To provide the best possible education for pupils, schools must be led by motivated leaders who are committed to excellence. Teachers must have the opportunity to refresh and develop their skills as they progress through their careers.
There are a several programmes for headteachers and teachers to strengthen their professional skills.
Leadership
The updated Standard for Headship defines the leadership and management capabilities of headteachers. At present, to become a headteacher, teachers must demonstrate that they meet the Standard for Headship. This can be done through local authority interview and assessment processes or by formal development routes such as the Scottish Qualification for Headship and the Flexible Route to Headship.
There is a broad programme of leadership activity that is happening all over Scotland.
Continuing professional development (CPD)
A national framework for continuing professional development is in place to enable teachers at every stage in their career to realise their potential, develop and maintain skills. For more information, see Professional Review and Development.
The Scottish Government funds a national database of CPD - CPDFind. CPDFind is free to use and is supported by the National CPD Team and Learning & Teaching Scotland.
Scottish Learning Festival
The Scottish Government supports the annual Scottish Learning Festival which is organised by Learning Teaching Scotland. The festival is the largest national educational conference and exhibition in Scotland and is held every September at the SECC in Glasgow. The event celebrates and shares good practice in teaching, learning and leadership across Scotland and draws on though-provoking international expertise. Delegates have the opportunity to take part in stimulating discussion activities as well as listening to presentations from world-renowned keynote speakers. For more information go to the Scottish Learning Festival website.
Chartered Teachers
Chartered Teacher status was introduced following the agreement "A Teaching Profession for the 21st Century" as a means of rewarding teachers who want to further enhance their teaching skills and knowledge with a focus on improving learning and teaching for pupils. There are chartered teachers in each local authority and more and more teachers are signing up for the programme. for more information, see the Chartered Teacher FAQ. Currently there is a temporary suspension of salary awards for teachers commencing modules on Chartered Teacher programmes. A decision on the future award of salary increments will be taken by the Scottish Negotiating Committee for Teachers by April 2012.
Short-term teaching overseas
There are a range of opportunities to expand your professional development through short-term teaching opportunites overseas.
Further information on International education.