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A CONSULTATION ON
The Need for a Professional Body for Staff in Scotland's Colleges

ENTERPRISE, TRANSPORT AND LIFELONG LEARNING DEPARTMENT
AUGUST 2004

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INTRODUCTION

1. Scotland’s colleges play a key role in the creation of an inclusive and economically vibrant society. The quality of the education and training that they provide depends crucially on the skills, knowledge and understanding of lecturers and related support staff. If staff in colleges are to maintain a high level of performance, they must continue to develop and update both their academic and vocational expertise and their professional learning and teaching skills. Of course, many lecturers already register with a professional body which covers the specialist vocational area in which they teach. This paper seeks views on whether there should be a professional body which could help to support the career development of college staff and raise the standards of learning and teaching throughout the sector.

Background to the Present Consultation

2. The education and training provided in Scotland’s colleges enables people of all ages and backgrounds to improve their lives, obtain better jobs and participate more fully in the life of their community. The achievement of these economic and social benefits is largely dependent on the quality of the teaching and learning experience that students receive in colleges across Scotland. If they are to realise their full potential, students need to be taught by committed and highly qualified professionals. The Scottish Executive attaches great importance to ensuring that lecturers and other college staff are trained to the highest possible standard and that they have opportunities throughout their career to update and enhance their skills and knowledge.

3. The crucial part that lecturers and other college staff play in delivering high quality education and training is recognised in the Executive’s lifelong learning strategy, Life Through Learning; Learning Through Life¹, which was published in February 2003. The strategy includes an undertaking to update and, where necessary, expand the range and level of competencies provided for in the National Guidelines on Provision Leading to the Teaching Qualification (Further Education) and Related Professional Development². In keeping with this commitment, Iain Gray, the Minister at that time, announced a wide-ranging review which, as well as examining the competencies required by college lecturers, would look at other structural and operational matters.

4. A public consultation was held between 24 March and 18 July 2003. To launch this exercise, the Executive’s Enterprise, Transport and Lifelong Learning Department issued a consultation paper³ which sought views and ideas on how to improve provision for the initial teacher training (ITT), initial teacher education (ITE) and continuing professional development (CPD) of college lecturers. As well as inviting written responses, the Department held a series of consultation workshops for FE practitioners and other interested parties. The consultation produced a total of 55 written responses and a total of 95 people attended the five workshops.

5. In addition to seeking views on specific issues and proposals for change, the consultation document invited respondents to put forward other ideas on how to improve the professional training and development of college lecturers. One idea to emerge from both the written responses and the workshops was the creation of a professional body for lecturers and other staff who contribute to learning. The relevant parts of both the written responses and the views recorded during the workshop discussions are summarised at Annex 1.

New and Changing Demands

6. The Executive launched the review because it was conscious that a number of recent legislative changes and policy initiatives had placed significant new demands on what college lecturers are expected to know and the teaching methods they employ. These developments mean that lecturers require a broader range of skills and more specialist knowledge in certain areas. A fully qualified college lecturer is now expected to:

• have appropriate academic and vocational expertise or commercial and industrial experience;
• have a thorough knowledge of their subject and high-level skills not only in generic pedagogy, but also in their subject area;
• take steps to keep their vocational and professional skills and knowledge up-to-date;
• be able to address the needs of learners of all ages from 14 upwards;
• have the competence to support the literacy, numeracy, language and other basic skills needs of students;
• have the competence to address the needs of students with learning difficulties and disabilities and the knowledge to make appropriate use of specialist support services;
• be able to make effective use of ICT for teaching and learning purposes; and
• be sensitive to a wide range of learning styles and confident in a number of different settings.

7. Other groups of staff such as librarians, support staff, guidance staff, instructors and technicians also make an important contribution to the learning process. If they are to play their part to the full, they need to be properly trained and to have opportunities to develop and enhance their skills and knowledge.

Progress in Improving Standards

8. During the last three years Her Majesty’s Inspectorate of Education (HMIE) has graded the teaching and learning process as good or very good in 99% of individual subject reviews. It should be noted, however, that a grading of ‘good’ does not mean that all teaching and learning is up to this standard but rather that strengths outweigh weaknesses. There may be cases, therefore, where HMIE grade teaching and learning as good but also recommend action to remedy weaknesses. Nonetheless, these are very positive results which reflect credit on the sector.

