The independent Review of Teachers’ Standards, chaired by Sally Coates, was commissioned by the Secretary of State for Education to carry out a review of the current professional standards for teachers with a view to establishing new standards that are clearly understood and which can support teachers’ performance management and steer their professional development.
The Review has now moved into the second phase of its work, and is currently looking at the Post-Threshold, Excellent Teacher and Advanced Skills Teacher standards.
The Review has decided to conduct a call for evidence to allow users of the current standards, and other interested parties, to express a view on the purpose of higher-level standards.
The Review of Teachers’ Standards presented its first report to the Secretary of State for Education on 14 July 2011. This report recommended that a single set of standards should be introduced to replace the existing QTS and Core standards. The Secretary of State has accepted the Review’s recommendations, and the new standards will come into force from 1 September 2012.
The new standards replacing QTS and Core can be viewed here.
The second stage of the Review’s work is looking at the current Post-Threshold, Excellent Teacher and Advanced Skills Teacher standards, introduced by the TDA in 2007. In their final report to the Secretary of State, the Review will make recommendations on whether there need to be additional standards developed in addition to those which they have already established to replace the existing QTS and Core standards. This final report will be made to the Secretary of State in the autumn.
The terms of reference for the Review make clear that question of teachers’ pay is outside the Review’s remit. Although the existing professional standards have consequences for teachers’ pay, any recommendations made by the Review about new standards will be considered by Ministers, who will also want to consider how the standards might relate to teachers’ pay in future. The current call for evidence is not asking questions about the pay structure for teachers, or about the future relationship between professional standards and pay. Evidence submitted that relates to teachers’ pay CANNOT be considered by the Review.
The call for evidence
The Review has decided to conduct a call for evidence in order to help inform its thinking about higher-level standards. The Review has formulated a number of questions and would like to seek views from a range of interested parties, including but not limited to headteachers, current Post-Threshold teachers, Excellent Teachers and Advanced Skills Teachers, as well as other users of the professional standards. The responses to these questions will help to inform the Review when it considers whether higher-level standards are required and, if so, how these should be drafted.
How to respond
The call for evidence submission form should be completed electronically, saved and returned by email to TeacherStandards.REVIEW@education.gsi.gov.uk
The closing date for receipt of submissions is 5pm on Friday 9 September 2011.
Any queries relating to the call for evidence, or to the process of the Review more generally, should also be directed to TeacherStandards.REVIEW@education.gsi.gov.uk
