General Background to the Chartered Teacher

Why introduce Chartered Teacher?

• The Chartered Teacher programme will offer quality assured, professional development to classroom teachers, middle leaders or those who perform both roles.
• The Chartered Teacher award, with related standards, will allow the profession, and the wider community to recognise those teachers who are performing at high standards, beyond their classroom requirements, contexts, etc.
• The Chartered Teacher programme and award would give added structure to the career progression for teachers.

The Chartered Teacher Pilot Programme

Why is the Council running a Chartered Teacher pilot programme?

The Council is working with partners in Higher Education, Local Education Authorities and others to pilot a number of modules during 2007-2009 to make sure the content and delivery is appropriate to enable teachers to achieve the Chartered Teacher standards.

The Council also wanted to compare two different routes teachers might follow to achieve Chartered Teacher status:

1. The Portfolio Route, is intended for very experienced teachers, and involves the submission of a portfolio of evidence demonstrating the Chartered Teacher standards have been achieved by the teacher.
2. The Taught or Programme Route, enables teachers to undertake a number of modules with a recognised provider, who will provide CPD opportunities for the teacher to develop and demonstrate the Chartered Teacher standards.

During the pilot period teachers have been selected to undertake each module or route, with individual modules being delivered in different formats.

How will we know if the pilot is successful?

Participants in the Chartered Teacher pilots will provide feedback on the effectiveness of the CPD and its impact on their teaching, pupils and school to independent evaluators.

Module providers will also contribute to the discussion.

The independent evaluators will consider the impact of the elements in the pilot programme and advise on future developments. Their report is due autumn 2009.

What modules have being piloted? Where? And when?

See table below:

2007 - 8

2008 - 9

How much will it cost?

For the pilot programme, the costs are entirely met by WAG funding, administered through GTCW.

Will taking part in the pilot make me a Chartered Teacher?

At the moment the complete programme is not in place. However, those teachers involved in the pilot modules will be invited to continue to participate in Chartered Teacher modules when they mainstream.

The current pilot modules have been designed to allow the participants to gain HE credits, either at Level 6 or Level 7.

The Extended Pilot 2009 – 2010

The previous pilot modules have shown that the core modules in the taught programme must provide a sound foundation for teachers; to ensure this three further modules will be piloted in 2009/10:

Mainstreaming the Chartered Teacher programme

When will the Chartered Teacher programme be widely available?

Following the independent evaluation of the pilot programme, the Council, working with providers and WAG, will make final design decisions. It is hoped that it will be possible to mainstream the programme from September 2010.

Am I eligible to become a Chartered Teacher?

You will need a minimum of five years fulltime teaching experience to begin the Chartered Teacher programme.

Do I want to be a Chartered Teacher?

Chartered Teacher status recognises the standards within the profession that you have achieved. It will not be awarded lightly and those teachers who do attain it can be justly proud of their achievement and recognition.

What will it involve?

It is envisaged that the Taught or Programme Route will have several components:

• core modules – which every teacher must undertake
• own choice modules – dependent on the teacher’s interests, skills, context
• work-based projects

How long will it take?

For the Taught or Programme Route, it is anticipated that a teacher will take between two and five years to achieve Chartered Teacher status.

For the Portfolio Route, a teacher will usually require between 12 and 24 months to produce the file of evidence.

What will it cost?

It is hoped that the Welsh Assembly Government, will give substantial financial support for this Welsh development; through direct funding, the Better Schools Fund or the CPD Funding programme.

It is not envisaged that teachers would have to meet the total cost themselves.

What will a Chartered Teacher look like?

A Chartered Teacher will be an experienced and accomplished teacher who has met the Chartered teacher standards. (download here)

The standards fall into three key areas:

• Professional knowledge and understanding
• Professional skills in practice
• Professional commitment

What is the difference between studying for a Masters qualification and Chartered Teacher?

Chartered Teacher is a qualification which focuses you on your effectiveness as a teacher and will require you to undertake work-based projects.

Many Masters modules can focus on practice but not necessarily so.

I already have a Masters degree, can I use it towards achieving Chartered Teacher status?

Only programmes accredited by GTCW can contribute directly towards the attainment of Chartered Teacher status. However, the Council will be considering whether teachers will be able to receive credit for previously established skills and attributes through submissions for Accredited Prior Learning (APL).