The College according to Joe

It has been 8 months since The Chartered College of Teaching officially opened for membership and there has been lots of exciting news and developments along the way. I was fortunate enough to spend some time recently with Joe Treacy, Head of Membership & Partners at The Chartered College and could discuss with him how things are going.

The overwhelming feeling is one of optimism and enthusiasm for the future. With nearly 6000 members now signed up there is a sense of achievement within The Chartered College, however Joe is very aware that there is a much longer journey ahead. Whilst pleased with the current figures he explains to me that the biggest challenge is simply making teachers aware of The Chartered College in the first place. Those that are not on Twitter, he explains, are the hardest to engage with. “How can we get our message out there?”, he asks, perhaps hoping I had an answer. However, a plan is already underway, marketing teams are being put in place and engagement through social media is a key strategy for the coming year. Working closely with organisations like Teach First and the Unions will help and an advocacy team is now set up made up of volunteer teachers and educators, their role is to engage and promote The Chartered College as much as possible with an aim to increasing numbers, interest and support. Finally, the regional research networks have been formed with training due to take place in September offering a go to point for support and research across the country.

Joe, himself a former teacher, is quick to highlight why he feels The Chartered College is destined to become a real success.Joe jokes that they should give Dame Alison Peacock, CEO at The Chartered College another dame hood for the work she has done and the impact she has had on the profession. He openly says that it is the biggest privilege of his career to work with her and describes how Dame Alison could have very easily gone on to work with other established, reputable organisations interested in her skills, and could naturally have continued the fantastic work she was doing at The Wroxham School. However, she felt that The Chartered College was the way forward, a real chance for the profession to regain its autonomy and voice. Joe highlights nicely how Dame Alison sums up The College, it’s about giving teachers something they don’t even realise they need yet.  

This is the strength of The Chartered College according to Joe, the potential and opportunities to work together as a profession. We openly discuss the often self-depreciating nature of educators and the disagreements within our community when practise or theory comes into play. Joe explains that The Chartered College isn’t about designing prescriptive teaching or writing a how to guide. Rather, it is about exploring research together and linking it with every day practice, finding out how we can improve the profession by communication and collaboration rather than teachers in Sussex trying to carry out a pilot scheme of something that may already be taking place somewhere else. It is also about moving away from fads, what is in fashion in education. The College, Joe explains, is there to put those two parties in touch with each other, to arrange visits, share in ideas and suggestions and discuss changes and improvements. Finally, to celebrate the teaching profession for the brilliant profession it is and raise the prestige around it. Joe asks “why can’t teachers be held in the same regard as other professions such as doctors?”

With the Chartered Teacher status due to begin next year, Fellowship, the most prestigious and highest category of membership is also planned to be launched this September and the regional hubs due to begin their work it is an exciting time for The Chartered College. Joe’s infectious enthusiasm for their work is tempered by his readiness to listen to my suggestions. That’s the entire point of The Chartered College, it is about what we as the educators want, how do we wish to be supported, what do we wish to see? Many teachers will feel that they already do a very good job, the vast majority of them do, but that doesn’t mean, according to Joe and The College, that we can’t do it better.