9. While there are some areas in which the Executive would like to see further improvement, it is important to appreciate that these are being sought within a context in which colleges are already providing good quality education and training. One area of concern is that the amount and effectiveness of professional training and development varies quite considerably between colleges. One indicator of this is that returns which colleges submit to the Scottish Further Education Funding Council (SFEFC) show that there are marked differences in the proportions of lecturing staff who hold a full teaching qualification in further education (TQ(FE)) or its equivalent. The figures indicate that some colleges have more than double the percentage of fully qualified lecturers than others.

10. Over the past four years, as part of an extensive programme for monitoring the quality of provision in the sector, the SFEFC has set targets which aim to increase the percentage of lecturers who have a full TQ(FE). From academic year 2004/05, however, the Funding Council plans to introduce a new approach which takes a more holistic view of staff development and gives colleges the flexibility to develop their own strategies and objectives. While the Executive welcomes SFEFC’s emphasis on the need to consider the development of all groups of staff, it hopes that colleges will continue to give a high priority to teacher training and education for lecturers.

11. A variety of factors and pressures can sometimes mean that there is a delay before a new lecturer gains access to a TQ(FE) programme. In August of last year the Executive published the results of a survey of satisfaction levels amongst lecturers who were studying for a TQ(FE) during academic year 2001/02. A large number of the lecturers who responded to this survey mentioned that they had to wait for a place on a TQ(FE) programme. Some respondents also said that they would have derived more benefit from the programme if they had been able to take it at an earlier stage in their employment.

12. In a recent report, entitled Student Learning in Scottish Further Education Colleges⁴, HMIE analysed 70 individual subject reports relating to subject reviews in 11 colleges to examine the quality of the student learning experience in terms of both process and outcomes. While the report found that the learning experience of students in Scottish colleges is ‘predominantly positive’, it concluded that ‘further progress is needed if all learners are to receive consistently high-quality learning experiences.’ Amongst other things, the report considered that further action was required to ensure that ‘teaching staff have their professional and industrial development needs addressed’ and that ‘new entrants to the profession receive appropriate induction on teaching, learning and assessment practice’.

Reasons for Exploring the Idea of a Professional Body

13. Some of the participants at the workshops expressed the view that lecturing in Further Education has a rather low status in relation to schoolteachers and Higher Education lecturers. The new salary package and improved career structures that were introduced in the schools sector as a result of the McCrone settlement have, perhaps, strengthened this perception. While these feelings are understandable, the Executive does not consider that a professional body should be created purely to improve the status of lecturers or other staff who work in colleges. In the Executive’s view, the need for and desirability of such a body should be judged on its potential for levering up standards and helping to improve the quality of learning and teaching across the whole sector.

14. The concept of professionalism is usually associated with a high level of education or skills and training, commitment to the idea of providing a quality service, adherence to certain standards of conduct and a commitment to update and improve skills and knowledge. Though professional bodies can be constituted in different ways, their essential function is to act as a guardian of standards. In fulfilling this function, a professional body for lecturers and other staff in colleges would probably pursue a range of policies aimed at both maintaining and enhancing standards in different areas. For example, such a body may wish to set minimum standards for entry. In other areas it may try to improve standards by identifying and disseminating good practice, expanding provision for CPD or commissioning research into teaching or learning methods. A professional body may also have the potential to create a more joined-up approach to learning and teaching across the wider lifelong learning sector

15. A professional body could potentially ‘add value’ by performing functions that are either not presently undertaken or undertaken to only a limited extent. For example, a professional body that encouraged lecturers and other staff to make systematic use of a professional development log might be able to introduce a more effective approach to CPD. Similarly, the development and promotion of a code of ethics might provide more support and protection for staff who have to deal with difficult or sensitive situations.

Stakeholders’ Views

16. As the establishment of some form of professional body would have wide ranging implications for colleges, lecturers and possibly also for other groups of staff, the Executive has decided that the most appropriate course of action is to undertake a further round of consultations. The purpose of this supplementary exercise is to gain a clearer picture of whether staff in colleges believe that a professional body would help to improve the quality of learning and teaching and, if so, to obtain views on the categories of staff that could be included and on the form and functions that such a body might assume.

17. To stimulate debate the consultation paper includes a number of platforms which set out the initial views of the main organisational stakeholders who have an interest in this subject. No editorial control has been exercised over the views expressed in stakeholder platforms. The Executive would like to thank the organisations concerned for agreeing to provide a statement of their early thinking on the question of a professional body. Making an early contribution to the debate does not, of course, prejudice the right of these stakeholders to submit more fully considered formal responses at a later date.

