective CPD and learning Teacher responsibility for improving practice Evaluating professional development and learning Entitlement, responsibility and requirement?

The General Teaching Council for England Discussion How can teacher learning better support the quality of teaching? What are teachers’ rights and responsibilities for their own learning and improvement? Should there be a relationship between professional learning and professional standards?

The General Teaching Council for England What is the role of the profession in improving teaching quality and accountability for teaching? Owen Neal Policy Adviser

The General Teaching Council for England Introduction The teaching profession contains the seeds of its own continuous improvement…but this needs external stimulus and expertise…and some form of accountability. Public interest in teaching is served by appropriate accountability…Acceptance of accountability is a defining characteristic of any profession.

The General Teaching Council for England What do we mean by accountability? Bovens (2005): The methods by which the actor may render an account (i.e. justify their actions and decisions) to the stakeholders and by which the stakeholders may hold the actor to account (i.e. impose sanctions or grant permissions)

The General Teaching Council for England Accountability for teaching a relationship multiple stakeholders active roles for both parties (account-giver and account-holder) to play …how active are each of the stakeholders in teaching? (how accountable are teachers to each of their stakeholders?)

The General Teaching Council for England Issues Parents’ and pupils’ concern for the quality of teaching Teachers’ need for fair and manageable accountability The state’s concern to understand the performance of schools and teachers Everyone’s interest in avoiding activity that detracts from teaching quality and teacher professionalism

The General Teaching Council for England Proposals based in evidence Greater proportionality A new relationship between Government, the community of interest in teaching and the teaching profession Stronger focus on improving teaching quality Better opportunities for teachers to give an account of their practice Better accountability to stakeholders including pupils Individual teacher accountability in the professional context

The General Teaching Council for England Discussion How should teachers be held to account and give an account? Should teachers be accountable for their own learning? How should teachers be accountable for meeting the standards?

The General Teaching Council for England Conclusions and proposals

The General Teaching Council for England Supporting and Improving Teaching Quality Shared understanding of effective pedagogy grounded in evidence Award of the professional qualification and continued right to practise Minimum standard and a framework for improvement which recognises specialisms Cohesion across ITE, induction and CPD

The General Teaching Council for England Supporting and Improving Teaching Quality CPD compact – entitlement, responsibility and requirement Communities of learning Skilled and informed dialogue at the heart of development, performance management and accountability Informed professional judgement – with appropriate accountability

The General Teaching Council for England What do we mean by informed professional judgement? To be informedTo give account Skilled and informed dialogue Develop pedagogy Professional learning Share practice (CPD, collaboration) Research informed practice Developing new teachers Skilled & informed dialogue Evaluate practice and impact of own learning Performance management Inform and engage stakeholders including pupils and parents