Teachers must pass new tests to keep their jobs

Scotland’s 53,000 teachers will be required to undertake regular “career MOTs” as part of moves to improve standards in the classroom.

The Scottish Government has announced the introduction of a new system of “re-accreditation” to ensure all school staff are performing to a high standard.

No details have emerged of how the system will work, but it is likely to involve monitoring of the continuous training teachers are expected to undergo as part of their job, possibly every five years.

Those teachers who do not meet the criteria will be expected to take the necessary training in order to be allowed to continue teaching, and in extreme circumstances could face being struck off if they fail to address their professional shortfalls.

The move follows concerns that procedures to identify poor teachers are not robust enough – and comes just days after a report found two-thirds of S2 pupils were failing to meeting literacy targets.

However, while there is likely to be support from headteachers and local authorities, there could be strong opposition from teaching unions if the new scheme is seen as overly bureaucratic or invasive.

The announcement also came on the day an Aberdeen teacher became only the second in Scotland to be struck off for incompetence since the introduction of new regulations last year.

Keith Brown, Minister for Lifelong Learning, said re-accreditation would ensure “all teachers keep their skills up-to-date as their careers develop and changes in education take place”.

His comments echo those of Michael Russell, the Education Secretary, who told the Scottish Parliament last week that he had an “absolute commitment” to the highest standards of teaching.

“Teachers need constantly to interrogate themselves about their practice and learn from it and we will continue to discuss how it can be part of the process,” he said. “At the end of the day, some people will not make it. We need to be quite clear that those people should not be in our classrooms.”

Although the General Teaching Council for Scotland (GTCS) is the professional body for the sector, it is currently possible for a teacher to have no contact with the organisation for their entire career, other than paying an annual fee. By contrast, those in other professions, such as doctors, have regular assessments to ensure they are still fit to practice.

However, officials from the Educational Institute of Scotland (EIS) and the Scottish Secondary Teachers’ Association (SSTA) said their members were some of the best-qualified in the world – and already held to a high set of standards of professionalism and conduct by the GTCS.

Ronnie Smith, general secretary of the EIS, is sceptical of the system. “The GTCS already has a considerable number of statutory powers to ensure the highest standards of teacher professionalism and it uses them to good effect – potentially adding a system of re-accreditation may add little, if anything, to this process,” he said.

Ann Ballinger, general secretary of the SSTA, added: “We would be particularly keen to argue that the system should be supportive of teachers’ development and would be concerned that any future system of re-accreditation should not be overly bureaucratic.”

Anthony Finn, chief executive of GTC Scotland, moved to quell anxiety over re-accreditation, saying it would support teachers in updating their professional skills.

The exact format of re-accreditation will now be passed to the GTCS for consultation.

http://www.heraldscotland.com/news/education/teachers-must-pass-new-tests-to-keep-their-jobs-1.1009457