18. While the Executive considers that the idea of a professional body merits further exploration, it appreciates that there may be other ways of improving the quality of learning and teaching and addressing the functions that such a body could be expected to undertake. The Executive is open to all ideas on how to improve quality and effectiveness in these areas and respondents should feel free to put forward any other suggestions which, in their view, will achieve these ends.

FORMAT

19. This paper is divided into five sections as follows:

Section 1
Discusses some wider contextual issues that have a bearing on the functions that a professional body could undertake and the manner in which it could operate.

Section 2
Describes the implications that the creation of a professional body is likely to have for the existing arrangements for the training, education and CPD of lecturers.

Section 3
Presents three possible models for a professional body and discusses how such a body could be set up.

Section 4
Describes the format of the questionnaire and provides guidance on how to complete it.

Section 5
Reproduces the actual questionnaire.

PROCESS

20. This consultation paper is being issued to all 46 colleges in Scotland and to all other bodies that have an interest in this subject. The full distribution list is shown at Annex 2.

21. While the Executive hopes to receive corporate responses from the bodies that have been sent a copy of this paper, it is also keen to hear the views of individual lecturers and other college staff, particularly those who contribute directly to the learning process. All college staff are encouraged to respond to this consultation.

22. To make it easier to analyse the resulting data, we would prefer to receive responses in electronic form. An online questionnaire, covering all the questions listed in Section 5 of this paper, can be accessed from the Current Consultations section of the Executive web-site at: http://www.scotland.gov.uk/Consultations.

23. For those who do not have ready access to a computer, a paper version of the questionnaire may be obtained by telephoning Tom Craig on 0141 242 0247. Completed questionnaires should be returned to:

Tom Craig
The Scottish Executive
Further and Adult Education Division
2^nd Floor
Europa Building
450 Argyle Street
Glasgow
G2 8LG

24. Organisations that wish to make an official response on headed notepaper can obtain a copy of the questionnaire in the form of a Word document by contacting Tom Craig at the number shown above. Typed responses can be either e-mailed to profbody@scotland.gsi.gov.uk or sent to the above address.

25. Responses should be submitted by Tuesday, 30 November.

26. Please address any queries about the process to Tom Craig on 0141 242 0247.

Alternative Formats

27. The text of this consultation paper will be made available, on request, in audio, large print formats or in community languages. Anyone who requires the text in an alternative format should contact Tom Craig using the contact details shown above.

Publication of Responses

28. Unless confidentiality has been requested, responses to this consultation will be made available to the public in the Scottish Executive Library. (Tel. 0131 244 4552). In addition, a report summarising the views expressed by respondents will be issued to the sector and published on the Scottish Executive web-site.

SECTION 1 – THE WIDER CONTEXT

The Distinctive Nature of the Sector

29. The college sector is distinguished by the variety and range of the curriculum which it offers to learners. Scotland’s colleges provide all levels of courses and qualifications from Access 1 to postgraduate. Most of this education and training is in vocational subjects. In 2003, 88% of the students who were enrolled at FE colleges were following a vocational programme. These programmes are provided in a very wide range of subjects such as traditional crafts, skilled trades, engineering, IT and computing, health studies, social and child care, tourism and management. In deciding exactly which skills or subjects to offer, individual colleges liaise closely with local employers, take due cognisance of national skills priorities and monitor labour market information on skills gaps and shortages.

30. Scotland’s colleges have traditionally catered for adult learners. For example, in 2003 61% of the students at colleges in Scotland were over the age of 24. However, as the partnership agreement, A Partnership for a Better Scotland⁵, which forms the basis of the Executive’s current programme of government, includes a commitment to enable 14 to 16 year olds to gain access to vocational education and training, more young people are likely to follow a course of study provided by a college. The Executive is currently undertaking a review to determine the strategies and agreements that need to be put in place to enable schools and colleges to work towards improving access to vocational education.

31. To improve articulation arrangements and routes for learners such as ‘2+2’ degrees, FE colleges need to maintain close working relationships with HEIs. Since around a quarter of all higher education study in Scotland is now provided in colleges, close co-operation between the two sectors is essential. The impending merger of the Funding Councils for Further and Higher Education is intended to aid progress in this area. FE colleges also offer Higher National Certificates and Diplomas, which are important qualifications in their own right as well as being articulation routes into degree programmes.

