Accreditation moves closer

WENDY CURRIE reports on the Quality Teaching Council's progress on professional accreditation.

Accreditation at Professional Accomplishment and Professional Leadership levels has moved a step closer with the Institute of Teachers' Quality Teaching Council (QTC) endorsing at its March meeting the Evidence Guides that accompany the Policy and Procedures for Accomplishment and Leadership.

The Evidence Guides moved through a number of drafts before the QTC was prepared to endorse them. Federation had initial concerns, for example, about which teachers these levels were applicable to. The union's view of leadership includes those who are educational leaders but who are not in promotions positions and the new guides now reflect his.

Federation also considered that it should be perfectly clear in the documents themselves that they are guides only and should not be used as a mandatory checklist. The guides are extensive and detailed, and while Federation agrees that accreditation at these levels should be rigorous and challenging, it certainly should not be so complex as to dissuade teachers from applying, rather encouraging them to do so. The endorsed guides now specifically say that the guide is "not definitive and the descriptions of evidence contained�are suggestions only".

The union also asked the Institute to take into consideration the difficulties that some of the suggested evidence in early drafts presented for teachers in small, rural and remote schools, and small faculties of larger secondary schools.

The final endorsed version includes reference to the context in which the applicant teaches, including teachers in specialist positions. It also includes a broad definition of the use of the term "colleagues" with whom the applicant may have collaborated to include, for example, specialist staff, teacher education students undertaking professional experience at the school, teacher educators, consultants and advisors, and members of the same professional association.

Also most welcome is the inclusion of documentation that demonstrates the teacher's contribution to industrial organisations as evidence of meeting Element 6 of the Professional Standards: "Teachers continually improve their professional knowledge and practice."

While the details of the actual process have not been finalised, it will involve the use of external observers trained by the Institute. There will be no requirement for teachers applying for accreditation at these levels to be accredited at Professional Competence, meaning that you will not have to be a New Scheme Teacher to apply. It should be noted that there will be a charge for the process of accreditation, a charge which Federation has consistently opposed.

Wendy Currie is a Research Officer.

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