Qualifications, professional development and probation

Transcription

1 UCU Continuing Professiona Deveopment Quaifications, professiona deveopment and probation Initia training and further education teaching quaifications Since September 2007 a newy appointed FE ecturers, whether fu- or part-time, have to gain a forma FE teaching quaification. For a ecturer this is a Dipoma in Teaching in Lifeong Learning (DTLLS). There is aso a Certificate in Teaching in the Lifeong Learning Sector (CTLLS). This is a eve 3 or 4 quaification. It is for staff who are not undertaking the fu range of tasks and roes expected of a teacher/ecturer. A fu- and part-time FE ecturers aso have to undertake a 30- hour induction course, Preparing to Teach in Lifeong Learning (PTLLS). For those taking DTLLS or the CTLLS this preparatory course wi be part of their dipoma or certificate. Since September 2007 a newy appointed FE ecturers, whether fu- or part-time, have to gain a forma FE teaching quaification Most FE ecturers take their FE teaching quaification as an in-service programme once they obtain a further education teaching post. Lecturers who are teaching Skis for Life programmes Literacy, Numeracy and ESOL have to gain a speciaist teaching quaification in their subject area. The DTLLS quaification and programme wi be embedded within this speciaist quaification. FE ecturers have five years to compete their teaching quaification if taken in service. The FE teaching quaification wi be the Postgraduate Certificate in Education (PGCE) if you are a graduate. If you are not a graduate then the quaification wi be a Certificate of Education (CertEd). The CertEd has been extended to adut and community earning services and work-based earning providers. Pease note that your FE teaching quaification does not quaify you to teach in schoos. But if you are teaching under-16s in a coege setting, you are quaified to undertake this teaching. For detais of the FE quaifications, and for information about where such programmes are approved, any bursaries, grants or goden handshakes avaiabe to trainees, see the Lifeong Learning Sector Counci website: Lifeong Learning UK aso has a very good hepdesk which can offer hep and advice on FE teaching quaifications. You can ca them on: Continuing professiona deveopment in further education The changes in the requirements regarding FE teaching quaifications contain the condition that FE ecturers shoud register with the professiona body, the Institute for Learning (IfL). JOIN YOUR UNION ONLINE: join.ucu.org.uk

2 UCU Continuing Professiona Deveopment To maintain membership of IfL you must undertake 30 hours of continuing professiona deveopment (CPD) per year and this has to be recorded. The empoyer has the right to inspect this og but not approve its content. The IfL wi monitor CPD ogs and sampe some to be inspected each year. You wi be required to confirm onine to IfL each year that you have competed 30 hours CPD. Further detais of the IfL onine og are given beow. Continuing professiona deveopment means maintaining, improving and broadening reevant knowedge and skis in your subject speciaism, teaching and training, so that it has a positive impact on your teaching practice and the experience of earners. CPD can incude attending an interna or externa course, or reading a book. CPD is taiored to you and your roe, and any activities you undertake in order to keep up to date with deveopments in a subject area or of changes in teaching methods wi count as meaningfu professiona deveopment, as ong as you have refected on how they have benefitted your professiona practice. You shoud be abe to answer the foowing questions: What professiona deveopment activities have you undertaken this year? Have you refected on the earning you have gained from these activities? Have the activities and the refection made a difference to how you teach or train? Continuing professiona deveopment means maintaining, improving and broadening reevant knowedge and skis in your subject speciaism, teaching and training Can you show evidence of what the difference is and the impact it has made to earners, coeagues or the organisation in which you work? USEFUL LINKS 1 For detais of IfL, the benefits of joining, access to the REfLECT on-ine og and more information on CPD visit: 2 There is aso information on the UCU website at: 3 UCU have aso produced a too kit expaining the changes to FE initia teacher training and CPD which can be found under Branch Resources: Professiona formation in further education careers The way in which FE teachers usuay train and quaify is different from the path foowed by schoo teachers. Schoo teachers train to obtain their quaified teacher status (QTS) before starting work and then are required to compete a successfu probationary year working in the cassroom. Athough there are a few pre-service FE teaching programmes, most FE ecturers undertake their professiona quaification during their empoyment and there is no equivaent to the schoo teachers probationary year. However, FE now has a period of what is termed professiona formation. This is the post-quaification process by which a teacher is abe to gain Quaified Teacher Learning and Skis (QTLS) by demonstrating through professiona practice: the abiity to effectivey use the skis and knowedge gained whie training the capacity to meet the occupationa standards required of a teacher. The professiona formation process incudes the competion of the appropriate quaification, evidence of numeracy and iteracy skis at, or above, eve 2, 2 Quaifications, professiona deveopment and probation

