A JOINT ceremony hosted by the General Teaching Council for Scotland (GTCS) and the Scottish College for Educational Leadership (SCEL) on Sunday celebrated Scotland’s newest cohort of education leaders.
The annual event, held to celebrate teachers who have achieved the Standard for Headship, is for the first time being held jointly to recognise the first group of experienced school leaders who have successfully completed the SCEL Fellowship Programme.
A spokesperson said: “Established in 2014 to support leadership development for education practitioners, SCEL is now tasked with developing the new masters qualification for headteachers, recently announced by First Minister Nicola Sturgeon. The Into Headship part of this qualification will become available from August this year and will become mandatory for all new headteachers from 2018/19.”
This year’s Conference and Awards Ceremony is being held at the Stirling Court Hotel in Stirling with 82 teachers being awarded the Standard for Headship and eight teachers awarded SCEL Fellowship.
The day featured a keynote address from Professor Jacky Lumby, University of Southampton, on the subject of attainment and bridging the equity gap. The conference will also feature a panel discussion and workshops before attendees are awarded their certificates.
Invited participants awarded the Standard for Headship have either completed the Scottish Qualification for Headship working with a Scottish University or the flexible route to Headship delivered by Education Scotland. Those attendees awarded SCEL Fellowship are senior level school leaders who have successfully completed an 11-month professional learning programme with a focus on system leadership.
SCEL chief executive, Gillian Hamilton, will present the certificates to candidates alongside GTCS chief executive, Kenneth Muir.
Kenneth Muir, GTCS chief executive, said: “At today’s event, we rightly recognise and celebrate thesuccess of individuals receiving their Standard for Headship award. Let us also remember to celebrate the strong partnership working in the Scottish education system that has helped toproduce that success, and which many observers see as being thekey to the future success of Scottish education.”
Gillian Hamilton, SCEL chief executive, said: “Our ambition and vision for the Fellows of SCEL is clear. The award of Fellowship will serve as a form of recognition at the highest level for educational leaders whose status and expertise is recognised within and beyond the teaching profession.”
“The Fellows will bechampions for leadership and theteaching profession and share theirexpertise in various ways. They will play a key role in the development and evolution of SCEL and through the recruitment of yearly cohorts, a rich pool of expertise will become available and accessible.”
