WIREDGOV

Following the success of its June seminars, the Institute for Learning (IfL) is running another series of workshops in support of teachers and trainers throughout the further education and skills sector, who are required to undertake at least 30 hours' continuing professional development (CPD) a year, prorated for part-time staff.

The workshops are designed to give participants a chance to explore and understand how to use REfLECT, IfL's online tool and personal learning space for members to reflect on their professional practice and record the various CPD activities they undertake to enhance their teaching. Each workshop comprises two practical sessions, after which participants should be able to support peers and colleagues in their use of REfLECT.

All the October events are fully booked, and IfL will be organising a further series of workshops for the first quarter of 2009. Full details will be published on IfL's website in the near future.

The current CPD year runs to 31 August 2009, the date by which teachers need to let IfL know that they have completed their CPD for the year.

Dr Jean Kelly, head of professional development at IfL, said, "If you haven't already done so, you need to start thinking about and planning your professional development. The important thing to consider is which kind of learning activities will make a difference to your teaching and to your learners.

"Our advice is to use the CPD guidelines on our website. Using the model of dual professionalism will help you identify key areas in your subject specialism, industrial expertise and teaching and learning approaches that might need updating. You might also find it helpful to plan your CPD with others, if you can – sometimes the most obvious things to focus on are not obvious to you. Remember too that evidence of peer discussion and feedback counts as professional development if it has an impact on your practice."



NOTES TO EDITORS

IfL's CPD guidelines are available to download at

http://www.ifl.ac.uk/services/p_wwv_page?id=171&menu_id=1340

About IfL

The Institute for Learning (IfL) was formed in 2002 and is the professional body for teachers, tutors, trainers and student teachers in the learning and skills sector, including adult and community learning, emergency and public services, further education colleges, Ministry of Defence and the armed services, the voluntary sector and work-based learning.


Much of IfL’s work is guided by two sets of regulations that came into force on 1 September 2007:

· Revised teaching qualifications, including the introduction of licensed practitioner status and differentiation between full and associate teachers

· Remaining in good standing as a teaching professional, including mandatory continuing professional development (CPD) for all teachers.

Under the regulations, all FE college teachers are required to register as members of IfL, undertake CPD each year and abide by the IfL Code of Professional Practice. The regulations are supported by contractual requirements for LSC-funded provision, which will ensure that the scope of the regulations covers all teachers in the sector.

The government has agreed to meet the full cost of standard registration with IfL for teachers in LSC-funded institutions who register online. IfL also welcomes teachers and trainers who do not work on LSC-funded programmes; they are required to pay their own annual subscription, for which they receive a comprehensive range of professional benefits.

Teachers new to the sector from September 2007 are additionally required to become licensed practitioners. Although not mandatory for them, existing teachers are also encouraged to become licensed practitioners, as this will become the benchmark for the sector.

As a key partner in delivering workforce reform, IfL is responsible for managing the registration process and for conferring licensed practitioner status.

An independent professional body, IfL is governed by an elected council and works closely with several sector organisations, unions and employer bodies.



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