As Wales continues its national mission to transform education
and raise standards, newly qualified teachers commencing
induction from 1 September will start using the new professional
standards for teaching and leadership.
Developed in partnership with teachers across Wales, the new
standards concentrate on the essential elements of every
teacher’s work – pedagogy, collaboration, leadership, innovation
and career-long professional learning.
The new standards will:
- Replace 55 standards with five standards and descriptors that
allow teachers to use the standards in a way that’s appropriate
to their role.
- Inspire, challenge and support every practitioner, from the
trainee teacher to the experienced head teacher to focus on the
skills, knowledge and behaviours required to meet the needs of
their learners.
- Better support new entrants to the teaching profession by
bringing greater continuity between initial teacher education,
induction and continued development throughout a teacher’s
career.
- Acknowledge the need for teachers to work together more
effectively to make sure all learners benefit from excellent
teaching and learning.
- Develop the leadership capacity within the education system
by supporting all teachers to develop their leadership skills.
The standards will apply to all serving teachers and leaders by
September 2018 and initial teacher training programmes from
September 2019. This will provide time to build familiarity with
the new standards before they become mandatory.
said:
“We value our professional teaching workforce in Wales, and want
to support them to be the best they can be throughout their
careers.
“Quite simply, no education system is better than the quality of
its teachers. Alongside teachers and parents, I share the
ambition for a profession committed to the highest standards,
lifelong learning and high aspirations for all pupils.
“These new standards are about making sure teachers develop the
right skills throughout their career. They empower all those
teaching in our classrooms to work together to raise learner
outcomes. This is a key part of a fundamental shift towards a
system driven by career-long learning. My vision is to strengthen
leadership and make sure that there is greater consistency across
our schools.
“I am grateful to all those teachers, leaders, consortia and
other partners who have been directly involved in developing
these new standards – it is testament to what can be achieved
through us working together.”
The Education Workforce Council has developed an enhanced
Professional Learning Passport so that teachers can reflect on
their practice and map their development against the 5 standards.
Hayden Llewellyn said:
“The standards are a welcome addition to the Passport. We
encourage teachers to use them in planning their professional
learning and development as they progress through their careers.”
The four regional education consortia will ensure that every
newly qualified teacher has a mentor to support them in using and
evidencing the standards throughout their induction period.
