ATL

ATL Cymru: continual professional development

Professionalism implies a 'responsibility to the continued development of practical knowledge through reflection and interaction, to review the nature and effectiveness of practice, and to continue to increase the understanding of the purposes and content of education, individually and collectively'¹.

ATL believes that the development of the knowledge and skills of teachers and support staff should be viewed as a continuum, beginning with Initial Teacher Training and continuing through structured continual professional development. This requires both the expectation and entitlement for teachers to undertake CPD.

A robust CPD framework is essential as the knowledge and skills of teachers, their intellectual capital, are critical in achieving the teaching quality which is the key to classroom effectiveness².

The current CPD framework for Wales: the rationale for change

Within the context of the provision of CPD courses, ATL Cymru surveyed
its members and found that³:

• 22 per cent of teachers in Wales rated CPD provision and inset days as
  poor

• 57 per cent of members felt they had no control over their CPD provision

• 40 per cent had their request for CPD refused

• funding was viewed as a major obstacle

• 17 per cent of ATL Cymru members stated that they had been refused training identified in their performance management review.

CPD issues and challenges

The CPD issues and challenges are manifold and include the following:

1. There is a lack of clarity about what opportunities are available to teachers and what CPD options are most appropriate at a particular stage of a teacher's career.

ATL Cymru agrees with the GTCW, which has identified several specific gaps in the provision of CPD for teachers:

• teachers aspiring to excellence in the classroom

• teachers who teach through the medium of Welsh

• deputy/assistant heads who do not wish to become headteachers

• teachers who teach pupils with additional learning needs⁴.

2. There is an inequality in teachers' access to professional development.

Teachers do not always enjoy the same access across Wales to the professional development opportunities on offer. Disparities depend on factors such as the degree and variety of CPD support and provision in LAs. There are also school-specific factors, such as school size and the commitment demonstrated by individual schools in developing teachers⁴.

3. The provision of CPD in HE is patchy.

Most providers do not conduct sufficient research or use data effectively about the teachers who attend their courses to tailor modules better to the needs of teachers. There is very limited distance learning provision in Wales and little research evidence on the longer term impact of HE study on teachers' professional development, their schools and on raising pupils' standards in Wales⁵.

4. There is grave inequality in CPD funding via the GTCW.

Funding allocated to teachers from the GTCW for CPD is done on a first come, first served basis. In October 2008 the GTCW ran out of money from its CPD fund and was not able to obtain additional funding from the WAG. This could act as a disincentive to teachers considering applying for this funding in the future. In most schools, applications to the GTCW are dependent on support from senior staff and a positive school climate that is conducive to a wide range of CPD opportunities. The funding allocated is not equitably distributed amongst members of the teaching profession. An additional problem identified is that many teachers do not request time off for training for a variety of reasons, including feeling that their request will be refused due to lack of time, etc.

5. ATL Cymru has concerns regarding the bureaucratic nature of obtaining CPD funding from the GTCW.

Many members have commented that the forms to obtain CPD funding are overly burdensome. Funding is allocated often on an ad hoc basis. There is a clear need for transparency in the current system of funding, with clear rationale identified.

6. CPD funding is often dictated by the needs of schools, rather than the individual needs of teachers.

CPD should be personalised to the needs and interests of staff and should offer communities of learning within and between schools. ATL Cymru members believe that each individual teacher should be given an allocation of funding annually that they can use or 'bank' to fund their CPD activities individually or pool with other teachers within or outside their school. It is essential that teachers are given greater autonomy and responsibility to address their own CPD needs. These should always be balanced with the needs of individual schools. If the WAG gave £500 per annum to each teacher in Wales for CPD then this would only amount to £20 million in funding, which would enable teachers in Wales to continually update and improve their skills and knowledge.

7. Thereare currently few funding sources and opportunities for the training of support staff.

Schools realise the value of training support staff alongside teachers but funding is limited. If schools wish to train support staff, many will finance this from their own budgets. However, because such staff often have part-time or limited contracts, schools have to pay them to attend on these days6. A system for funding CPD for support staff needs to be established. This would help increase the status of the profession and encourage the recruitment and retention of support staff. The forthcoming National Framework for Support Staff in Wales needs to contain provisions for CPD.

8. There is a lack of opportunity for teachers in independent schools to gain access to CPD.

Independent schools do not have an entitlement to access CPD funding from the GTCW. There is a need to consider how independent schools can access funding for CPD to ensure there is parity with colleagues within the state sector.

9. There are limited opportunities for teachers to gain professional recognition for their CPD.

Apart from QTS and NPQH; there are no other clearly defined opportunities for teachers to gain professional recognition therefore leaving no professional development arrangements for the vast majority of teachers.

10. There is a lack of clarity in the opportunities and arrangements for teachers to have their professional achievements accredited.

There is no structured mechanism for setting out the professional development opportunities, standards and differing career paths open to all teachers over the entirety of a teacher's career⁶.

It should be noted that taking part in CPD is not just limited to attending training courses. Even the best courses are only effective if the learning continues back at schools. There needs to be opportunities between schools for reflection on practice and observation of others. In a climate of increased multi-agency working, CPD also needs to involve discussions and learning with other practitioners.

There is a need to rationalise current CPD provision and produce a national framework of programmes and arrangements for support staff and teachers' CPD throughout their career. There is a need to establish consistency and quality in the range of opportunities available.

