Licensed to Create

Over recent years the education world has begun to recognise teacher quality as one of the most important factors through which to improve student outcomes. Labour’s Tristram Hunt recently proposed a teacher re-licensing scheme as a way to improve quality by encouraging teachers to continue to develop their professional learning and expertise over time.

View this animation that explains our findings:

The RSA has brought together a wide range of perspectives to explore this idea: Tracey Burns and Kristen Weatherby (OECD), Dylan Wiliam (IoE), David Weston (Teacher Development Trust), Alison Peacock (Headteacher), Tom Sherrington (Headteacher), Philippa Cordingley (CUREE), Debra Kidd (Teacher), Lorna Owen (Teacher), Charlotte Lesley (MP for Bristol North West) and Tristram Hunt (Shadow Secretary of State for Education).

The RSA makes five recommendations:

• Over time, empower a new Royal College of Teaching to introduce a teacher licensing scheme, managed through a peer-reviewed portfolio process, and involving the subject associations
• Build ‘capacity for disciplined innovation’ into the teacher and headteacher standards
• Trial Design Thinking in Initial Teacher Education and Early Professional Development
• Recruit more teachers with design-related degrees, and not only to teach Design and Technology
• Develop a new ‘creative professional development’ offer for talented teachers who commit to teaching in a school in a challenging area, which includes a ‘term out’ sabbatical