Living in England

From last month, September 2007, all new teachers in post-compulsory education (that is funded by the LSC), - whatever institution they work for – from FE to private training companies - will have to achieve the new, revised qualification that will give them either Qualified Teacher Learning and Skills (QTLS) status or Associate Teacher Learning and Skills (ATLS) status. Moreover, all teachers, regardless of length of service, must also obtain a license to practice and to register with a professional body, the Institute for Learning (IfL).

To keep their license they will have to carry out at least 30 hours per year of continuing professional development, which will be monitored by the IfL. It is believed that such a reform will be hugely beneficial to students and teachers alike and, most importantly, improve the status for FE teachers who, ever since the onset of incorporation in 1994, have become known as ‘the Cinderella sector’ of the British Education system.

What Brought This Reform About? Before 2001, lecturers in FE did not need to possess a professional qualification and, although many were actually qualified, there was a significant amount that were not. Furthermore, many FE teachers did not, and still do not, enter into the profession as graduates.

Traditionally, such practitioners were those who taught vocational skills. Eg. Hairdressers, caterers, builders, secretaries, electricians and so on. And colleges have always been very keen to employ such people who had up-to-date industrial experience. Although unqualified in the academic sense, these people were often highly skilled, older adults who had developed their skills in industry and commerce and, after many years in industry, felt that passing that knowledge on to others by becoming a teacher might be very rewarding. In 2001 new regulations were introduced. This required all newly-appointed teachers in FE to obtain an FE Teaching qualification within 2 years of being appointed.

This qualification would either be a PGCE or the Cert Ed. However, in 2003, there were Ofsted inspections of FE and the reports were highly critical. With 12% failing and many more having unsatisfactory teaching and leadership by Principals. Only 8% were deemed to be outstanding. In 2003 Ofsted also inspected 8 Higher Education Institutes and 23 FE Colleges to evaluate initial teacher training programmes in FE. Their findings were equally disappointing.

The main findings were: That training and newly-qualified staff were monitored too little and not given enough advice on how to teach their specialist subjects. That teacher-training course managers had insufficient details on an entrant’s qualifications leading to an inability give an appropriate initial assessment. That a third of trainee college teachers did not have the equivalent of a GCSE grade C in English or maths. So, in a nutshell, they concluded that for the majority of teachers working in 6th Form or FE colleges – the training they received was poor and they lacked many basic maths and literacy skills. It follows on from this then – that if Britain wishes to be a modern and competitive player in the global economic market then it must ensure that the education and training they receive must be in tune with the requirements of that market. These were factors that led to the new Framework for ITT

Main Changes for Trainee Teachers and Existing Teachers From September all new entrants to FE teaching, whether full-time or part-time, should firstly have at least a level 3 qualification in their specialism before going on to the first stage of the qualification.
The First Stage:
A Preparing to Teach in the Lifelong Learning Sector (PTLLS) award.
It’s equivalent to an induction course and provides a basic minimum standard. Available at Level 3 or Level 4
60 hours long – 30 guided learning and 30 self-directed
It comprises a single 6 credit unit which will include:
Initial assessment of literacy, numeracy and ICT needs and planning to address these.
Observed practice
Mentoring support to include the drawing up of an ILP (Individual Learning Plan) identifying needs and plans to address these.
Must be undertaken within first year of teaching.
The Second Stage:
Depends upon whether you have a full teaching role (involved in all aspects of teaching, planning, assessing, etc) or not .
New lecturers whose role will not include the full range of teaching responsibilities will be known as Associate teachers and they will take the:
Certificate in Teaching in the Lifelong Learning Sector (CTLLS)
Available at Level 3 or 4
Credit Value: 24.
Comprises three mandatory units worth 6 credits each and optional units to the value of at least 6 credits.
Mandatory units are:
1. Preparing to Teach in the Lifelong Learning Sector (PTLLS)
2. Planning and enabling learning
3. Principles and practice of assessment.

