What are the professional standards?
Professional standards describe the skills, knowledge, and behaviours that exemplify excellent practice and support professional development.
The professional standards form an aspirational framework that empowers you to be the best educator you can be.
They are a vital part of supporting all practitioners in our sector as they engage in professional development and learning.
Crafted collaboratively with key stakeholders within the sector, these standards are the result of a collective effort by the workforce, for the workforce. They encapsulate the expertise and shared vision of professionals like yourself, united in their commitment to making the greatest impact possible on learners.
Below you’ll find links to professional standards tailored to your specific role; for further education teachers, work-based learning practitioners, teachers who deliver adult learning in the community, and support staff and leaders in further education and work-based learning.
Using the standards
Using these standards will support you in having an open dialogue with your peers, and fostering meaningful conversations to shape professional development goals. They also help to provide a framework for self-reflection, both in terms of your practice and the theory of teaching.
These are key tools to achieve a deeper understanding of your practice and to promote your growth as a professional.
These are key tools to achieve a deeper understanding of your practice and to promote your growth as a professional.
- Setting clear expectations for how you and your colleagues should work.
- Reflecting on your practice - individually and as part of a team, and help to define success as an educator.
- Identifying key focus areas for your own professional development and ongoing learning.
- Defining the path towards career progression, providing you with a clear roadmap to enhance your career.
Useful Resources
Find useful resources linked to the professional standards below
The Professional Learning Passport
The Professional Learning Passport (PLP) is a flexible online tool, available to all EWC registrants, that is packed with features that are designed to support you to capture, reflect upon, share, and plan your learning with the ultimate aim of improving your practice.
Within your PLP you will also find your professional standards, and you will be able to map any item you have created or added to your PLP to them.
Read more about how you can use the Professional Learning Passport to enhance your practice.