32. While colleges need to have good working relationships with schools and HEIs, it is equally important that they establish close contacts with local employers and other community bodies. Given the distinctive and multi-facing nature of the education and training provided by the sector, it may not be appropriate to replicate a model for professional development that has been devised for either the schools sector or for higher education institutions. The Executive believes that whatever approach is taken should be one that is appropriate to the needs of this sector.

The Position in Other Parts of the UK

33. In England, a new professional body called the Institute for Learning (IfL) has been established to promote and support the professional standing of teachers and lecturers in the post-16 sector. Membership, which is voluntary at present, is open to teachers and lecturers in adult and community education, further education and work-based training. Earlier this year the Department for Education and Skills (DfES) undertook a consultation on how to improve initial teacher education for FE lecturers in England. To ensure that lecturers engage in CPD activity, one of the proposals put forward in the consultation paper was that they should be required to register with the IfL. A majority of respondents supported this idea and the DfES is now considering how best to take this idea forward.

34. A separate initiative will result in the launch of the Higher Education Academy in October of this year. The role of this body will be to support the enhancement of learning and teaching in higher education. All FE lecturers who teach at higher education level will have access to the training and development provided by this body.

35. In 2002 the DfES published Success For All⁶ which set out its plans for the reform of the FE sector in England. One of the main aims of these reforms is to produce a fully qualified workforce by 2010. In pursuit of this goal the DfES has introduced regulations which require all new full-time lecturers to gain an appropriate teaching qualification within two years of taking up their appointment. Part-time lecturers who teach more than ten hours per week are required to gain a teaching qualification within four years of taking up post. Colleges have also been set challenging targets for increasing the number of existing lecturers who have a teaching qualification. They have been asked to achieve an interim target of having 90% of full-time and 60% of part-time lecturers qualified by 2006.

36. The requirements relating to teaching qualifications for new lecturers are the same in Wales as they are in England. In Northern Ireland new FE lecturers are required by their contract of employment to obtain a prescribed teaching qualification within three years of taking up appointment.

37. Though it is difficult to obtain wholly accurate figures, the best information available suggests that the FE sector in Scotland has traditionally had a better qualified workforce than in England. In Success For All the DfES says that around 60% of full-time and 43% of part-time lecturers in England have a full or partial teaching qualification. Figures on the position in Scotland for academic year 2001-02 indicate that at least 57% of all lecturing staff in Scottish colleges have a full TQ(FE) or equivalent. However, returns received by the SFEFC suggest that the proportion of full-time lecturers with some form of teaching qualification may be as high as 84%.

The Creation of a Lifelong Learning Sector Skills Council (SSC)

38. The DfES announced its intention to create SSCs in its response to the Building a Stronger Network⁷ consultation on the future of National Training Organisations (NTOs). This exercise revealed that, while delivery of education and training had become more responsive to the needs of learners, many employers were concerned that NTOs were producer dominated. Responses also indicated that some NTOs had little real influence over the sector in which they operated. To achieve a step change in meeting the UK’s medium and long-term skills and business needs, the DfES decided to replace NTOs with a network of employer-led SSCs. When this transition is complete 71 NTOs will be replaced by around 25 SSCs.

39. SSCs, which should be large enough to exercise strategic influence over a significant business sector, are expected to:

• reduce skills gaps and shortages and anticipate future needs by stimulating demand for lifelong learning and exercising leverage on the supply side;
• improve productivity and the performance of businesses and public services by taking specific strategic initiatives based on an analysis of the sector’s priorities;
• increase the opportunities for all members of the sector’s workforce to develop and improve their productivity; and
• improve the quality and relevance of the learning supply, including the development of apprenticeships, higher education opportunities and national occupational standards.

40. Plans are in place to bring a lifelong learning SSC into operation by early 2005. In the proposal which is being taken forward, the sector is defined as comprising those employers whose primary business is the delivery or support of lifelong learning. This includes employers in further and higher education, work-based learning, community learning and development, youth work, libraries, archives and other information services. Employers in the fields of pre-school, primary and secondary education have not been included because there are plans to create a separate SSC for children and young people.