Must have 30 hours of teaching practice of which 3 must be observed for a minimum of 3 hours in total.
If your role is a full teaching one (whether full-time, part-time, fractional, sessional) you will progress from PTLLS to DTLLS

Diploma in Teaching in Lifelong Learning Sector.
This is at Level 5 or above.
Taken in two parts: part 1 and Part 2 with each part comprising 60 credits making 120 credits in all.
Mandatory units for Part one will be:

1. Preparing to teach in the lifelong learning sector (PTLLS)
2. Planning and enabling learning
3. Enabling learning and assessment
4. Theories and principles for planning and enabling learning

Mandatory units for Part two will be:
1. Continuing personal and professional development
2. Curriculum design for inclusive practice
3. Wider professional practice

Both Parts 1 and 2 also include optional units of 15 credits.

The required amount of teaching practice is 150 hours of which a minimum of 8 hours should be observed in 8 observations. Following completion of CTLLS or DTTLS there is a period of professional formation before they gain QTLS or ATLS status. During this time the lecturer must demonstrate effective application of skills in practice.

It is a probationary period of practice and their professional qualification - and is different to any probationary period they may have with their employer. Specialist teachers of ESOL, Literacy and Numeracy must also obtain an appropriate qualification for their specialist subject as well as the above. From September 2007 all new entrance to FE teaching – whether part-time, full-time, sessional, temporary, or agency – will have to obtain:
A preparing to Teach in the Lifelong Learning Sector (PTLLS) award. This is the minimum requirement for the license to teach for everyone in a teaching role on courses funded by the LSC
After this – either a

Certificate in Teaching in the Lifelong Learning Sector (CTLLS)

this is for those in an Associate teaching role and leads to Associate Teacher Learning and Skills status (ATLS). This is the qualification for those whose responsibilities are significantly less than a full teaching role.
Or a:

Diploma in Teaching in the Lifelong Learning Sector (DTLLS)
this is for those who have a full teaching role, including specialist Skills for Life routes. It is at a minimum of level 5 and leads to Qualified Teacher Learning and Skills status (QTLS)
After obtaining PTLLS and either DTLLS or CTLLS there is a period of professional formation. A probationary period not for your employer but for the IfL. The teacher must be able to demonstrate through teaching that they meet the standards and can effectively apply the skills and knowledge they learnt whilst training.
Specialist Teachers of Literacy, ESOL and Numeracy must also gain an appropriate specialist subject qualification.
Registration with IfL and CPD

After completing either the Diploma or Certificate and successfully undertaken the period of professional formation all teachers in the learning and skills sector must register with the Institute for Learning (IlF).
Registration will grant a license to practice in the sector.
Once registered and licensed it will be necessary to ensure that standards are maintained and built on. This will take place from Continuing Professional Development.
All teachers will be required to complete a minimum of 30 hours CPD each academic year – pro-rata for part-timers.
They must keep a record of this and make it available to IfL and their employer or employers if they have more than one.
Rationale behind this is that

learning to teach doesn’t stop once you have qualified – it is a continuous process adding value throughout one’s teaching career. It enables every teacher to update their subject knowledge and further develop their teaching skills and be able to adapt to new resources and teaching methods – eg. E-learning or interactive whiteboards.
It should be reflective and based on the practitioners development needs whilst blend with the needs of the employer.
It will be the IfL who decides what can count for CPD and they will be the body who monitors it – not the employer.
So Does Cinderella Finally Get to Go to the Ball?

