Explore the Professional Standards

Below we outline the uses of the Professional Standards, suggest some supportive tools to help you explore the Professional Standards, and touch on some of the myths about the Professional Standards that should be avoided.

Using the Professional Standards

The Professional Standards belong to Scotland’s teachers. GTC Scotland act as guardians for the Professional Standards with and for Scotland’s teachers.

Teachers use them individually and collaboratively, contributing to both their own professional growth and the professional growth of others. The Professional Standards are brought alive through professional practice. They are central to Professional Review and Development (PRD) and Professional Update (PU).

You can use the Professional Standards

To ask critical questions and support enactment of Professional Values, Professional Commitment, Professional Knowledge, Understanding, Skills and Abilities
As an aspirational and developmental framework
To inform and plan professional learning
To self-evaluate and challenge thinking
To select development areas relevant to you and your learners
As a reference and reflection point for professional dialogue
To support professional judgement when adapting professional actions

Professional Learning Resource

This PowerPoint presentation is designed to help you to explore the refreshed and restructured Professional Standards:

Myths about the Professional Standards

Over time a few myths have developed around how to engage with the Professional Standards. These myths, outlined below, conflict with our ‘way of being’ as described by the Professional Standards and are to be avoided.

  • ‘I need to evidence all the professional actions for the area of the Standard I am focusing on.’
  • ‘Every year I need to focus on and develop a different aspect of the Standards in my practice.’
  • ‘I need to cover professional learning on every aspect of the Standards.’
  • ‘I will be told at my Professional Review and Development meeting which aspect of the Standard I need to focus on for the year.’
  • ‘An awareness of our Professional Values and the notion of Professional Commitment is enough.’
  • ‘I need to stick with the Standard for Full Registration for the first five years of my career.’
  • ‘I need to ‘traffic light’ myself against all aspects of the Standards.’
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