Charles Dickens would know how to sum up the state of FE today. When I look across the FE landscape, it does indeed seem to be the best of times; the worst of times.

The best of times because the political consensus has never been stronger behind the need for a major, sustained focus on supporting FE and technical education - it is central to the country’s response to the challenge of Brexit. The worst of times, perhaps, because funding is so tight by historical standards and many providers of all stripes find themselves in financial difficulty.

Change is ever-present in FE. Changes to policies, to funding, to qualifications. College mergers; apprenticeship reforms; devolution of adult skills. New bodies such as the Institute for Apprenticeships; new flagship policies like T levels.

All these things matter, but none of them are central to the issue of quality. Because an education system is quite simply defined by the quality of the teaching and learning that goes on within it. And that, in turn, is all about the professionals who teach and train, as well as those who lead and support them.

Lack of CPD

At the heart of everything stands the teacher or trainer with their learners. Far too little attention is given to supporting them - their initial training, their CPD, their career development, their leadership journey, their professional growth. But there is now an organisation that is absolutely all about this.

Just over four years ago, the Education and Training Foundation (ETF) was formed. Given the accelerating recognition of the contribution of FE and training to economic prosperity and social inclusion, the timing could not have been better.

With the increased emphasis on the national importance of the sector, there has naturally been more reliance on the ETF to provide deeper and broader support to the workforce in raising its standards of teaching, training and leadership. We welcome this responsibility to enable the profession to continue its drive for self-improvement.

Findings from our latest workforce survey show that about three-quarters of teachers hold a teaching qualification and over half hold a Level 6 qualification or above in their main subject area. But it also reports that 60 per cent of teachers spend no time on CPD at all. This shows that while there is much to be admired in the sector, there is still more work to be done. And this plays to our purpose.

As a sector, the quest for continual improvement and the need for a deeper level of expertise cannot stand still - for practitioners, managers or leaders at any stage of their career. This is why last week we announced the launch of our new Advanced Teacher Status (ATS). At the same time, the first cohort of principals and chief executives have started upon our FE strategic leadership programme, which is delivered by the Saïd Business School at the University of Oxford.

Both are aiming to develop and recognise significant expertise - whether for those who deliver or manage teaching and training in the classroom or the workplace, or those who are leading their entire institution through ongoing change amid uncertainty.

ATS is a further step in improving and championing the quality of the sector’s teaching and training professionals. It will be a highly sought-after badge and further recognition for those with significant experience who can demonstrate three key attributes:

• Mastery in teaching and/or training.
   
• An exemplary degree of subject knowledge in their area of professional expertise.
   
• Effectiveness in working collaboratively to improve teaching standards among their peers or across their organisation.

Parity of status

During our research, members expressed how, following the achievement of their Qualified Teacher Learning and Skills status, they wanted a progression route towards a nationally recognised badge that could reflect their advanced CPD, and the growing wider influence of their expertise on colleagues.

Guiding our thinking was how we could apply the international recognition and respect given to a “master teacher”, who has developed deep expertise in both the theory and practice of teaching. The status must therefore encompass dual professionalism: mastery of a subject or occupational field, and of teaching itself.

Parity of professional status remains important. This is why we are working in close partnership with the Chartered College of Teaching to ensure holders of ATS will be conferred chartered teacher status, once the college has launched this within the schools sector.

I firmly believe the new status is a landmark moment for FE and training. We should be proud that we will be the first sector in education to develop a route to chartered teacher status, with the first select cohort of up to 50 candidates recruited during the summer.

Our country faces huge challenges in the coming years. The FE system will be front and centre of a national response to those challenges. Now is our sector’s time to shine. The ETF will be there supporting teachers, trainers and leaders to do exactly that.

David Russell is chief executive of the Education and Training Foundation