IfL: statements from Toni Fazaeli

Wednesday 23 February 2011

Read a copy of IfL letter to FE and Skills members 2011

 

Friday 4 June 2010

Understandably, I have been picking up questions and concerns from members following the announcement earlier this week that the government plans to close the General Teaching Council for England (GTC). I thought it would be helpful for members and others if I set out the distinctions between GTC for schools, and the Institute for Learning (IfL) for further education and skills.

The government’s plan to close the GTC has no direct implications for IfL. IfL is an independent professional body, set up in 2002 by teachers, in partnership with unions and employer bodies.

IfL is a not-for-profit company limited by guarantee, led by its members, by teachers for teachers.  It is governed solely by its Advisory Council and cannot be closed by the government or others.  IfL is not a quango.

The government has said it will look to GTC’s important functions being carried out in other ways. Some in the schools sector have pointed out that the school teaching profession wants and needs a GTC, and that the right decision might be to reform the body.

Teachers and trainers, unions and employer bodies in our sector, further education and skills, fought hard to get our own professional body. IfL works to ensure that we give back to the profession a strong focus on the areas that members say they most value – status; a strong professional voice and influence on policy; and support for more continuing professional development (CPD). IfL's remit is somewhat different from the GTC's.

Since 2007, the government has paid most IfL membership fees, as a commitment to the profession and to help IfL become established quickly and cost-effectively. IfL will become self-financing from 2011. This puts IfL in a strong and sustainable position as your professional body; we will be on par with other highly respected and longstanding professional bodies, such as those for accountants, nurses and lawyers.

In our most recent, independently conducted satisfaction survey of IfL members,  92 per cent of respondents rated  IfL’s benefits from 'fair' to 'excellent', with 61 per cent saying that they were 'good' or 'excellent'. We are always listening to members' views and working to improve further.

Further education and skills teachers and trainers have a crucial role to play in helping upskill individuals and the nation, to help revive the economy and strengthen communities. Promoting the status of frontline professional teachers and the value of teaching and learning is of paramount importance, and IfL is hugely committed to doing this. IfL is directly serving frontline teachers and trainers.