Apply for Professional Recognition as an individual

GTC Scotland is pausing the Professional Recognition of programmes and individuals from April 2025.

In order to manage this transition:

• New applications for Professional Recognition from individuals will be paused from 16 December 2024, this is the final date a new application can be made by.
• Applicants who wish to make a revised resubmission following feedback from a GTC Scotland assessment panel will need to do so on or before Friday 24 January 2025.
• Registrants who already hold this award will not be impacted by the pausing of Professional Recognition. They will continue to hold their professional award in line with the awarding 5-year timeframe from the date their award was granted.

A broad range of professional learning programmes have been accredited with Professional Recognition by our Accreditation panel. Professional Recognition can be awarded to registrants who successfully complete one of the accredited programmes. Read more about these programmes.

Apply for Professional Recognition

To achieve Professional Recognition you need to adopt an enquiring approach.

Using this enquiring approach, you need to investigate and evidence how you have:

• engaged in enhanced, significant and sustained professional learning; and
• developed professional knowledge and understanding as a result of this learning.

You need to provide evidence of how this has impacted your skills and abilities, and your learners and learning.

Professional Recognition is awarded for 5 years for the development of expertise that moves beyond that expected of a teacher.

Example: Professional Recognition in assessment techniques

A teacher has a grounded knowledge of assessment as set out in the Professional Standard for Registration. By completing sustained professional learning into assessment techniques, they become an expert in this area, perhaps using this expertise to support others.

Professional Recognition process

What do I need to demonstrate?

To gain Professional Recognition in a specific area of expertise you will be required to demonstrate:

• enhanced, significant and sustained professional learning, aligned to the Professional Standard for Career-Long Professional Learning or other appropriate Professional Standard;
• alignment to features of enquiry at SCQF level 11;
• professional expertise/accomplishment within a specific educational context;
• professional learning and development related to the area of expertise/accomplishment;
• professional reading and research related to the area of expertise;
• professional action evidenced within a portfolio;
• critical reflection and analysis of the impact of your enquiry on professional practice, learners and learning;
• evidence of how you have shared this expertise and what impact this has had on your colleagues and wider community; and
• a summary of professional discussions with your line manager.

What is Professional Learning?

How do I evidence my learning and its impact?

You are expected to maintain a professional portfolio. A professional portfolio should include:

• evidence of how you have developed and shared your knowledge, understanding and pedagogical expertise within the area(s) for which you are seeking Professional Recognition; and
• critical discussion and analysis of the impact of your work on your professional practice, your learning and your colleagues.

You should discuss your portfolio with your line manager as part of the ongoing Professional Review and Development (PRD) process.

It is not necessary to send your portfolio to GTC Scotland with your application, but please keep your portfolio for 1 year. We conduct a sampling of successful applications twice a year to ensure consistent standards as part of the assessment process.

Discuss your submission with your line manager

You should have a professional discussion as part of the PRD process with your line manager. At this meeting, you should discuss the areas of professional learning and development you have identified for Professional Recognition.

Your discussion should include critical reflection of how your learning and development has impacted on:

• your professional practice; and
• your learners and colleagues.

You should also reflect on any next steps for the future.

This discussion needs to be agreed and signed off by your line manager.

This reflection and ongoing discussion with your line manager form part of your submission for Professional Recognition.

Questions to consider as part of this discussion:

• How is my work in this area of expertise/accomplishment enabling me to develop as a practitioner?
• How have I applied what I have learned in this area of expertise?
• How is this influencing and enhancing my professional practice?
• What reading and research has challenged and critically informed this learning and development?
• What is the impact on learners and their learning experience?
• What is the impact on my colleagues’ professional learning?
• What evidence do I have to demonstrate the impact on my practice, colleagues and learners?
• How will I take this forward? What are my next steps for development?
• In what ways will I be able to contribute to the school/wider educational community?

How do I apply for Professional Recognition?

The Professional Recognition application form asks teachers to:

• describe how they have developed their area of expertise/accomplishment as part of a coherent, systematic and sustained learning experience;
• outline how enhanced academic and professional knowledge of the subject/topic/issue has been supported by relevant research, literature, policy and practice;
• critically examine, analyse and evaluate what impact the area of development and expertise has had on their thinking, learning and practice and on learners and their learning; and
• look at how their knowledge and experience has been shared with others and what impact this has had, including extracts of analysed evidence to support this. Look at next steps for professional learning in the light of this work and outline how the professional discussions with their line manager have shaped their thinking and practice.

Professional Recognition lasts for 5 years. After that time, a teacher must make a new application.

To make an individual application for Professional Recognition:

Professional Recognition Individual Application Form

Professional Recognition Individual applicant guidance

How is my application assessed?

Applications are assessed by a panel within GTC Scotland. Applicants are notified by email of the decision. Successful individual awards will be recorded on the Register of Teachers.

If a claim for Professional Recognition is unsuccessful then you will have an opportunity to submit a revised application. Should this also be unsuccessful, you may send a written request for the decision to be reviewed by a Professional Standards Panel. Any request for review can only be made where there are grounds for the decision to be reviewed in terms of GTC Scotland having either:

• failed to act in accordance with the Registration and Standards Rules; or
• made an error: either of which must have had a significant impact on the decision made. Review requests are considered in accordance with procedures that are laid down in the Registration and Standards Rules.