The General Teaching Council for Scotland has been tasked by the Scottish Government with introducing a scheme of re-accreditation for teachers.

The Scottish Government placed this duty on GTC Scotland on 17 March 2011 as part of the Public Services Reform (General Teaching Council for Scotland) Order 2011 which sets out the Government's plans for granting independent status to GTC Scotland from April 2012.

We recognise that many teachers will have concerns about Professional Update and that it is therefore important to secure a consensus on a suitable way forward. Tangible benefits for teaching, for teachers, for learners and the reputation of the teaching profession will only result from a system which is seen to be supportive of teachers and is introduced in a way which is acceptable to them.

The teaching profession is constantly changing. GTC Scotland therefore anticipates that an effective system of Professional Update will ensure that teachers have:

• a responsibility to consider their development needs
• an entitlement to a system of supportive professional review and development which can:
• assist them to identify constructive ways to update their skills
• provide access to CPD opportunities which can address those areas identified as requiring support
• help them to manage change
• offer a focus on ways in which they can enhance their careers
• confirmation that they have maintained the high standards required of a teacher in Scotland's schools and colleges. (The Standard for Full Registration is the baseline standard for all fully registered teachers. It is now normally attained at the end of the Teacher Induction Scheme but is maintained thereafter throughout a teacher's career.)

GTC Scotland also recognises the need to ensure that proposals are practicable; supportive of teachers and not constrained by bureaucracy; and that they allow individual teachers the opportunity to identify and meet their future needs.

In order to look carefully at the issues around such a scheme, GTC Scotland set up a Working Group. This group includes representatives from the following organisations:

• Educational Institute of Scotland (EIS)
• Scottish Secondary Teachers' Association (SSTA)
• GTC Scotland
• National Association of Schoolmasters/Union of Women Teachers (NASUWT)
• Association of Directors of Education in Scotland (ADES)
• HM Inspectorate of Education (HMIE)
• Association of Headteachers & Deputes in Scotland (AHDS)
• Scottish Parent Teacher Council (SPTC)
• National Parent Forum Scotland (NPFS)
• Scottish Government
• School Leaders Scotland (SLS)

The Working Group has spent a great deal of time liaising with other members of the educational community, listening to concerns and seeking balanced, sensitive and practicable ways forward. GTC Scotland has also been able to learn from the experiences of other comparable professions (e.g. medicine, dentistry, accountancy, and teaching professions in other parts of the world) which have already introduced similar schemes.

We held a series of meetings across the country with teachers to discuss our early thinking about Professional Update, and we held a formal consultation on Professional Update which took place between 1 February 2012 and 7 March 2012.

Yes, we have looked at a number of other organisations who carry out variations on Professional Update. These have included the General Dental Council, the General Medical Council, and a number of teaching bodies in Australia, amongst others, which have implemented similar schemes. While our system of Professional Update will be different in its approach to these other organisations, it has been useful to gain an insight into systems of Professional Update elsewhere.

One of the first outcomes of the Working Group was to come up with a name for the scheme that better reflected its aims which are:

• to maintain and improve the quality of our teachers and to enhance the impact that they have on pupils' learning
• to support, maintain and enhance teachers' continued professionalism and the reputation of the teaching profession.

The working title chosen for the scheme is Professional Update.

GTC Scotland acknowledges that Scotland's teachers are already committed to maintaining high standards (as expressed in the Standard for Full Registration) throughout their careers. We know that teachers will want to take advantage of opportunities to develop their skills. We are also confident that most teachers will agree that the quality of teaching and learning and the standing of the teaching profession can be maintained and improved through ongoing professional review and development (PRD).

Teachers across Scotland have been required to maintain a CPD record for a number of years. We would hope that Professional Update would build on this already established practice. A CPD record and plan helps teachers to reflect on practice and to link planned CPD to their individual and school development needs.

Professional Update aims to:

• maintain and improve the quality of our teachers and to enhance the impact that they have on pupils' learning
• support, maintain and enhance teachers' continued professionalism and the reputation of the teaching profession.

An important part of our message will be that Professional Update will:

• Support teachers
• Not add to their existing workload
• Encourage teachers to develop new skills
• Provide an opportunity for teachers to evidence the skills they currently have
• Help teachers make a case for improved CPD opportunities

Professional Update is not about getting rid of bad teachers. It is about helping teachers to develop their skills and evidence those skills in a formal, supportive setting.

It is envisaged that GTC Scotland will have an accrediting role in the initiative, ensuring that local authority PRD systems are robust and that teachers are enabled to demonstrate the skills they already have as well as learn new ones.

We anticipate that much of the work required to operate Professional Update will be carried out by local authorities with GTC Scotland overseeing this work.

It is the responsibility of every individual teacher to manage their CPD. However, as with current systems of PRD, line managers will play a supportive role, encouraging teachers to reflect on practice with a focus on continuous improvement and assisting in the identification of CPD activities which will contribute to this.

All leaders who undertake PRD meetings with their staff will have a key role to play in the process. It is anticipated that coaching approaches will be central to the success of Professional Update, and leaders and managers who carry out the process will be encouraged to develop skills in this area.

We understand that many teachers will feel this way, particularly when taking into account current other pressures in the education sector. However, the time to complete the Professional Update process will come out of the existing time for teachers. We are not asking teachers to do more work than they currently do. The intention of Professional Update is to help teachers, not add to their burden of work.

