New Teachers, New Term, New Professional Standards

4 Sep 2017 10:24 AM

As Wales continues its national mission to transform education and raise standards, newly qualified teachers commencing induction from 1 September will start using the new professional standards for teaching and leadership.

Developed in partnership with teachers across Wales, the new standards concentrate on the essential elements of every teacher’s work – pedagogy, collaboration, leadership, innovation and career-long professional learning.

The new standards will:

• Replace 55 standards with five standards and descriptors that allow teachers to use the standards in a way that’s appropriate to their role.
• Inspire, challenge and support every practitioner, from the trainee teacher to the experienced head teacher to focus on the skills, knowledge and behaviours required to meet the needs of their learners.
• Better support new entrants to the teaching profession by bringing greater continuity between initial teacher education, induction and continued development throughout a teacher’s career.
• Acknowledge the need for teachers to work together more effectively to make sure all learners benefit from excellent teaching and learning.
• Develop the leadership capacity within the education system by supporting all teachers to develop their leadership skills.

The standards will apply to all serving teachers and leaders by September 2018 and initial teacher training programmes from September 2019. This will provide time to build familiarity with the new standards before they become mandatory.

Kirsty Williams said:

“We value our professional teaching workforce in Wales, and want to support them to be the best they can be throughout their careers.

“Quite simply, no education system is better than the quality of its teachers. Alongside teachers and parents, I share the ambition for a profession committed to the highest standards, lifelong learning and high aspirations for all pupils.

“These new standards are about making sure teachers develop the right skills throughout their career. They empower all those teaching in our classrooms to work together to raise learner outcomes. This is a key part of a fundamental shift towards a system driven by career-long learning. My vision is to strengthen leadership and make sure that there is greater consistency across our schools.

“I am grateful to all those teachers, leaders, consortia and other partners who have been directly involved in developing these new standards – it is testament to what can be achieved through us working together.”

The Education Workforce Council has developed an enhanced Professional Learning Passport so that teachers can reflect on their practice and map their development against the 5 standards.

Hayden Llewellyn said:

“The standards are a welcome addition to the Passport. We encourage teachers to use them in planning their professional learning and development as they progress through their careers.”

The four regional education consortia will ensure that every newly qualified teacher has a mentor to support them in using and evidencing the standards throughout their induction period.