41. Though the emergent SSC is still in the process of determining its priorities and drawing up a detailed business plan, it has given some assurances about the way in which it intends to operate. In the Expression of Interest to establish a Sector Skills Council to support the Lifelong Learning sector⁸, which it submitted to the Sector Skills Development Agency (SSDA), the emergent SSC explicitly recognises that it will need to operate in a way that takes account of the ‘particular jurisdictions and representational arrangements of the four administrations’ within the UK. To take account of these differences the SSC proposes to work in a collaborative manner and to devolve responsibilities to the lowest possible level.

42. To ensure that Scottish employers have an opportunity to express their views and concerns, the emergent SSC has encouraged the formation of a reference group. This group collates the views of Scottish employers and feeds them into the decision-making process. Moreover, in keeping with its commitment to accommodate the distinctive needs of employers across the UK, the new SSC is proposing to establish a separate sub-group of its governing council for each of the four home countries.

43. The Executive has highlighted areas in which Scottish legislation and interests are different from those in other parts of the UK and has received assurances that Scottish arrangements will be respected and accommodated. If Scottish Ministers decide to set up a professional body for the FE sector in Scotland, the Executive would expect the SSC to respect this decision and to work with the new body.

Developments in Allied Professions

44. In February of last year, in its response to the recommendations of the Community Education Training Review, the Executive set out plans to restructure and improve training for community learning and development (CLD) professionals. In its response to the review, the Executive made it clear that it supports the introduction of a system of registration for CLD practitioners. The establishment of ‘a practitioner-led body responsible for validation, endorsement, accreditation and registration for community learning and development’ thus forms a key element of the plans to improve professional training for CLD practitioners. Steps are also being taken to ensure that HNC, HND and degree programmes are accredited professional qualifications which allow full articulation within the Scottish Credit and Qualifications Framework (SCQF).

45. In a related initiative the Learning Connections Team in Communities Scotland is developing new training standards and new training programmes for professional adult literacy and numeracy (ALN) tutors and service managers. Though it is envisaged that the tutor programme will be at level 8 on the SCQF, the option of a more rigorous assessment which may lead to a level 9 qualification is also being explored.

46. These initiatives in Scotland and new approaches to the professional development of staff in other parts of the UK may provide opportunities for closer collaboration across the wider post-compulsory sector. Operating in this way is likely to dovetail with the approach of the new lifelong learning SSC and could facilitate the development of shared provision where elements of learning and teaching skills and knowledge are generic to professionals working in a range of different learning environments. For example, teachers in different settings are likely to require similar skills and knowledge in relation to educational research, educational theory, learning and teaching techniques and technologies, online and blended approaches to learning, adult literacies, diversity issues and helping students with learning difficulties or disabilities.

47. An added consideration is that, over the course of their working lives, lecturers and tutors may wish to teach across a range of subjects or specialist areas or move from one type of learning environment to another. The increasing emphasis on professional training and development across all disciplines, including ALN tutoring, brings with it the opportunity to look at the possibility of establishing a model to support ‘adult educators’ which aims to break down artificial qualification barriers and maximise the sharing of learning and best practice between different types of professionals who work in a variety of settings.

Mutual Recognition of Teaching Qualifications

48. One of the issues that the school-college review (see paragraph 30) will need to resolve is the question of mutual recognition of teaching qualifications. Closer collaboration between schools and colleges will bring together two quite distinct regimes for recognising the experience and expertise of teachers and lecturers. Anyone who wishes to teach in a local authority school must first gain an appropriate teaching qualification and then be accepted for registration by the General Teaching Council for Scotland (GTCS). College lecturers, on the other hand, are normally appointed on the basis of their existing academic and/or vocational qualifications. Having secured a post, they are encouraged to study part-time for a teaching qualification but are not required to do so. Registration with the GTCS is voluntary for college lecturers.

49. Schoolteachers who have a teaching qualification in secondary education are able to take up lecturing posts in colleges. However, a college lecturer who holds a TQ(FE) is not qualified to teach in a secondary school. To be able to teach in a school, a fully qualified lecturer would need to complete a conversion course to gain the equivalent of a teaching qualification in secondary education and be accepted for registration by the GTCS. Putting school-college collaboration on to a level footing is likely to require the introduction of a more flexible set of arrangements which allow for a broadening of pupil choice while, at the same time, ensuring that standards are fully maintained and that proper safeguards are in place.

50. Closer collaboration between the two sectors has other possible implications for college lecturers and support staff. One possible implication is that vetting by Disclosure Scotland could become mandatory for some lecturers and support staff rather than voluntary as at present. Providing classes in colleges for young people under the age of 16 may also raise health and safety issues and there may be situations in which lecturers have to act in loco parentis.

