Professional Standards for teachers

Introduction

The Professional Standards, with professional values at the heart, support and promote partnership, leadership, enquiry and professional learning. They describe teacher professionalism in Scotland, our ‘way of being’. Professional Standards for teachers in Scotland have multiple purposes:

  • to create a shared language for teaching professionals
  • as a benchmark for professional competency
  • to develop and enhance professionalism
  • to support career-long professional growth
  • to provide a framework for initial teacher education, probation and leadership pathways and programmes
  • to ensure and enhance public trust and confidence in the teaching profession

Professional Standards for teachers were first established in Scotland in 2000. They were reformed in 2012 and enacted in 2013 as a reconceptualised model of teacher professionalism supported by the introduction of Professional Update. The discussion to review the 2012 Professional Standards began in 2017 and concluded in a set of refreshed and restructured Professional Standards with an enactment date of 2 August 2021.

The Standard for Provisional Registration is the benchmark of competence required of all student teachers at the end of Initial Teacher Education who are seeking provisional registration with the General Teaching Council for Scotland (GTC Scotland). This Professional Standard outlines what is required to become a teacher in Scotland.

The Standard for Full Registration is the foundation of the Professional Standards and is the benchmark of competence required of all registered teachers in Scotland. This Professional Standard is the gateway to the profession and constitutes the teaching standards in which learners, parents, the profession itself and the wider community can have confidence. This Professional Standard encompasses what it is to be a teacher in Scotland.

The Standard for Career-Long Professional Learning provides an aspirational and developmental framework for teachers. It describes the advanced professional knowledge and pedagogical expertise that registered teachers could develop and maintain as they continue to progress in teaching and the education profession. This Professional Standard supports the professional growth of teachers in Scotland.

The Standard for Middle Leadership and The Standard for Headship provide aspirational and developmental frameworks for teachers in/or considering leadership roles. They outline the strategic vision, professional knowledge and understanding, interpersonal skills and abilities and professional illustrations that support teachers in leadership roles. These Professional Standards provide a framework for professional growth for teachers in leadership roles. Consequently, they have some additional purposes:

  • support for self-evaluation and reflection for teachers in, and aspiring to, formal leadership roles in our schools
  • informing the process of recruitment and selection
  • contributing to dialogue about leadership and management.

The Standard for Headship has the additional purpose of being a requirement for teachers permanently employed in Headteacher roles from August 2020.

The suite of Professional Standards is underpinned by the interdependent themes of professional values, Learning for Sustainability and leadership. The Professional Standards provide the framework for all teachers in Scotland to enhance their professionalism and ensure rigour and challenge that supports a resilient and enabled profession confident in the skills, knowledge and values needed to enable Scotland’s young people to develop skills for learning, life and work.

Scotland’s Professional Standards actively support, embrace and promote the principles and practices of sustainability across all aspects. This means understanding and valuing environment, culture and heritage, developing a sense of place and belonging to the local, national and global community. It also means having a deep connection to the natural world and understanding the significance of the choices we make - now and in the future.

The Professional Standards are organised into interrelated categories with Professional Values and Professional Commitment at the heart. These elements are inherently linked to each other and one aspect does not exist independently of the others. It is this inter-relationship among all the categories which enables the professionalism of the teacher and leads to appropriate professional action and growth.

The Professional Standards

The Standard for Provisional Registration
The Standard for Provisional Registration is the benchmark of competence required of all student teachers at the end of Initial Teacher Education who are seeking provisional registration with GTC Scotland. This Professional Standard outlines what is required to become a teacher in Scotland.
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The Standard for Full Registration
The Standard for Full Registration is the foundation of the Professional Standards and is the benchmark of competence required of all registered teachers in Scotland. This Professional Standard is the gateway to the profession and constitutes the teaching standards in which learners, parents, the profession itself and the wider community can have confidence. This Professional Standard encompasses what it is to be a teacher in Scotland.
Arrow pointing down and right to indicate open action
The Standard for Career-Long Professional Learning
The Standard for Career-Long Professional Learning provides an aspirational and developmental framework for teachers. It describes the advanced professional knowledge and pedagogical expertise that registered teachers could develop and maintain as they continue to progress in teaching and the education profession. This Professional Standard supports the professional growth of teachers in Scotland.
Arrow pointing down and right to indicate open action
The Standard for Middle Leadership
The Standard for Middle Leadership provides an aspirational and developmental framework for teachers in or considering leadership roles.It outlines the strategic vision, professional knowledge and understanding, interpersonal skills and abilities and professional actions that support teachers in leadership roles. 
Arrow pointing down and right to indicate open action
The Standard for Headship
The Standard for Headship is designed to support individual self-evaluation and reflection as an integral part of leadership development. The Standard for Headship has the additional purpose of being a requirement for teachers permanently employed in local authority headteacher roles.
Arrow pointing down and right to indicate open action
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