nbsp;nbsp;nbsp;It was with some disappointment that I read your rather negative coverage of the GTC and its recent election.

As a GTC member for the last four years, I have been able to observe the Council’s achievements very closely, and have been genuinely impressed. Consider, for example: the creation of the first coherent register of England’s half a million teachers; the Council’s advice to government reflecting the necessity of professional development opportunities that retain and enthuse teachers; and the Council’s emphatic advice that teaching assistants must not replace teachers.

Teachers in England have at last joined the other major professions in gaining a regulatory body dedicated to protecting and enhancing the esteem in which the profession is held. As happened in Scotland, it may take ten years before many teachers themselves fully accept the long-term benefits of a regulatory council.

Let nobody doubt that GTC council members, over and above their full-time teaching, will continue to devote their time and energy to ensuring that our profession receives the enhanced status and esteem it deserves.

Anthony Handley
(Re-elected) Member of the GTC for Englandnbsp;nbsp;nbsp;
London