Review of Initial Teacher Education for Schoolteachers

51. Last year the Scottish Executive Education Department announced the second stage of its review of initial teacher education (ITE) for schoolteachers. The review will examine:

• Whether existing teacher training courses prepare staff as well as possible for entry into the profession.
• Whether the current range of ITE provision, comprising BEd, PGCE and Concurrent Degree courses, remain the most appropriate for delivering training.
• How pressures to increase the breadth of courses and accessibility of teacher training can be addressed by, for example, offering part-time courses and courses in different areas of Scotland.
• How courses can best contribute towards improving pupils’ experience of education, particularly during the transition from primary to secondary school.
• Whether the current guidelines, entry requirements and standards relating to teacher training remain appropriate.

52. This review is covering similar ground to some of the work currently being undertaken to update and expand occupational standards for college lecturers. As a consequence, there may be opportunities to share thinking on issues such as classroom management and dealing with disciplinary problems. Scottish Executive staff will liaise internally to ascertain if there are areas where knowledge and information can be shared.

Further Information

53. More detailed information on developments in other parts of the UK and on the governance of the post-compulsory education sector in some other countries can be obtained from the web-sites listed at Annex 3. The countries listed in Annex 3 provide examples of a highly regulated approach (Denmark) and systems in which there are varying combinations of regulation and voluntarism (Australia and New Zealand). It is hoped that these models will provide some useful background information.

SECTION 2 – IMPLICATIONS OF CREATING A PROFESSIONAL BODY

54. Current arrangements for the ITT, ITE and CPD of FE lecturers came into being in 1997 with the publication of the National Guidelines on Provision Leading to the Teaching Qualification in Further Education (TQ(FE)) and Related Professional Development. The intention behind the guidelines was to introduce a framework that would allow action to be taken over a period of time to create a comprehensive set of arrangements for the professional training and development of college lecturers.

55. The guidelines made provision for the establishment of the Professional Development Forum (PDF) for teaching staff in Scottish colleges of further education. The PDF is responsible for overseeing the content of a national index of awards and units that are used in the ITT and CPD of college lecturers. It also approves applications from individual colleges, consortia of colleges, or other providers who wish to deliver training on particular ITT or CPD units included in the national index.

56. Were a professional body to be established, it would also have a central interest in provision for ITT and CPD. As a consequence, effort could be duplicated or there could be confusion over respective spheres of responsibility. The simplest way to avoid such difficulties might be to transfer all or some of the functions of the PDF to the professional body.

57. The investigation and assessment required to approve the content and quality of TQ(FE) programmes is currently undertaken by officials in the Executive working in conjunction with representatives from HMIE and in consultation with the GTCS. However, if there was a professional body, which was seen to be impartial and had the necessary expertise, the Department would be willing to explore the possibility that it could undertake this work on a delegated basis.

58. Colleges are independent incorporated bodies and their Boards of Management have a duty to ensure that they provide ‘suitable and efficient further education to students of the college’. The SFEFC is responsible for checking the quality of the education and training that colleges provide and for monitoring the steps they are taking to improve standards and promote the development of their staff. As standards for teaching and learning and provision for staff development would be central concerns for a professional body, if one were to be created, it would almost certainly have to be included in discussions about monitoring arrangements and target setting.

SECTION 3 – THE OPERATION OF A PROFESSIONAL BODY

59. Professional bodies can operate in a variety of different ways. At one extreme, a professional body can function simply as a voluntary association, while at the other it can operate as a full-blown regulatory authority. This section sets out three possible models for a professional body for the college sector in Scotland. Two of the models are at the opposite ends of the voluntary/regulatory continuum while the third combines features of both types.

A Voluntary Association

60. College lecturers are presently able to join the GTCS on a voluntary basis. Since the GTCS has no regulatory authority over the college sector, lecturers already have the option of joining what is effectively a voluntary association.

61. As it currently operates, the IfL in England provides an example of a broader-based form of voluntary association. Established in 2002, membership of the IfL is open to all lecturers, teachers and trainers in the post-16 sector in England. There are also different grades of membership which are determined by the level of a person’s professional qualification and the extent of their teaching experience. The aims of the Institute are to:

• raise the standards of professional practice in the post-16 education and training sector in England;
• introduce a framework to formalise and strengthen the CPD of its members;
• identify good practice and undertake research into the CPD needs of its members;
• work in partnership with employers’ bodies, trade unions and other related professional bodies; and
• raise the status of the post-16 teaching profession.

