The Chartered College of Teaching has arrived. After months of preparation and a few fallen hurdles along the way, the curtain rose on our inaugural conferences in London and Sheffield in February 2017. Amongst our conferences’ presenters was respected psychologist, Professor Tanya Byron, who spoke movingly about the state of modern childhood. Speaking to an audience of teachers and educationalists, Byron highlighted disturbing statistics on the increase in mental illness amongst children and adolescents and she catalogued the problems schools recognise all too readily as affecting growing numbers of their pupils – such as self harm, eating disorders and anxiety. But she went on to say that teachers should not feel they have to shoulder these difficulties alone and she warned of the consequences for teachers’ own mental and physical health. Teacher well-being and pupil well-being are closely interconnected, she argued, and we must therefore be concerned to attend to both. This is one reason why the Chartered College of Teaching represents a vital step in the right direction for teachers because we are here to support the teaching profession in overcoming the many challenges it is currently facing.
Our objective is to secure an excellent education for every child: an ambition which calls for excellence in teaching if it is to be realised. We believe that if teachers are to do the best they can for pupils, they need to be confident in their identities and expertise as professionals. Through establishing the Chartered College as an authoritative voice for teachers we aim to create a collaborative professional culture where knowledge about good teaching is shared and celebrated, and where tried-and-tested solutions become more widely known. When I first took up my post as the Chartered College’s first CEO, I admit to feeling somewhat daunted by the scale of the challenges our profession is confronted with but it has been deeply heartening to open our doors to such a broad, expansive welcome, not only from teachers but also from a wide spectrum of educational organisations. The next step is to translate our ambitions into reality and I would like to update Every Child Journal readers on our progress so far.
The Chartered College principles
An important principle underpinning the Chartered College’s mission is to be a member-led organisation, run by teachers for teachers. The Council which bears responsibility for steering our work is comprised mainly of teachers and includes representatives from a broad range of sectors including special education. To help us in understanding teachers’ needs, we commissioning a consultation study conducted by Dr Tim O’Brien and Dr Denis Guiney. The study involved a large-scale survey and series of focus groups with teachers in different locations around the country. The research report (CCT, 2016) highlighted teachers’ concerns and enabled us to identify the priorities that must be addressed. In their summary, O’Brien and Guiney noted that teachers want their Chartered College to:
- support and enhance their professionalism;
- provide access to high quality, relevant research to inform their practice;
- facilitate the sharing of effective practice;
- enhance teachers’ wellbeing; and
- represent and amplify teacher voice in the public arena.
Based on these consultations, we are now looking at ways of addressing the five priorities. Our plans include developing a Knowledge Platform unlocking the door to rigorous, relevant research evidence and a new, peer-reviewed journal with contributions from academic and practitioner researchers. The Professional Learning Pathways are being designed to support the development of teachers’ expertise and the Chartered Teacher programme will offer bespoke, career-long opportunities for all who teach. Teachers taking part in the study saw the Chartered Status as an important mechanism for raising the quality of teaching and learning and thereby improving the lives and life chances for children and young people. This new qualified status will establish a set of teacher-developed professional principles which clearly articulate what accomplished teaching is. It will also provide a framework of rigorous, valid assessment to ensure the highest standards are not only achieved but also sustained over the course of a teacher’s career. Over time we want to create a fellowship of Chartered Teachers whose expertise will advance educational practice, research and policy.
We are aiming high because we believe that teachers deserve greater recognition of their value to society and they should be entrusted with responsibility for the future development of teaching. We want to create a professional development programme for teachers that is transformative, engaging, responsive and relevant to classroom practice. The time, energy and commitment teachers invest in this programme will be recognised through the award of Chartered Teacher status. This important signifier of professional status provides:
- clear recognition of teachers’ expertise, skills and experience;
- an accreditation of professional commitment and development;
- a structured framework to inform and support individual career aspirations;
- membership of a community with shared values and experiences;
- a stronger sense of professional autonomy and confidence.
We believe that teaching is the most important profession for our nation’s future and therefore it is essential for teachers to have access to high-quality professional development throughout their careers. We have a valuable opportunity to develop a Chartered Teacher programme that is firmly grounded in teachers’ expertise and aspirations. However, the road ahead is not without potential potholes.