3 UCU Continuing Professiona Deveopment supporting testimony, the endorsement of the competed appication by an appropriate person and a sef-decaration of suitabiity. The personaised eements incude: an account of the candidate s expertise in their subject area. This can be a mix of persona refection on subject-reated skis or expertise, and peer observation from a suitabe expert witness evidence of teaching and earning which is an account of the candidate s abiity to effectivey use the skis and knowedge gained through initia teacher training to deiver their subject to a range of earners. It coud incude, or be a mix of, a persona refection on teaching and earning, peer or earner observation from a suitabe expert witness, observation of teaching and earning and micro teaching which incudes videos and reviews sef-evauation an individua anaysis of the candidate s earning needs and goas for the next 12 months professiona deveopment panning an individuaised earning pan detaiing the actions to be taken to address the needs and goas identified through sef-assessment refective practice refection on the impact of professiona deveopment on the candidate s teaching practice, the benefit to earners and wider communities. In recent years higher education institutions have expanded the training and deveopment opportunities on offer to academic and academicreated staff Professiona deveopment in higher education Most recruits to academic posts in universities either have a PhD in the subject they are teaching or are studying for an appropriate research quaification. However, the Post-Compusory Education and Training, Certificate in Education (pre-service), is the professiona quaification for those wishing to teach in further education coeges, adut education, higher education and a wide range of other education and training settings outside the schoo sector. There are aso a variety of universities that run higher-eve courses eading to a quaification for entry into higher education teaching, which have been nationay accredited by the Higher Education Academy. These ead to associate practitioner, registered practitioner and practitioner-eve quaifications. There are aso master seve courses. In recent years higher education institutions have expanded the training and deveopment opportunities on offer to academic and academic-reated staff. The deveopment of in-house teaching courses for new academic staff, in particuar, has been a major priority for staff and educationa deveopment units. However, UCU has a number of criticisms of the approach adopted by institutions, incuding: the fragmentation of professiona roes the teaching ony approach an approach driven by costs rather than pedagogy a ack of consutation with practitioners over their deveopment needs inappropriate course deivery an over-emphasis on innovation and virtua earning environments the negect of houry-paid part-time ecturers and fixed-term researchers. 3 Quaifications, professiona deveopment and probation

4 UCU Continuing Professiona Deveopment UCU continues to argue for training and professiona deveopment that refects: respect for teaching and earning support that academics find effective the promotion of inks between research, schoarship and teaching professiona autonomy and academic freedom a community of schoarship where staff and students contribute to the deveopment of the teaching and research agenda a recognition of the European and internationa dimension to a of these issues, and the vaue of coaboration with feow academics at these eves. A positive union agenda for professiona deveopment might incude: continuing professiona deveopment needs ocated in the context of the coege, and determined in consutation with staff, on the basis of a mode of peer support and shared practice eg peer-supported review. staff entitement to sabbaticas the preservation of time for research and schoarship, sometimes referred to as sef-managed time Since 2006 new academic staff have to compete a teaching and earning quaification as a requirement of probation identified time and budget for deveopment activities an agenda for professiona deveopment in the context of widening participation and increasing student diversity that is not mechanistic but stimuates debate on the curricuum and wider, academic impications identified time and budget for activities to support new staff, incuding houry-paid part-timers, such as mentoring maintaining the deveopmenta focus of appraisa separate from issues to do with pay and conditions union invovement in determining staff priorities for forma training incuding content and deivery. PROBATION FOR ACADEMIC STAFF Since 2006 new academic staff have to compete a teaching and earning quaification as a requirement of probation. These teaching programmes are run by the empoying institution but within an overa accreditation and standards framework estabished by the Higher Education Academy. The courses are often provided by the university s education deveopment, or teaching and earning, unit, and generay ead to a postgraduate quaification. The courses are ikey to cover issues such as deveoping teaching practice, student earning and support, quaity assurance, assessing student earning and course design and deveopment. The courses are meant to enabe participants to become more competent, confident and refective ecturers and, whie these courses can be usefu for staff new to higher education teaching, a number of critica observations have aso been voiced. Surveys suggest that many new academics strugge to compete the extensive workoads demanded by the courses. Another widey voiced concern is that the content of the teaching is too generic and may be overy infuenced by pedagogies in the humanities and the socia sciences. Nationay, UCU has raised these concerns with the Higher Education Academy, the body that oversees the accreditation of these courses. We woud continue to wecome feedback from eary career academics about their experiences on these courses. 4 Quaifications, professiona deveopment and probation

5 UCU Continuing Professiona Deveopment USEFUL LINKS 1 The Higher Education Academy (HEA) which was estabished in 2004 seeks to hep institutions, discipine groups and a staff to provide the best possibe earning experience for their students. In particuar the HEA is responsibe for accrediting over 200 institutiona teaching programmes for new academic staff. The HEA website has a number of teaching resources for new academic staff at: and subject-specific advice is avaiabe through their Subject Centres at: 2 Vitae is a nationa organisation concerned with the persona, professiona and career deveopment of doctora researchers and research staff in higher education institutions and research institutes: UCU earning representatives UCU has responded to the issues regarding training and deveopment in further education by creating a new roe in UCU branches earning representatives. Since 1997 UCU, aong with other unions, have been appointing and training union earning representatives (ULRs), and there is egisation extending paid statutory time off to ULRs. UCU sees its ULRs performing two main functions: ULRs act as earning and deveopment experts assisting branches to take up issues of initia training and CPD through the norma coective bargaining processes. UCU considers that these issues shoud be part of the process of coective bargaining with cear union poicies for them and their impementation at coege eve. Since 1997 UCU, aong with other unions, has been appointing and training union earning representatives (ULRs), and there is egisation extending paid statutory time off to ULRs ULRs aso have a roe in giving individua UCU members information, advice and guidance on training and deveopment issues. If you are interested in earning more about what UCU earning representatives do or becoming one, go to or emai training@ucu.org.uk Buid the Union: Want to get more invoved in your union? Visit btu.web.ucu.org.uk 5 Quaifications, professiona deveopment and probation