62. Although it is not regarded as a professional body, the Professional Development Network (PDN) is an example of another form of voluntarism within the sector. Composed mainly of staff development managers and practitioners who have agreed to represent their colleges, the PDN has undertaken a number of initiatives to improve the take-up and provision of CPD for lecturing staff.

63. A voluntary association would not necessarily affect the work of either the PDF or the Executive. The PDF would continue to operate as at present and the Executive would retain responsibility for approving TQ(FE) programmes.

A Professional Body with Both Voluntary and Regulatory Functions

64. A second possible model for a professional body is one which combines both voluntary and regulatory features. Under this model a professional body would take over the functions of the PDF and undertake the work involved in approving TQ(FE) programmes. However, membership would be on a voluntary basis. The roles and responsibilities of this type of body might include:

• Approving TQ(FE) programmes.
• Maintaining a register of existing Professional Development Awards and Units (PDAs and PDUs) and approving new units and awards.
• Granting approval to colleges and other providers to deliver training on various PDUs and PDAs.
• Setting standards and qualifications for individual membership.
• Promoting a voluntary code of ethics.
• Developing good practice in relation to CPD and promoting the voluntary use of professional development plans or learning logs.
• Working with other bodies (such as the Scottish Further Education Unit (SFEU), the SFEFC, the PDN, and the emergent lifelong learning SSC) which have an interest in staff development to promote a joined-up and inclusive approach to policy formulation.
• Potentially, it could provide some or all of the services outlined above for staff engaged in other areas of post-compulsory education such as ALN tutors, CLD practitioners or other groups covered by the lifelong learning SSC. (This could also include employees of private training providers.)

65. This type of professional body would have to rely on a mixture of funding. The Executive could provide core funding by paying it for taking over the functions presently carried out by the PDF and for the work involved in approving TQ(FE) programmes. A second income stream would be derived from voluntary membership subscriptions and it is possible that further funds could be generated by charging members or colleges for certain services. The professional body could also conceivably generate income from outside the sector by offering services to other lifelong learning professionals such as ALN tutors and CLD practitioners. The income generated from these other sources could be used to provide extra benefits for members.

66. The further consultation and detailed work required to calculate the level of subscription charge needed to sustain this type of professional body will only be undertaken if stakeholders in the sector support this model.

A Full Regulatory Body

67. Under this model FE lecturers would be regulated in ways that are similar to the professional regulation of lawyers, doctors and schoolteachers. Registration with the professional body would be compulsory and lecturers would be expected to undertake a certain amount of CPD to retain their membership. Since this type of regulatory body would be responsible for setting professional standards, it would make sense for it to take over the functions of the PDF and to carry out the work associated with approval of TQ(FE) programmes.

68. A regulatory body of this type might undertake the following functions:

• Set threshold standards and qualifications for membership.
• Establish a mandatory code of conduct.
• Maintain a register of qualified lecturers and issue a ‘licence to practise’.
• Require all lecturers to undertake a minimum amount of continuing professional development to keep their professional teaching skills and vocational expertise up-to-date.
• Take disciplinary action where there has been a serious breach of professional standards.
• Process disclosure checks (rather than colleges).
• Approve TQ(FE) programmes.
• Maintain a register of existing PDAs and PDUs and approve new units and awards.
• Grant approval to colleges and other providers to deliver training on various PDAs and PDUs.

69. As with the previous model, membership could be extended to allow support staff to join in a voluntary capacity. If voluntary membership was extended to other groups of staff, they would be expected to undertake a certain amount of CPD and to adhere to appropriate parts of the code of ethics but would not necessarily be subject to a ‘licence to practise’.

70. Since membership would be mandatory for lecturers, a professional body operating under this model would have a reliable source of income from subscription fees. The Executive would also pay for any work that the professional body took over from it and the PDF. In addition, there may be opportunities to generate extra income by levying charges for particular items or by providing services for closely related groups of professionals in the lifelong learning sector.

71. Such a model would entail an annual subscription charge. However, if this proposal was taken forward, the amount of the subscription charge would be the subject of further consultation.

