Tony Armstrong

Membership Grade: Fellow Member
Length of IfL Membership: 2 Years
Current Position: Lecturer/SL in PCET
Reserved Seats: West Midlands

I have worked in the area of Teacher Training and CPD for the PCET sector for well over ten years and was a lecturer in FE and Adult Education for several years before that. From this perspective I see the recent development and popularity of the IfL as a positive attempt to re-visit and more precisely reassert professionalism within the sector, a neglected and marginalised area in the post-incorporation world of FE.

However, my concern for the future is the relationship between the award of QTLS and QTS. The school based QTS is clearly welcomed in our sector whilst QTLS is not recognised by our fellow professionals in secondary schools. Parity of status and recognition needs to be fought for now not just set aside as a long term objective. Indeed in the PCET sector too there is still a very confused and rather hit and miss understanding of what QTLS is all about. This needs to be addressed as a matter of urgency.

I wish to stand in this election in order to increase the profile and status of QTLS both within the PCET sector and amongst our colleagues working in secondary schools. For example, an immediate start could be made by further integrating QTLS within initial teacher training for our sector. Professionalism and professional recognition cannot be put off any longer or left to others to defend.