IfL publishes policy statement on professional formation

Monday 11 August 2008

The Institute for Learning (IfL) has published its policy statement on professional formation for teachers, trainers and tutors in the further education and skills sector. Professional formation is the post-qualification process by which a teacher demonstrates, through professional practice:
  • the ability to use effectively the skills and knowledge acquired whilst training to be a teacher
  • the capacity to meet the occupational standards required.
Successful professional formation leads to the conferral of Qualified Teacher Learning and Skills (QTLS) or Associate Teacher Learning and Skills (ATLS) status. Applications for licensed practitioner status, through QTLS or ATLS, may be made from 1 September 2008, and will be mandatory for teachers joining the sector from 1 September 2007.

Other than the regulatory requirement to achieve QTLS or ATLS status within five years of employment in the sector, professional formation is not time-limited, and the time taken to achieve licensed status will be determined by the circumstances of individual teachers.

IfL's deputy chief executive, Lee Davies, said, "It's important to note that relevant qualifications do not automatically lead to QTLS or ATLS status. This is conferred by IfL only after suitably qualified candidates have successfully completed professional formation, which is not available until 1 September 2008. The first conferrals will happen after early adopters have submitted their professional formation accounts for assessment."

The professional formation account should incorporate both mandatory and personalised evidence:
  • Mandatory elements include completion of an approved qualification (or equivalent) at level 5 for QTLS or level 3 or 4 for ATLS; literacy and numeracy skills at or above level 2; supporting testimony; and a self-declaration of fitness to practise.
  • Personalised elements include accounts of subject currency and of teaching and learning skills; self-evaluation of the candidate's learning needs and goals for the next 12 months; an individual learning plan; and evidence of reflective practice.
All teachers and trainers in the sector, including those who joined before 1 September 2007, are required to become members of IfL, abide by IfL's Code of Professional Practice and remain in good standing through continuing professional development (CPD).

"Licensed practitioner status is not mandatory for all FE and skills teachers, but will become the new benchmark in the sector," said Mr Davies, "and so we are encouraging all those teaching in the sector to achieve this as a demonstration of their professional skills and standards."

Further information about professional formation is available on IfL's website at www.ifl.ac.uk

Notes for Editors

IfL's policy statement on professional formation

Frequently asked questions about professional formation.

The word 'teachers' is used to refer to all teaching staff in the FE and skills sector: teachers, trainers, tutors and trainee teachers.