Teachers have been invited to have their say on proposals to establish a mass-membership College of Teaching - and whether it should be “royal” or not.

The proposed professional body, supported by the Prince’s Teaching Institute and being developed by a specially appointed commission, would give teachers a greater say over education policy, professional standards, curriculum and assessment, as well as offering support in skills development.

It is part of a wider campaign to allow teachers to take control of their profession. 

Now a “Claim Your College” project has been launched to encourage more input from classroom teachers, and a dedicated blog on the TES website is hosting the debate.

Angela McFarlane (pictured), chief executive of the existing College of Teachers, which is helping to develop plans for the new, larger organisation, told TES she was keen to introduce more teachers to the debate.

“There hasn’t been an opportunity for individual, grass-roots teachers to engage or be heard,” she said. “It’s possible they are not even aware these discussions are going on. We need to do something that will give a voice to people who are potential members of the organisation.”

In a Sutton Trust poll in May, 41 per cent of teachers said they supported plans for the college. The same proportion said they had not yet made up their mind, while 17 per cent opposed the proposals.

Meetings to debate the plans will be taking place in London, Bristol and York in the coming weeks, with more planned for 2015.

Issues still to be decided include the level of membership fees, what services the college would provide and whether it should be “royal” or not.

To have your say, visit the Claim Your College blog.

Related stories:

Plans for ‘College of Teaching’ fail to convince teachers - May 2014

College of Teaching will need to raise up to £30m to get off the ground - February 2014