Gary Brace outlines the support teachers new to the profession receive

1 December 2008

With the school term now well underway, new teachers in Wales will start to reap the rewards of the supportive system that is in place as they make the first steps in their teaching career. Gary Brace, chief executive of GTCW outlines the support teachers new to the profession receive.

In just five years, vast improvements have been made to make the start of teachers’ careers as smooth and supported as possible. A newly qualified teacher is no longer ‘thrown in the deep end’ and left with a class of children but is given support and guidance as they embark on their professional career.

Part of the General Teaching Council for Wales’ responsibilities is to promote the professional development of teachers and it has established itself in this regard alongside its regulatory and advisory functions. In particular, it has achieved this by running two major funding programmes to support teachers’ development for the Assembly Government.

Under the GTCW’s ‘professional code’, teachers are committed to develop their knowledge, understanding and skills. This is very different from when I entered the profession in the mid-1970s. I thought that I was ‘the finished article’, believing the PGCE I had obtained had prepared me for my teaching career, and. while it had to a degree, I certainly did not anticipate or expect a career of lifelong learning and development. Although there was plenty of ‘INSET’ in those days, the notion of a personal commitment to professional development was an alien concept and remained that way until the late 1990s. Since then though, there has been a massive culture change in the profession.

For the last five years it has been a statutory requirement that all new teachers in Wales complete an induction year. New teachers are expected to show they can do the job in practice for a year. They have to demonstrate that they meet the end of induction standards, but, rather than add to the pressures new teachers face, this requirement helps through the support system in place such as a guaranteed mentor in the school and funded support for their professional development. During their induction period, newly qualified teachers (NQTs) have a 90% teaching timetable to enable them to undertake induction activities as well as having the support of the trained mentor who they meet on a regular basis. In total, NQT’s are entitled to £3,700 worth of support which covers a three-term period of induction.

Induction provides a bridge from teacher training into effective professional practice by providing newly qualified teachers with a programme of well-targeted support. Unless their induction is passed, the teacher’s qualification is insufficient to let them continue to be registered and, therefore, teach in a state school. Whilst only a handful of NQTs have failed their induction period over the last five years, this ensures that only those who are capable of doing the job in practice are allowed to remain in the teaching profession.

Also in Wales, we have the unique element of guaranteed funded professional development for new teachers in years two and three of their careers and new teachers can access £1,000 per annum to fund their early professional development (EPD) activities and opportunities. EPD is a two-year flexible and coherent programme designed to support new teachers in their professional development and encourages reflection, self-evaluation, objective setting, action planning and aspects of classroom management.

I believe as a result of these measures, new teachers will be as well-prepared as they can be for the rigours of teaching and aware of what is expected of them. They also display a commitment to the profession in the knowledge that their professional development has only just begun. They will have an expectation of being supported and can expect opportunities throughout their careers that will develop their own professional and career ambitions. Crucially, these measures place an emphasis on constant improvement within a coherent and progressive professional framework. Teachers in Wales have a strong support system as they embark on their careers, and, in particular, the EPD entitlement – which is not available elsewhere in the UK - is something that we should celebrate.