GTCW proposals to tackle issues and challenges

ATL Cymru agrees with the GTCW that there is a need to establish national programmes and arrangements for teachers' professional development in Wales. There is a need to formalise arrangements so that each of the professional milestones in a teacher's career has a national programme of structured professional development linked to it and is underpinned by professional standards. A new national programme, the Chartered Teacher Programme, should be introduced for teachers aspiring to excellence in the classroom or who are middle leaders, enabling teachers to achieve CTS. This would result in the following national arrangements for teachers' CPD:

• QTS

• Statutory Induction, followed by EPD

• CTS

• National Headship Development programme, which consists of the following key components:
  (i) NPQH;
  (ii) PHIP for first time headteachers to support them in the first two years of their role;
  (iii) Leadership Programme for Serving Headteachers to encourage further professional development.

Chartered Teacher Status: the views of ATL Cymru members

ATL Cymru agrees with the GTCW that the establishment of CTS will plug the gaps identified in the current CPD framework, as apart from NQT and NPQH there are no other clearly defined opportunities for the vast majority of teachers to gain professional recognition⁷. The standards for CTS are measurable, observable and quality assured. The GTCW has recommended that this scheme be fully funded by the WAG.

Additional issues that need to be addressed

The additional issues that need to be addressed include the following:

1. Quality assurance of teachers' professional development and its providers. Outside the current CPD milestones there is no guarantee that other professional development activities are of an appropriate quality, despite the fact that the WAG invests over £50 million in these activities annually. It is essential that quality control measures are in place. There is a need for all professional providers to be accredited and for an approved register of providers and programmes to be established. There is also a need to ensure that CPD and training provided in-house on inset days is of the highest quality. Quality assurance standards need to be developed to ensure quality is established for both in-house and external CPD and training. An approved quality assurance register should be made available online as a 'one-stop-shop'.

There is a need to review existing quality assurance arrangements. ATL Cymru believes a review of quality assurance arrangements needs to consider their appropriateness and consistency. In particular, there is a specific need to investigate the quality assurance arrangements for national programmes (namely EPD and PHIP) which allow teachers a high level of flexibility to tailor their activities to their own needs and spend funding on activities of their own choice.

An assessment is needed to identify the availability of well-trained mentoring, coaching and advisory support for teachers at a school and/or LA level. In this respect, there needs to be a consideration of Estyn's work in inspecting and evaluating existing programmes and/or providers which should include the frequency of inspections.

2. Recording of teachers' professional development and self-reflection. ATL Cymru agrees with the GTCW that there should be a review of the recording arrangements of professional development and self-reflection by the WAG. The aim of the review should be to reduce the amount of work and unnecessary bureaucracy for teachers, schools and others in recording details of professional development.

There is a need for a standardised web-based PDP. This should be introduced for all teachers (following pilots) and should be mandatory to ensure recording is kept to a minimum and to ensure there is no duplication. A PDP would help teachers take ownership of professional development and career progression.

There needs to be a cultural shift in the practice of recording professional development. Rather than recording professional development for functional purposes, there needs to be a greater emphasis on teachers reflecting upon professional development they have undertaken. ATL Cymru believes that reflective time needs to be built into the CPD training provided. Teachers need reflective time when they return to school after attending training; this is a key part to learning and is vital for pedagogy. To ensure that reflection time is worthwhile, training and support is necessary to assist teachers in their reflections.

Finally we would reiterate that CPD is not just about attending training courses. This idea needs to be challenged repeatedly to enable the creation of a sustainable learning culture in schools.

Glossary

CPD: Continual professional development. A process by which teachers can keep their skills up-to-date and can continually develop their knowledge and expertise.
CTS: Chartered Teacher Status.
HE: Higher education.
GTCW: General Teaching Council for Wales. The council is a statutory, self-regulatory professional body for teachers.
LA: Local authority. There are currently 22 in Wales
NPQH: National Professional Qualification for Headship. This qualification is approved by the National Assembly of Wales as evidence of a person being suitably equipped for headship. It is mandatory to hold or have a place on an NPQH course in orderto apply for headship in the maintained sector.
PDP: Professional development portfolio.
PHIP: Professional Headship Induction Programme.
QTS: Qualified Teacher Status. This is the accreditation that permits someone to teach
in maintained and special schools in England and Wales.
WAG: Welsh Assembly Government.

Footnotes

2. David Egan, School Effectiveness, Article for IWA, Summer 2008.

3. ATL Cymru, CPD and performance management survey, Spring 2008.

4. GTCW, Professional Development, Recognition and Accreditation (Strand 2): Advice to the Welsh Assembly Government, July 2006 at www.gtcw.org.uk/documents/framework/Strand_2_Advice_E.pdf.

5. Estyn, A survey of courses offered by higher education institutions that contribute to teachers' continuing professional development, 2006 at www.estyn.gov.uk/publications/CPDE.pdf.

6. Estyn, How linkages can be improved between continuing professional development, school development plans, performance management and raising standards, 2005 at www.estyn.gov.uk/publications/Remit_24a.pdf.

7. GTCW, Professional Development, Recognition and Accreditation (Strand 2): Advice to the Welsh Assembly Government, July 2006 at www.gtcw.org.uk/documents/framework/Strand_2_Advice_E.pdf.

If you would like further information, or to comment on this briefing paper, please contact ATL's Cardiff office by telephoning 029 2046 5000 or contacting ATL's Cardiff office.