PRESS RELEASE

25 April 2008

Would-be Chartered Teachers learn importance of Self Reflection

As part of the General Teaching Council for Wales’ Chartered Teacher Pilot scheme teachers undertaking the self evaluation and reflection module had the opportunity to interview headteachers at Trinity College, Carmarthen recently.

The module is part of the Chartered Teacher pilot programme which aims to give teachers a more structured and coherent route to professional development throughout their careers. The programme is currently piloting two main routes to becoming a Chartered Teacher, a taught route and an accreditation route. The self evaluation & reflection module is part of the taught route and is organised by SWAMWAC, the South and Mid Wales Consortium.

The session at Carmarthen focused on the importance of a personal development plan to enable teachers to reflect on their personal abilities and areas of strength allowing them to view their career honestly and objectively.

Andi Morgan, joint coordinator and responsible for the programme of activities said; “The event highlighted the group spirit and hands-on approach of the participants. We wanted this module to be discussion-based and the material given was fully embraced by the group. I really feel that the event has inspired teachers and challenged their comfort zones, whilst encouraging exploration and on-the-job learning.”

The aim of the module was to allow teachers to stand back and think of themselves as learners and that personal improvement and development impacts on pupils’ learning and teaching quality. There was also focus on leadership, what makes a good leader, different leadership styles and also the benefits of collaboration and team work.

Seamus O’Sullivan, head of history at `Ysgol Gyfun Aberaeron added; “Today I feel I have been able to consolidate my understanding of leadership in a secondary school, and this has enabled me to go on and think about my career development, perhaps moving into senior management. It has also been an interesting opportunity to talk to primary school teachers regarding their perspective on the curriculum.”

The session culminated with participants interviewing headteachers, and in small groups they devised a series of leadership orientated questions. One who was put in the interview spotlight was Donna Williams, headteacher of Ysgol yr Bedol who commented; “I got involved in order to give something back to teachers, after having received a lot of help from others in my own career. The environment today for teachers with regards to CPD means that they are better prepared for leadership, especially with headship qualifications and standards. I speak from experience, as having over 20 years in headship I have had to learn through experience as my career progressed.”

Lucy Cowley, primary school teacher at Neyland Community School said; “This module has been very informative with regards to the future expectations and requirements of chartered teachers as well as the knowledge we have gained regarding leadership and management. The interviews with headteachers were a more practical and digestible way of learning.”

Following the interviews the small groups fed back to participants and were able to discuss collectively what had been discovered, swap useful observations and findings as well as reflect on the requirements of headteachers.

Lynne Walters, coordinator of the event concluded; “The event was very successful, interesting discussions and debates arose from the activities, and all participating teachers bonded really well sharing their personal experiences from across primary and secondary teaching in many different regions of Wales. All involved are very keen to take what they had gained forward in their teaching careers to enhance and improve.”