It is anticipated that all registered teachers will be included in the process of Professional Update, with the process adjusted to suit the needs of different types of teachers, including head teachers. The process will also be adjusted to suit the needs of registered teachers working outwith the classroom but within the education sector as well as registered teachers who are currently working outwith the education sector.

It is anticipated that all registered teachers will be included in the process of Professional Update, with the process adjusted to suit the needs of different types of teachers, including head teachers. The process will also be adjusted to suit the needs of registered teachers working outwith the classroom but within the education sector as well as registered teachers who are currently working outwith the education sector.

It is anticipated that all registered teachers will be included in the process of Professional Update, with the process adjusted to suit the needs of different types of teachers, including head teachers. The process will also be adjusted to suit the needs of registered teachers working outwith the classroom but within the education sector as well as registered teachers who are currently working outwith the education sector.

Please read our Position Paper on Professional Update.

Yes. All registered teachers will be included in the process of Professional Update, with the process adjusted to suit the needs of different types of teachers, including head teachers. The process will also be adjusted to suit the needs of registered teachers working outwith the classroom but within the education sector as well as registered teachers who are currently working outwith the education sector.

Nationally, provision of CPD varies widely, in order to meet individual and local needs. It is anticipated that PRD will play a central part in the process of Professional Update. We know that, where PRD operates successfully it provides a valuable opportunity for teachers to reflect on their practice and to consider how they can improve their professional skills and knowledge. It is envisaged that GTC Scotland will have an accrediting role in Professional Update, ensuring that local authority PRD systems are robust and that teachers being enabled to demonstrate the skills they already have, and learn new ones.

CPD is what teachers do to keep their professional practice fresh, up-to-date and stimulating. We believe that by undertaking a wide range of CPD experiences, teachers are more likely to inspire learners and teach more effectively. It is not anticipated that Professional Update would place restrictions on forms of CPD, indeed, we would hope that the process would encourage teachers to reflect on their learning and continue to enhance knowledge and practice.

Professional Update will help develop consistency of practice across local authorities by ensuring a sharper focus on impact of PRD and CPD. There will also be a requirement for teachers to evidence this learning more systematically as part of the process.

Professional Update will build on existing processes in place such as PRD and participation in CPD. We are keen that any process of Professional Update is not a bureaucratic exercise and does not add to teacher workload.

It is important to remember that CPD is much more than attendance at courses and other events. Increasingly, it is understood that CPD covers a range of development opportunities including team teaching, professional reading and research, observation of classroom practice and participation in teacher learning communities and working groups.

The organisation of CPD will continue to be led by local authorities, schools and individual teachers.

The organisation of CPD will continue to be led by local authorities, schools and individual teachers. The GTC Scotland may consider an accrediting role in this process.

Teachers already maintain a CPD record. We would envisage that this would continue, with a sharper focus on evidence of impact on learning but, at this stage, we are still discussing how teachers might eventually evidence CPD.

This is an area that will be explored further over the coming months.

Professional Update is not a tool to get rid of teachers. It is anticipated that Professional Update will focus on continuous improvement rather than on determining whether or not a teacher is, or has remained, competent.

In line with the GTC Scotland Code of Practice on Teacher Competence, competence cases will continue to be handled by local authorities in the first instance, with cases of alleged serious professional incompetence referred subsequently to GTC Scotland for resolution. In addition, it is hoped that the small number of cases which lead to a formal review of the competence of an individual teacher may be assisted by the improvements in professional review and development arising from the introduction of Professional Update.

We are currently exploring a range of possibilities for recording information, including MyGTCS. We are also looking at existing mechanisms in a number of local authorities.

While we think that Professional Update is a good name for the initiative and one that has become synonymous with what we are trying to achieve, the consultation asked people for their views on a suitable name. Professional Update remains our working title, however, and it is quite possible that this title will remain.

This will be decided once the consultation and pilot are both completed and we have finalised the details of the initiative but the target date is 2014.

As salaries are not part of our remit and Professional Update is for GTC Scotland registration purposes, this would not be the case.

We realise that there is a separate system of PRD for support staff but Professional Update is intended to be a process for continuous improvement and is linked to professional learning. Therefore, we would not envisage Professional Update being used in this way.

We have consulted on exactly how Professional Update will operate. We held a number of meetings across the country to gather the views of teachers and there was a formal consultation on Professional Update which took place between 1 February 2012 and 7 March 2012. The Professional Update Working Group, which includes Unions, the Scottish Government, Universities and other education providers, is looking at a range of issues.

How Professional Update will operate in respect to someone in your position has still to be decided. However, you will not be required to give up your GTC Scotland registration. We have a number of teachers registered who no longer work in schools, who are retired, who work abroad, and yet keep their GTC Scotland registration updated. We would have no issue with you continuing to do so, as long as you continued to meet whatever the Professional Update scheme requires in terms of CPD.

Our initial thinking is that there would be national advice which all stakeholders should follow, validated by GTC Scotland, which should help ensure that there should be a culture of equality and parity across the country. It will however be the employers who will have a responsibility to deliver, in association with their employees, a system of PRD which meets both national principles and local needs.

We held a consultation on exactly what Professional Update will look like for teachers. Research indicates that coaching and mentoring approaches to Professional Review and Development have proved successful and this is an area that will continue to be explored further in the coming months. We would plan to share further information about coaching and mentoring approaches as part of the PRD process with teachers and with local authorities, and we recognise that this would need to include information about training and support.