GTC Scotland CPD Guidelines

A Teaching Profession for the 21st century, the McCrone agreement, placed a new emphasis on Continuing Professional Development (CPD) for all teachers in Scotland. Although CPD is now a statutory element of a teacher's working life, research by the General Teaching Council for Scotland (GTCS) identified a demand from teachers for further advice and guidance. In particular teachers sought guidance to enable them to engage effectively with the CPD process so as to enhance their professional practice.

GTCS has responded to these views by developing a set of CPD guidelines, the process of doing so being informed throughout by teacher's knowledge and experiences as revealed in the research.

This seminar will explain how GTCS engaged teachers from primary and secondary schools across Scotland in a way that engaged them in the CPD process and developed their expertise. It will then outline and discuss the contents of the new CPD guidelines, making explicit the professional benefits of CPD and the link to the Standard for Full Registration.

Professional Recognition is another success story in Scottish education. It is a framework which provides teachers with the opportunity to gain recognition for a particular area of expertise they have developed. Feedback from teachers who have achieved Professional Recognition shows it was beneficial to them in many ways.

Hence, in addition, this seminar will explain how teachers link their Continuing Professional Development with Professional Recognition from the GTC Scotland.

Ron Clarke is a primary teacher who has worked in independent sector and state sector schools. Prior to moving to the GTCS he spent a year developing CPD provision for primary and secondary teachers as part of the Improving Science Education 5-14 initiative. He also worked in the oil industry before going into teaching.

As Professional Officer at the GTCS Ron has lead responsibility for all things associated with probationer teachers, particularly the effective running of the Teacher Induction Scheme. He is also involved in teacher professional development in general and was responsible for co-managing the research project that resulted in the development of the GTCS CPD Guidelines which his seminar will be focusing on.