At the Conservative Party conference on 4th October 2010 CUREE held a fringe event to consider the Future of the Profession. With the government’s new education agenda come substantial freedoms from central prescription and freedoms to innovate. Such freedoms, like all entitlements, bring responsibilities. In this case the responsibility for making significantly more professional judgements about what to teach, to whom, and how. What’s going to ensure that all these decisions actually improve things? Philippa Cordingley, for CUREE, argued that what was needed to kick start and drive improvement was a vision for the future of the profession with continuing professional learning at its centre.
A two page summary of her presentation can be downloaded from here and a brief video of Philippa's input can be accessed here.
Further videos of speakers at the conference can be accessed here:
Other contributions to the debate explored how teachers can make a pro-active contribution in shaping the debate on education, as key players in a changing environment that values responsibility and self-regulation. In a 'bottom-up' society, what role and relationship does the teacher in the classroom have to the wider context of the development of the profession, and broader social cohesion? What place does government have in helping or hindering this cohesion, and how can it help create the conditions for change?
Speaking alongside Philippa Cordingley were Nick Gibb MP, Minister for Schools; Phillip Blond, Director, ResPublica; and John Bangs, Visiting Professor at the Institute of Education and former Head of Education at the NUT. Gerard Kelly, Editor of TES chaired the session.