26 February 2009

The General Teaching Council for Wales (GTCW) has today written to the Skills Minister in Wales, John Griffiths, calling for professional self-regulation in the Further Education sector.

The Council is calling for urgent action to achieve greater consistency and coherence in the education of 14-19 year olds. This comes in response to the fact school and college settings are increasingly working in partnership to provide a genuine choice of learning pathways as part of the Welsh Assembly Government’s ‘Transforming Education’ agenda.

With schools required to ensure vocational provision for pupils, this is likely to increase the number of FE teachers in schools. Although many FE teachers are currently teaching the same group of 14-19 year olds as school teachers, there are different sets of professional standards and regulations. The GTCW is calling for consistency in the approach to teachers in schools and FE colleges.

Chair of the GTCW and headteacher of Willows High School in Cardiff, Mal Davies explained, “Greater flexibility in learning pathways for 14-19 year olds is greatly welcomed, but it also highlights the inconsistencies in the way learners and teachers are treated across both sectors.

“Parents and the public are entitled to reassurance that, regardless of school or college settings, there is a professional body that inspires the highest standards of professional conduct as well as improved development opportunities for teachers. “

The GTCW believes that FE teachers would benefit from an autonomous, respected and high profile independent body to inspire the highest professional standards, accredit the programmes of initial teacher education and create a framework of professional and career development as well as provide a voice and direction on teaching issues.

An example of an area of concern by the GTCW that could be addressed by a regulatory body is the disparity that exists between the types of qualifications held by school teachers and some FE teachers. The position paper highlights that as a result of the diversity of FE provision, there are likely to be variations within the workforce. For example, a non-graduate lecturer employed part time by an institution for their particular trade or professional skills may not have had any formal preparation for teaching.

A professional body in FE would be able to promote and improve professional practice by raising standards, and perhaps in this case, by requiring that FE lecturers gain an initial teaching qualification within a specified time frame.

Mal Davies concluded, “The Council believes that the establishment of a professional body for FE with independence and sufficient funding to back its work programme would greatly assist in the professional development of the FE workforce. It would also bring other benefits in raising the status of FE teachers; giving greater assurance to learners, employers and the public about quality; and bring greater consistency and coherence at the school-college interface.

“The Council is calling for full consultation with FE teachers on what the principles and key roles of a professional body should be.”

The full text of the GTCW position paper "Coherence And Consistency In 14-19 Education - The Case For Professional Self-Regulation In Further Education" is available in PDF format here (51k)