Establishing a Professional Body

72. If the creation of a professional body is taken forward, the Executive will consider providing help with start-up costs. It will want to ensure, however, that these costs are kept to a minimum. One way of achieving this objective would be set up a professional body as part of, or in amalgamation with, some other body. For example, as the GTCS is an established organisation which performs a similar role in relation to schools, it is possible that it could take on more responsibilities for college staff. Since there is already a commitment to establish a professional body for CLD professionals, another possibility would be to set up some form of joint body. A third option might be for the SFEU, which already provides a significant amount of training and development for college staff, to expand its role to take on the functions of a professional body. Respondents may also have ideas on how a professional body could be established.

73. If a professional body is to be set up, all organisational options will be fully considered and the sector will be consulted when concrete proposals have been formulated.

SECTION 4 – THE FORMAT OF THE QUESTIONNAIRE

74. The following notes are intended to guide respondents in filling in the questionnaire which is reproduced at Section 5.

Support for a Professional Body

75. The creation of a professional body is being explored because it has the potential to improve the quality of learning and teaching across the whole college sector. The questionnaire, thus, begins by asking respondents whether they support, in principle, the establishment of a professional body.

76. All respondents should answer this question (i.e. q.5). When respondents have said whether or not they support the creation of a professional body, they should then expand on this by answering the appropriate sub-question (i.e. 6.a. or 6.b.). The questionnaire will then direct them to the question they should answer next.

Breadth and Levels of Membership

77. If stakeholders within the sector were in favour, membership of the professional body could be extended to include staff who support learning and perhaps also other categories of staff. For example, if membership was open to all staff who engage directly with learners, work-based assessors, learning assistants, advice and guidance specialists and learner support staff could also become members.

78. If a broader remit were envisaged, membership could be extended to staff working in non-college learning environments either initially or after the professional body had been in operation for a period of time.

79. Views are sought on:

• whether voluntary membership should be extended beyond lecturers; and if so
• which other groups of college staff should be included; and
• whether allied professionals working in other learning environments should be included.

80. There could also be different categories and levels of membership. For example, full membership could be restricted to lecturers who have a TQ(FE) or its equivalent. If other groups of staff were included, there might be a need for different categories of membership.

Voluntary or Mandatory Membership for Lecturers

81. Views are sought on:

• the idea of mandatory registration for lecturers; and
• categories of lecturers for whom registration should be mandatory.

Continuing Professional Development (CPD)

82. Views are sought on whether members of the professional body should be required to undertake a certain amount of CPD each year and keep a record of this activity.

Code of Ethics

83. Respondents are asked for their views on:

• whether members of the professional body should be required to adhere to a code of ethics; and if so
• what issues and standards should be included in such a code.

The Wider Public Interest

84. The Executive is keen to ensure that any form of professional body puts in place mechanisms which enable it to listen to the views of learners and other external stakeholders such as government agencies, employers and community bodies. In the Executive’s view, groups and organisations that have a major interest or substantial expertise in the quality of the education and training provided by the sector should have a voice in the decision-making and advisory structures of any professional body. Respondents are invited to put forward ideas and suggestions on how to ensure that account is taken of these wider interests.

Teaching Qualifications

85. Respondents’ views are sought on whether Scotland should follow the example of other parts of the UK and require newly appointed full-time lecturers and part-time lecturers who work more than, say, ten hours per week to gain a teaching qualification within a certain period of time.

Other Ideas and Suggestions

86. Respondents are free to suggest other models for a professional body, recommend other functions which such a body might undertake or submit any other ideas or suggestions which they consider to be relevant to the issues raised in this consultation.

SECTION 5 – THE QUESTIONNAIRE

87. As explained in paragraph 22, we would prefer to receive responses in electronic form. An online questionnaire covering all the questions listed in Section 4 of this paper can be accessed at: http://www.scotland.gov.uk/Consultations.

88. A paper version of the questionnaire or one in the form of a Word document can also be made available. Please see paragraphs 23 and 24 for details.

NOTE: The following is NOT the online questionnaire. Click here to go directly to the online questionnaire.

Introduction

We believe that all those with an interest in this Consultation will support the objective of maintaining and enhancing quality in Scotland’s colleges. At the same time, we accept that not everyone will agree on the best method of achieving that objective. One concept which featured strongly in the responses to last year’s consultation was the possible creation of a professional body. While this questionnaire specifically seeks to explore that concept further, we naturally remain open to any other ideas around the themes of quality and professionalism.

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