If we’re to have certain expectations about the consistency and quality of what happens in FE, we need specialist threshold guidance encapsulated in professional standards. These are a way for all involved – teachers, students, parents – to be absolutely clear about what is expected of those to whom the standards apply.
The Professional Standards in FE, originally introduced by the Education and Training Foundation in 2014 and updated in 2022, were developed with sector professionals and experts in the field as a support and inspiration for professional learning. At a time when funding for professional learning from external providers may not always be forthcoming, it is incredibly useful for practitioners to have such a framework to refer to for reflecting on practice and developing skills and knowledge.
Andrew Dowell, the Education and Training Foundation’s Head of Professional Status and Standards is keen that the standards in FE should be an inspiration and a guide. He explained: “The Professional Standards for Teachers and Trainers and the Professional Standards for Leaders are built around three domains of practice: professional values and attributes, professional knowledge and understanding, and professional skills. They were developed – and are reviewed and revised – with extensive input from sector professionals and experts to support and inspire the professional learning and career development of colleagues across FE and skills.
“The Standards can be used by individuals to reflect on their own personal development, tracking their progress against a common framework throughout the different stages of their career journeys. In doing so, they can identify areas in which they need to focus their development at different times.”
The standards urge us to anchor ourselves in a culture of learning. In fact, standard 1 and standard 7, which appear in the first domain, Professional values and attributes, provide the solid basis for approaching this culture, respectively, “Critically reflect on and evaluate your practices, values, and belief to improve learner outcomes” and “Engage with and promote a culture of continuous learning and quality improvement.”
Reflective practice
There is never a bad time to be reminded of the need for reflective practice. Done well, it will feed positively into your next steps for professional learning and may significantly further your career. It may also help to improve outcomes for your students.
Much has been written on reflective learning, for example by David Kolb, Graham Gibbs, Gary Rolph, and Chris Johns, and there are numerous models for reflective practice. That said, many practitioners develop their own approach to reflective practice that suit their circumstances; a valid approach if it makes reflective practice more likely!
The Gibbs model, Gibbs’ Reflective Cycle, developed nearly 40 years ago, seeks to help us to structure learning experiences. The six stages of Gibbs’ Reflective Cycle help to explore elements of work as an FE practitioner. The six stages are:
- Description – of the experience you are reflecting on
- Feelings – the feelings you have about the experience you are reflecting on
- Evaluation – of the experience
- Analysis – making sense of the experience
- Conclusion – what have you learned? Is there anything you might have done differently?
- Action plan – how would you deal with this situation or experience differently in the future? Are there any changes you need to implement now?
As with any model, you may need to adapt it to better suit your professional learning in the context in which you work, but this is a great starting point. The aim is greater clarity so that you can see the steps ahead.
The key is getting into the habit of reflection. It can be easy, given the immense pressures of the job, to bypass reflection or to promise yourself you’ll do it when you have time. Yet those who undertake reflection as a part of their day often report that it helps to create time and space and that the clarity they gain can help to streamline certain aspects of work.
Reflecting on the professional standards themselves can help to ensure that you are meeting them, and also that you are carving a path for future professional learning, too. As professional learning deepens, with reflection playing a central role, standards rise and outcomes improve – or so it is hoped.
As Dowell explained, “The Standards drive improvement across the sector, contributing to the ultimate goal of better outcomes for learners, and we receive consistently positive feedback from individuals and provider organisations about their impact.”
Find out more…
Professional Standards for Teachers and Trainers (et-foundation.co.uk)
APConnectReflectionsGuideFINALMay2021.pdf (et-foundation.co.uk)
2022 Professional Standards Self-Assessment tool - ETF eLearning portfolio (et-foundation.co.uk)
About the author
Elizabeth Holmes
After graduating with a degree in Politics and International Relations from the University of Reading, Elizabeth Holmes completed her PGCE at the Institute of Education, University of London. She then taught humanities and social sciences in schools in London, Oxfordshire and West Sussex, where she ran the history department in a challenging comprehensive. Elizabeth specialises in education but also writes on many other issues and themes. As well as her regular blogs for Eteach and FEjobs, her books have been published by a variety of publishers and translated around the world. Elizabeth has also taught on education courses in HE and presented at national and international conferences.
