ATL

Fighting for FE

Chief executive of the Institute for Learning, Toni Fazaeli gives her take on the role of her organisation in England and the importance of FE. Words by Alex Tomlin

Many ATL members working in FE and registered with the Institute for Learning (IfL) are a little unclear as to what it does. What exactly is its purpose?

This rather blunt question was the first one I put to IfL chief executive Toni Fazaeli. "IfL's focus is very much on professional matters and the interests of individual practitioners. It is the professional body for teachers and trainers across further education and skills," was her seemingly well-practised answer.

"We've got a very complementary role with unions," she continues. "In fact, the creation of IfL was driven in part by unions wanting to have a professional body as other professions do, like the Royal College of Nursing and the General Teaching Councils (GTCs) for schools. Key for us is that we work closely with the trade unions and that's why ATL plays a role in our governance."

That governance has undergone a change recently when the proportion of elected members on the advisory council moved from two thirds to three quarters, with a quarter made up of stakeholders. Twelve of the sixty-strong council now form a non-executive board that concentrates on organisational matters to free the bulk of the council up to have "a much fuller discussion on policy", Fazaeli explains.

IfL wants to show "proper regard and respect for the knowledge and insight that teachers have", she goes on. "For example, we consulted on the Ofsted framework. Members had never been asked about it before, but were really glad to give their opinions. Without teacher feedback on Ofsted, the national improvement strategy, Qualified Teacher Learning and Skills (QTLS) or Associate Teacher Learning and Skills, policy-making can happen in a vacuum without voices from practitioners.

"Members tell us they want us to have a voice on their behalf, and to listen to them," Fazaeli states. "I'd like them to see us as responsive and in touch with their needs, and to feel we make a difference to their professional practice. With 195,000 members, we're a very powerful collective voice on issues that matter to teachers and trainers."

One issue that matters to many in FE is parity of status with teachers in schools. One IfL member's experience summed this up, as Fazaeli relates. "She was buying some second-hand furniture. The man in the shop asked what she did. She said 'a teacher'; he asked where; she told him and he said: 'Oh, not a real teacher then?' These are telling moments that show there's a long way to go in the public eye. It used to be the case that, if we knew somebody who knew a bit about computers, we would get them in to teach. Now, quite properly, it's looking much more at who has a high level of expertise and to very quickly get them a teaching qualification. They have to be professional in their specialist area and their teaching practice."

Making QTLS have "parity of esteem" with qualified teacher status for schoolteachers is an important step towards levelling the two sides up. Awarded for the first time in July, the chief executive sees QTLS as a golden opportunity.

"It gives the chance beyond initial training to give evidence of being able to practise effectively. It's an opportunity for individuals to bridge back and forward between schools and FE through the parity of status.

"Secondly, 14-19 is a major policy driver. There is a lot of frustration among school heads and college leaders who want to work flexibly across the school and college setting. Currently, the arrangement is that it's porous only from schools to FE. FE teachers can only teach as assistants in schools, even if they have QTLS, even if they're a highly successful teacher who's been teaching for 20 years."

While she is eager to bring FE and schools closer together, Fazaeli is clear that IfL is distinct from the four GTCs that represent schoolteachers in England, Scotland, Wales and Northern Ireland. "We have a very different history to the GTCs. IfL started off very much as a voluntary body created by members and practitioners, not by government.

"We offer a range of benefits and services that are distinctive. There's a difference in continuing professional development (CPD); we don't ask for evidence of CPD, we trust the teachers. We're currently taking a sample of 1,000 members to get a view of the kind of CPD people are undertaking - their own views on what works. We're confident there will be some real jewels in there.

"[The required] 30 hours of CPD is not a lot. I spoke to two teachers who said they have got more than 70 hours and they are only part-way through the year. I think it's motivated a lot of teachers to give more of a priority to CPD. I don't think you or I would want to go to hospital for surgery and find the surgeon had been too busy to do any professional development for five years. It would be unthinkable and so should it be for teaching and learning.

"IfL's guidance on CPD is broad," she adds. "There's no one who can sit nationally and say what everyone needs. I don't think any CPD plan for our members will look the same, because they're all teaching at different levels, different qualifications, in different contexts and at different stages of their careers, and so on. The individual needs to be in the driving seat to determine what their priorities are. It shouldn't be that our members are waiting for colleges to allow them to do CPD."

Returning to comparisons with the GTCs, Fazaeli comments: "We do have a code of professional practice, but it's very much fit for context in FE and skills. It gives a degree of protection in an area where people move quite easily from place to place; it's a central source of information for employers. But the most important function is to state what we stand for as professionals."

Having perceived professional status would underline the importance of the sector. "FE transforms people's lives. It's massively rewarding to make a tangible difference to young people and adults. They come into FE and that light bulb goes on. They are learning; they are successful. Maybe they are gaining their first ever qualifications at 73."

Fazaeli herself has experience of those light bulb moments, having taught part time in prisons for five years. "What drew me to it was broadening the horizons for people who were incarcerated for 20 hours a day. Between sessions they would do 30, 40 or 50 hours of extra work. I personally found it very rewarding and significant seeing the difference week by week and the difference in their aspirations for when they left prison."

Since those early days, she has been an inspector for the Further Education Funding Council for England, director of quality and standards at the Learning and Skills Council and finally, before IfL, deputy director in the Further Education and Skills Group at the Department for Innovation, Universities and Skills.

"What I found was that, for those working in government or a national organisation, it was a real revelation for them to experience the front line [of FE]. I need to keep going back to the front line so I'm not drawing on how things used to be," she explains. "It's important to bring those two perspectives together. I've learned not to assume there is the knowledge in both directions.

"The political system means that ministers and civil servants may only spend three or four years in the same policy area before moving on. Teachers have experience of 20 to 30 years and the insight that brings. To get the two together is crucial, but it's hard work," Fazaeli believes. "And the onus is on the colleges, providers and teachers to make their voices and perspectives heard.

"The thread throughout my career has been teaching and learning, and quality and equality. I feel I have had an unusual and fortunate opportunity to see it from different perspectives," she concludes. "I'm passionate about FE and skills, and the role of the teacher. Teachers and trainers are absolutely crucial - the most important people as far as I'm concerned."