Scottish teachers recognised for contribution to African Schools

Following months of hard work 14 teachers will receive Professional Recognition awards from the General Teaching Council for Scotland today.

The group, who took part in the Global Teachers Programme, left their home comforts last summer to complete a five-week placement in Malawian and Ugandan primary schools to help improve the educational opportunities available to children in the African countries.

Professional recognition allows registered teachers to focus their CPD in particular areas of interest and gain recognition for enhancing and sharing their knowledge/experience.

It forms part of Framework for Professional Recognition / Registration and was established to help teachers develop their knowledge and skills and to ensure that they are able to gain the recognition they deserve. The Framework is administered by the GTC Scotland.

Presenting the teachers with Professional Recognition certificates at an event at the GTC Scotland offices at Clerwood House, Chief Executive, Tony Finn said:

"I would like to offer my congratulations to these 14 teachers who have achieved Professional Recognition status.

"They demonstrated a commitment to enhancing their existing skills and sharing their knowledge and experience to the benefits of children, schools and fellow teachers in Africa. But not only this, they have brought these experiences back to Scotland and applied them in their own classrooms, benefiting children and schools here too.

"Professional Recognition is an important award that encourages professional and personal development in teachers that will enhance their pedagogy and, ultimately, the opportunities for young people in Scotland."

The Global Teachers Programme, supported by the LINK Community Development charity, offered the teachers a fifteen-month personal development experience which included several training sessions, a five-week teaching programme in Malawi or Uganda, followed by training African teachers. The programme aims not only to benefit children and teachers in the countries, but also to educate Scottish teachers on the African education system, culture and language. It is a long standing commitment from LINK to Malawi and Uganda and one that has been supported by the GTC Scotland through the Professional Recognition scheme over a number of years.

The teachers were selected from hundreds of applicants after proving their commitment to learning from the challenges in Africa and sharing their learning back in Scotland. On arriving in Africa, each teacher was allocated a family to stay with and was introduced to local cultures and their surrounding area before beginning their placement.

ENDS

NOTES FOR EDITORS

• For further information about Professional Recognition visit www.gtcs.org.uk, click on Professional Development and then Professional Recognition.
• Information on the Global Teachers Programme can be found at http://www.lcd.org.uk/uk/gtp /or
• For more information about this release contact Martin Osler at Kindred on 0131 718 4065 or 07833 294 66. martin@oslermedia.com