There are many benefits and I will just highlight some:
Certainly the reforms leading to a higher qualified and skilled teaching force has to be a good thing and will enable teachers in FE to finally gain real professional status by registration with IfL.
The scope of the reforms will mean that trainees can enjoy a much higher and standardised training experience with increased support by people specifically trained to do this.
CPD - The requirement for all teachers to gain formal and informal training to enhance their professional development will be a motivating force and enable them to advance in their career.
Everyone involved in the delivery of FE courses desires a sector where the teaching staff and those managing them are motivated professionals with good career prospects. The teachers want the status and respect that they feel school teachers get – and the reforms certainly address these issues. Furthermore, with such professionalisation it is hoped that more people of a higher calibre will be attracted to the job as a real career choice rather than falling into it by accident.

My own research found that nobody had made a conscious decision to be an FE teacher. The IfL plans to develop their website to incorporate facilities whereby teachers can share teaching resources, research and ideas of good practice as well as signposting CPD training and support services.

Such a service, in one place, will certainly make it easier for busy teachers to be able to access important information and advice. The reforms then certainly address the major problems found by Ofsted in 2003. If we consider, as an example, the delivery of embedded Key Skills. There will be huge benefits to a learner to be taught these in context of their vocational course, by a vocational teacher who is not just a competent, say brick layer, but also a skilled Key Skills teacher. Such teachers will now have training and be able to recognise that you need a different set of teaching skills to teach laying bricks than you do for Key Skills. So this is just a synopsis of some of the benefits of the changes.

So Will it Work?

Problems I think will revolve around the practicalities of implementing the reforms into the working life of colleges. Ofsted Inspectors who monitored ITT courses in 2004/5 found that although there had been some progress since 2003 it was limited in some areas.
They identified a big contrast between the taught element of ITT courses (which was good) and the practical elements (Which was less so). One criticism made was that the level of support that trainees received was still inadequate and often carried out by volunteers.
The mentoring schemes therefore were highlighted as in need of improvement as was the systematic support for the more experienced teachers. I can also see that there may be problems for mentors and tutors getting time off to take up mentoring training and also to carry out observations and tutorials with their trainees – having to fit it all around their own teaching commitments. Already there are problems filling these posts within FE colleges because it is felt that there hasn’t been enough time off given in order to do it properly.
In fact the problems that may be encountered revolve around 2 factors: Time off and financial support. – Both for the trainee, the experienced teacher undertaking CPD and the mentors and support people in the places where the trainee is employed.
There is no automatic or statutory entitlement to either of these things. An example:

Since 2002, my place of employment has had a system that links the entitlement of TPI to completion of an amount of continuing professional development/staff training.
The college offers around 5 days in-service training throughout the year – and it is possible to meet the minimum requirement by just doing these 5 days. Many people only do this minimum because attending external training courses will mean that either classes are not covered at all or covered by non-subject specialists.
So the reasons are not because of lack of will or motivation but due to lack of support systems within the college. Equally, there is no statutory right for time off for ITT. Whilst most colleges do give time off (my college gives 60 hours per year) there is a huge variety of local practices.
I can see also that problems could arise for people employed on an hourly rate or P/T contracts with 2 or more employers. The minimum CPD requirement for these people is 6 hours – at least 1 hour with each employer. The practicalities of getting this to run smoothly could be a concern. So there are still some things that need to be clarified and tightened up. It is a huge project – involving trainees and qualified teachers on different kinds of contracts, with a huge range of abilities and teaching in a variety of places.

Nevertheless – when I think back to when I first entered FE and the changes that have taken place I am amazed and proud that the sector has stuck in there and struggled through admirably.
It is only since 2001 that teacher training became a requirement and in that time FE colleges have climbed that steep learning curve and put everything in place over a very short space of time – so I have every faith they will do it again. So Cinderella should maybe begin polishing her tiara!!

Sum Up:

Seen that there was a definite gap in the skills of significant amount of FE teacher which will have an obvious impact on learners and the future workforce.
Outlined the main changes that the new teacher training reforms will make:
PTLLS
CTLLS
DTLLS
Registration and QTLS or ATLS status
CPD

Considered some of the benefits this will have on people working on the sector and some of the challenges still to face.

The Article was written by Sue, College lecturer