The Future of the Teaching Profession with Alison Peacock and Sam Twiselton

Primary Futures

Dame Alison Peacock, the Chief Executive of the Chartered College of Teaching, and Professor Samantha Twiselton, the emeritus professor at Sheffield Institute of Education discuss professional development and empowerment within the education sector. Throughout the episode, the duo delve into the importance of collaboration, professional identity and the need for a supportive environment for educators. They also touch upon the role of institutions like the Chartered College of Teaching in fostering a sense of collegiality and professional identity among educators. The conversation highlights the necessity of an accountability system that empowers teachers and promotes the well-being of both educators and students.

• (00:57) - Alison and Sam discuss the moments that make them proud to work within education.
• (05:47) - Alison and Sam look at the current state of education and consider the challenges that teachers face, with particular focus on the pressures that educators are subjected to.
• (12:52) - The pair confront the recruitment and retention issues that are affecting the education sector and the impact this is having on schools’ ability to cover the curriculum.
• (31:45) - Sam and Alison look to the future, to envision how the sector will look in five years.

About our guests

Professor Dame Alison Peacock is Chief Executive of the Chartered College of Teaching, a charitable Professional Body that seeks to empower a knowledgeable and respected teaching profession through membership and accreditation. Prior to joining the Chartered College, Dame Alison was Executive Headteacher of The Wroxham School in Hertfordshire. Her career to date has spanned primary, secondary and advisory roles. She is an Honorary Fellow of Queens College Cambridge, Hughes Hall Cambridge and UCL, a Visiting Professor of both the University of Hertfordshire and Glyndŵr University and a trustee for Big Change, Institute for Educational & Social Equity and the Helen Hamlyn Trust. Her research is published in a series of books about Learning without Limits offering an alternative approach to inclusive school improvement.

Connect with Alison Peacock

Professor Samantha Twiselton, OBE is Emeritus Professor at Sheffield Institute of Education, Sheffield Hallam University and was its founding Director. She is also a visiting professor at University of Sunderland and an independent education consultant and advisor for the English and other governments and many other organisations.

With expertise in teacher and school leader development, recruitment and retention and curriculum, Sam has been heavily involved in shaping and advising Government policy on teacher education. She sits on many government advisory groups, chaired the DfE Core Content in ITT group and continues to be heavily involved in the DfE’s ITT reforms. Sam is a Founding Fellow and former Vice President (external) of the Chartered College of Teaching. She is trustee for Shine, Teach First, several multi-academy trusts and Now Teach. In June 2018 she was named in the Queen's Birthday honours as a recipient of an OBE for services to Higher Education.

Connect with Sam Twiselton

Key takeaways

• Encourage professional development and empowerment within the education sector.
• Foster a sense of collegiality and professional identity among educators through institutions like the Chartered College.
• Implement an accountability system that empowers teachers and promotes wellbeing.
• Maintain focus on learning by reducing meaningless workload tasks.
• Recognise the interconnectedness of staff and pupil wellbeing to create a conducive learning environment.

Quotes

"The importance of professional judgment in knowing the knowledge that's relevant to the situation that you're in is sometimes lost." — Sam Twiselton

"What we know is that most people enter the teaching profession because they want to make a difference, they know that education can really transform lives." — Sam Twiselton

"It's so fascinating, isn't it? When you watch other colleagues teaching, because everybody comes at things from a different perspective or a different starting point in terms of who they are as a teacher." — Alison Peacock

"We've chosen the people we think will make good teachers, we've trained them as best we can, it seems to me like maybe we should trust them." — Ed Finch

"I think there's a danger that the pendulum has swung so far in a particular direction, that the importance of criticality and the importance of professional judgment is sometimes lost." — Sam Twiselton

"We all know, hopefully, what it's like to work for an inspiring leader, someone who recognises us, notices us, gives us credit for ideas, engages us." — Alison Peacock

Resource recommendations

Chartered College. Professional body for teachers that focuses on connecting research to practice.

OECD Research and publications about the teaching profession and its future.

Oxford Brookes University Education, Early Years and Teacher Training courses.

Sheffield Hallam University. Offers a range of education qualifications.

What will you take away?

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