Personalised elements

These are determined by IfL and are made up of individual reflections on professional elements from a variety of sources appropriate to the applicant, so that they are non-standardised, personal and unique.

1. Subject Specialist Knowledge

In this section, it is necessary to describe and explain details of your subject specialist knowledge and qualifications and if you are a Skills for Life teacher, then you should also include reference to the Level 4 Subject Specifications and/or the Level 5 Additional Diploma.

In addition to the above narrative, you should also scan in copies of your certificates here as well as any other supporting evidence, drawn from a range of sources that illustrate your subject specialist expertise. 

Please be thoughtful and selective about what you decide to scan in and  include only that which is relevant and significant. It is not necessary to scan everything!

2. Knowledge of Teaching and Learning/Pedagogy

Again (as above), provide some narrative about your knowledge of teaching and learning with specific examples of your ability to use effectively the skills and knowledge acquired in your initial teacher training (ITT) and developed through ongoing continuing professional   development (CPD) and experience.

To support your narrative, you can choose to scan in evidence from a range of appropriate sources but thoughtful selection of what is most significant is important here.

3. Self-evaluation

This may be something like a SWOT analysis which identifies your current strengths as well as areas to develop and includes an awareness of opportunities as well as threats to your personal and professional development.

Evidence of this might be provided from a range of sources.

4. Professional Development Planning

This is linked to your self-evaluation and analysis above as it would suggest how you intend to work on and develop those areas which are important to improving your practice. This ought to be something which is forward looking and may have been developed in discussion with a manager or through your institutional appraisal systems.

Evidence for this may be based on a range of sources, such as meetings and discussions with managers and / or peers, appraisals, observations of teaching and learning or of needs in subject specialist areas and so on.

5. Reflective Practice

This is about demonstrating an awareness of the outcomes of professional development and reflecting on its impact on teaching practice, on learners’ experience and perhaps even wider communities of practice.

Supporting evidence for this might be in the form of personal reflection on CPD, teaching and learning, subject specialist needs, wider networks involving peer dialogue and discussion.