Initiatives supporting the teaching profession highlighted in GTC Scotland annual report
GTC Scotland, the independent professional and regulatory body for teachers in Scotland, has today published its Annual Report and Financial Accounts and Annual Review for 2020-21. The publications highlight the work it has undertaken to support teachers and college lecturers over the last year.
David Innes, GTC Scotland Council Convener said:
The last year has been challenging for everyone in Scottish education, from learners and their families to student teachers, teachers, lecturers and those who work in schools and education services across the country.
However, during the long shadow of the pandemic there were countless moments which shone a light on the dedication and commitment of teachers, lecturers and those who support learners in our schools, colleges and education settings. From GTC Scotland’s perspective, highlights included the celebration of over 100 teachers who were awarded the Standard for Headship and recognition of the achievements of probationer teachers and their supporters. Throughout this year, our focus has been on supporting registrants to become, to be and to grow as teachers in Scotland.
Dr Pauline Stephen, Chief Executive and Registrar of GTC Scotland, said:
Over this reporting period, our Covid-19 response saw us undertake significant unplanned work including the creation of a Health and Wellbeing Hub, contingency planning for student placements as well as extending support for new and existing probationer teachers.
While the last year has brought significant challenge, we have also embraced the opportunities to learn more about our partners and ourselves. Some aspects of our engagement have grown and improved with the support of virtual working and although we look forward to returning to some more regular face-to-face working practices, we will be embracing our new learning to continue to improve the quality of service provision to our registrants.
Register of Teachers
The creation and management of a Register of Teachers was one of the key responsibilities given to GTC Scotland when it was established in 1965. Maintaining the integrity of registration of teachers in Scotland is therefore central to the work of GTC Scotland.
This year:
- 77,386 teachers were recorded on the Register of Teachers
- Over 400 college lecturers registered with GTC Scotland as part of the College Lecturer Registration Programme
- 139 teachers were awarded GTC Scotland’s Standard for Headship
GTC Scotland is currently consulting on proposed changes to its Registration Rules, to further safeguard the quality of education in Scotland. The Rules set out registration criteria, ongoing registration requirements and how the Register of Teachers operates. The consultation closes on 5 January 2022.
Inspiring world-class teaching professionalism
GTC Scotland has statutory responsibilities for contributing towards improving the quality of teaching and learning and maintaining and improving teachers’ professional standards. Its vision is inspiring world-class teaching professionalism and over the last year many examples from the profession have been showcased in Teaching Scotland magazine, including:
- Why an IDL approach is essential to empower learners to understand global challenges.
- The fire that ignited the Creative Bravery Festival.
- The benefits of practitioner enquiry for building leaders of learning.
Key projects undertaken in 2020–21 include:
Launch of the Professional Standards for Teachers: the refreshed and restructured Professional Standards for Teachers were launched at the GTC Scotland Annual Lecture in January 2021, by Professor Graham Donaldson. Following their launch, a period of enactment support began, allowing teachers and others to engage, explore and understand the relevance of the Professional Standards before formal enactment on 2 August 2021.
Championing equality and diversity
Collaborative work continued with the national working group to respond to Professor Rowena Arshad CBE’s report (2018), Teaching in a Diverse Scotland: increasing and retaining minority ethnic teachers. An Equality and Diversity Hub was created and Children in Scotland and Intercultural Youth Scotland were commissioned to carry out work focusing on children and young people’s experience in school. To honour the legacy of Saroj Lal a trailblazer in race relations, a new Professional Learning Award was launched: The Award for a Pioneering Spirit in Equality and Diversity.
Promoting health and wellbeing
A Health and Wellbeing Hub was created as a swift measure to support teacher wellbeing throughout the pandemic. A wealth of resources have built up throughout the year on a variety of topics including resilience, managing stress, leadership, meditation and coaching.
Enriching registrants’ learning experience
Learning resources and research available through the online portal, MyGTCS, were enhanced. The EBSCO platform has been refreshed to include Accel5, which has been tailored along the teaching journey of becoming an educator, being an educator and growing as an educator and includes recommended books and videos.
Further information
The Annual Reviews are hosted on Readymag. You can read them on mobile, tablet or desktop. You can navigate to different pages by using the arrows on the left and right of the screen. Or, click on the icon with the two lines in the bottom right-hand corner to bring up the contents. If you need to zoom in or out, please do so how you normally would on your device or browser. We suggest optimal viewing on Chrome at 100%.
