This item was published during the term of a previous administration that ended in April 2007
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Review of Chartered Teachers
01/12/2006
Scotland's chartered teacher programme - designed to reward excellence in classrooms - is to be reviewed.
Education Minister Hugh Henry said he believed the time was right to consider how the scheme was working, to ensure it delivered the intended results.
The programme allows teachers to maximise skills and expertise and rewards experienced teachers who want challenging careers whilst continuing to teach.
Successful completion of the 12-module programme guarantees a £6,500 pay rise. There are currently 335 Chartered Teachers in Scottish schools.
During recent meetings with teachers in Cumbernauld and Oban, Mr Henry heard some concerns that aspects of the programme could be improved.
The Minister said:
"Teachers are crucial to young people's education and that's why I want to do everything I can to promote excellence within the profession. We are creating a modern education system which has a valued teaching profession at its heart.
"The idea of the chartered teachers programme - to reward excellence in classroom practice - is fundamentally the right one.
"Now is the time to review whether it is having the desired effect. Are we getting it right, can we improve it and are there any weaknesses in the system which should be addressed.
"We will discuss with key stakeholders how to take the review forward. I do not want this to be a long drawn-out process but I want to hear from the teaching profession, those who have managed teachers on the chartered teacher programme and those responsible for managing education.
"We are committed to developing those teachers who want to hone their skills and stay in the classroom but I want to review how this is working and whether improvements can be made."
Background
Chartered teacher status was introduced as part of A Teaching Profession for the 21st Century, following publication of the McCrone report in May 2000.
It is open to all teachers at the top of the main grade who have maintained a continuing professional development portfolio. There is no cap on the number of teachers who can embark on the programme.
The programme is made up of 12 modules and teachers on the programme receive a pay rise each time they complete two modules. The current salary for a chartered teacher is £38,013.
Currently, around 3,250 teachers have registered with a university or the General Teaching Council for Scotland to work towards chartered teacher status while 335 have achieved full chartered teacher status.