Government welcomes
interim report on professionalism in the further education sector
Minister for
Further Education, Skills and Lifelong Learning John Hayes today
welcomed the interim report of the independent review of
professionalism in the further education and skills sector.
The review, chaired by Lord Lingfield, was announced at the AoC
conference in November and has been looking at the current
arrangements to regulate and facilitate the professionalism of the
FE and skills workforce.
As a result of the recommendations, the Government will set in
motion a formal process of consultation with the view to taking
away the statutory obligation for teachers to register with the
Institute for Learning (IfL). The Government will work with sector
bodies, the IfL and other organisations directly affected by the
review's recommendations, before making a more detailed
statement on its response and plans for implementation.
A final report, which will consider professionalism more widely,
will report in the Summer.
The main recommendations from the interim report are:
· Continued phasing out of state grant funding to the IfL, with
support for professionalism among FE staff to be provided by the
Learning and Skills Improvement Service (LSIS) from September 2012
· The last increment of transitional funding for the IfL should
be used to refund part of the second year of fees paid by FE staff
· Revocation of The Further Education Teachers’ Continuing
Professional Development and Registration, England Regulations
and The Further Education Teachers’ Qualifications,
England, Regulations, replacedwith largely
discretionary advice to employers on appropriate qualifications
for staff and continuous professional development
· Simplification of and re-naming the in-service teaching qualifications
· An appropriate government body should take on responsibility
for keeping a register of staff who have been found guilty of
gross misconduct by the authorities, so that they may be excluded
from future employment in the FE sector.
Mr Hayes said:
“I want to thank Lord Lingfield and the panel for their
insightful report, which sets out a compelling vision for
elevating the status of the further education workforce.
"Moving away from an approach that enforces
professionalism through regulation, to one that gives colleges and
providers the freedom to decide how best to achieve high standards
of teaching and learning is consistent with our policy of giving
colleges freedom and power. It is also important that we empower
staff to take responsibility for their own professional
development - supported where they choose by voluntary
professional body membership.
“With the benefit of this interim report, we can take the
necessary steps to ensuring further education professionals are at
the forefront of teaching excellence."
Notes to Editors
1. The interim report can be found in full at; http://www.bis.gov.uk/assets/biscore/further-education-skills/docs/p/12-670-professionalism-in-further-education-interim.pdf
2. The panel comprised:
The Lord Lingfield Kt DL
David Sherlock CBE (Director, Beyond Standards
Limited and former Chief Inspector of Adult Learning for England)
Dawn Ward OBE (Chief Executive and Principal, Burton and
South Derbyshire College)
Dan Wright (Chief Executive, First 4 Skills Limited)
3. BIS's online newsroom contains the latest press
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http://www.bis.gov.uk/newsroom for more information.
Contacts:
BIS Press Office
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Victoria Heath
Phone: 020 7215 5950
victoria.heath@bis.gsi.gov.uk