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All teachers, trainers and tutors in the further education sector are required to undertake and record their professional development, after new regulations came into force at the beginning of September 2007. To support the effective implementation of the new continuing professional development (CPD) requirements, the Institute for Learning (IfL) will be hosting a series of seminars at regional centres around England during November and December.

The seminars, which are free of charge, are for staff development managers, teacher trainers, HR managers and other staff with responsibility for CPD in their organisations. Participants will be able to choose from 18 three-hour sessions:

* London: Tuesday 6 November 2007 morning or afternoon

* Cambridge: Friday 9 November 2007 morning or afternoon

* Birmingham: Monday 12 November 2007 morning or afternoon

* Newcastle: Monday 26 November 2007 morning or afternoon

* Nottingham: Tuesday 27 November 2007 morning or afternoon

* Bristol: Wednesday 28 November 2007 morning or afternoon

* Manchester: Thursday 29 November 2007 morning or afternoon

* Leeds: Friday 30 November 2007 morning or afternoon

* London: Friday 7 December 2007 morning or afternoon

The seminars have been designed to update participants about IfL's CPD guidelines, the CPD planning cycle, CPD resources and support available, and the latest developments on the IfL CPD portal. Lunch will be provided.

Jean Kelly, head of professional development at IfL, said, "These seminars will give participants the opportunity to find out about what sort of CPD counts, how it will be monitored, and what kind of support will be available. They will also have the chance to add their views to the consultations on our code of professional practice and the process of professional formation.

"We strongly recommend that those with responsibility for staff development take advantage of this opportunity to better understand and comment on the challenges faced and the strategies that could be used by individuals and by organisations to support the effective implementation of CPD."

Since the beginning of September 2007, when the new regulations came into force and IfL's online registration facility went live, membership has increased to over 15,000. All existing FE teachers are required to join the IfL by 31 March 2007, and new teachers joining the sector after

1 September 2007 will have six months in which to register as members.

The government is currently funding the standard registration fee of £30 for all those who are required to register.

NOTES TO EDITORS

A detailed flyer and booking form for the "Making Your CPD Count"

seminars is available to download from the IfL website at www.ifl.ac.uk/services/docs/261/Making%20Your%20CPD%20Count%20-%20Region

al%20Events.pdf

About IfL

The Institute for Learning (IfL) was formed in 2002 and is the professional body for teachers, trainers and student teachers in the learning and skills sector, including adult and community and learning, emergency and public services, further education colleges, Ministry of Defence and the armed services, the voluntary sector and work-based learning.

Much of IfL’s work will be guided by two sets of regulations that came into force on 1 September 2007:

* Revised teaching qualifications, including the introduction of licensed practitioner status and differentiation between full and associate teachers

* Remaining in good standing as a teaching professional, including mandatory continuing professional development (CPD) for all teachers.

Under the regulations, all FE college teachers are required to register as members of IfL, undertake CPD each year and abide by the IfL code of professional practice. The regulations are supported by contractual requirements for LSC-funded provision, which will ensure that the scope of the regulations will cover all teachers in the sector.

Teachers new to the sector from September 2007 are additionally required to become licensed practitioners and achieve Qualified Teacher Learning and Skills (QTLS) status or Associate Teacher Learning and Skills (ATLS) status. Although not mandatory for them, existing teachers are also encouraged to become licensed practitioners, as this becomes the future benchmark for the sector.

Further information about the new regulations and the FE workforce reforms is available from Lifelong Learning UK (LLUK) at www.lluk.org/ittreforms/.

As a key partner in delivering workforce reform, IfL is responsible for managing this registration process and for conferring licensed practitioner status.