Review role responsibilities and boundaries as a teacher

Ensuring learning takes place so the syllabus requirements are met and the students are likely to succeed in their assessment. This is increasingly important in today’s climate for the tutor’s career and the college’s reputation.

Being up to date in the subject you are teaching and developing good practice in your own area, learning how to evaluate, reflect and communicate.

Adhering to your organisation’s code of practice, procedures and maintaining appropriate conduct

within the college for example dressing and acting appropriately, not swearing in front of the students

and also outside, for example working in the sex industry would bring the profession into disrepute

being aware of the organisation’s procedures for first aid, accident reporting, evacuation procedures and support services such as IT, library, welfare.

Being prepared:

arriving in advance to arrange the environment so the class can start on time

back up resources are available, for example in case of technology failure, and a contingency plan in case students finish more quickly, or slowly than expected.

all materials needed are available

Completing all relevant records, attendance and exam submission etc

Being available for tutorials and support

To respect and value all learners equally and to provide equality of opportunity and accessible activities to suit the diversity of learners. This includes ensuring the environment is supportive and conducive to learning, and ensuring the students are treating each other with respect and to be seen to be dealing with discriminatory behaviour.

Learning is accessible and inclusive:

The tutor has the responsibility to ensure the needs of all learners are recognised and catered for.

The teacher may wish to profile the group in the beginning weeks to assess how they learn best, for example Honey and Mumford’s 1986 profiling; activist, pragmatist, theorist, reflector. This looks at a learner’s tendencies, do they prefer traditional teaching methods such as didactic delivery, or active discussion etc. Another profiling method was developed in 1987 by Fleming; he noted three styles of learning. He called these visual- like seeing, aural- like listening and kinaesthetic – like doing. These are apart from any special needs students may have.

It’s essential to acknowledge that everyone is different and brings various strengths, weaknesses, experiences etc to the class. The teaching style, method, resources and assessment can then be adapted to the needs of the individuals in the group.

“Inclusivity and differentiation are core components of the curriculum for teacher education for the learning and skills sector. They are an accepted part of the body of expert competence and knowledge expected of s tutor in the learning and skills sector. Tummons p101?

To provide assessment and feedback.

“Assessment is a way of finding out if learning has taken place. It enables you, the assessor to ascertain if your students have gained the required skills and knowledge needed at a given point towards a course or qualification.” Gravells p75 2007 preparing

Assessment and feedback are necessary for the student to know how they are doing and how they can improve. Feedback and assessment can be given throughout the learning process, acknowledging each student’s contribution and saying something positive about it. Feedback also ensures the teacher knows that students understand the content, and this is useful for lesson evaluation and improvement.

Initial assessment may be carried out, if students have to have a level of prior knowledge to get onto the course, commonly this may be a certain level of literacy and numeracy. This helps to ensure the student has the basic skills to sucessfully complete the course.

“Most people need encouragement, to be told when they are doing something well and why. When giving feedback it can really help the student to hear first what they have done well, followed by what they need to improve, and then to end on a positive note or question to keep them motivated. This is sometimes referred to as the praise sandwich.” Gravells p86 preparing

Specific comments which highlight what was good or could be improved are more useful to the learner than general comments, such as ‘well done’ or ‘could do better’.

To ensure the environment and materials are appropriate

It is a good idea to arrive in advance of the lesson to ensure that:

The teaching room is laid out as you want it and there is enough seating and workspace. Interactive sessions may work best with tables grouped together.

Any equipment you want is present and working.

The tutor is responsible for the health and safety of the students so you may have to report if the room is not safe.

Materials are appropriate for the group, for example you have extension materials available and any resources are adapted for students with special needs, for example large font handouts.

To maintain an awareness and abide by relevant legislation

for example Every Child Matters,

Data Protection and

Disability Discrimination Act.

Boundaries

The boundaries between teachers and students are arguably less clear now than before the advent of informal communication devices, such as email, mobile phones and social networking technologies. Through these technologies teachers and students can associate virtually outside of the college environment. The college may even encourage teachers to be accessible, even of hours, and to participate in forums and online discussions. It is a matter of current debate if teachers should allow students to be their ‘friend’ on sites such as Facebook, as through these teachers may reveal personal information that may undermine their authority or lead to over familiarity or even electronic stalking.

Actual meetings outside of college should also be avoided, as should making friendships, this may blur the boundaries between teacher and student and lead to accusations of favouritism.

Avoiding physical contact is now generally considered best practice, and if one to one sessions are taking place in a non public area it is advisable to leave the door open. This openness is less likely to lead to accusations of inappropriate contact.

“Once upon a time, teachers simply did not exist outside school. There was a fixed distance; a clear definition of roles; lines that should not and, more often than not, could not be crossed. …That fixed distance is shortening; those old boundaries – between professional and private, home and school, formal and informal – are blurring.” http://www.guardian.co.uk/education/2009/sep/23/teacher-pupil-sexual-relationship

T2

Summarise the key aspects of current legislative requirements and codes of practice relevant to the teaching role.

Control of substances hazardous to health 2002 (COSHH)

o Covers substances which can cause ill health. Contains provisions to prevent injury or illness from dangerous substances. Good management which help assess risks, implement any measures needed to control exposure and establish good working practices

Reporting of Injuries, Diseases and Dangerous Occurences Regulations 1995 (RIDDOR) The statutory obligation to report deaths, injuries, diseases and “dangerous occurrences” that take place at work or in connection with work

Fire Precautions (Workplace) Regulations 1997

Plans and procedures in case of fire. The Workplace Fire Precautions Legislation brings together existing Health & Safety and Fire Legislation to form a set of dedicated Fire Regulations with the objective, to achieve a risk appropriate standard of fire safety for persons in the workplace.

The Manual Handling Operations Regulations 1992

Precautions when lifting or moving heavy objects. Risk assessment

Health and Safety (First Aid) Regulations 1981

Legal duty to keep a first aid box and have at least one appointed person.

Race relations (Amendment) act 2000

To promote equality of opportunity, and good relations between racial groups

Special Educational Needs and Disability Act 2001 (SENDA)

To make reasonable adjustments so they are not disadvantaged.

The UN Convention on the Rights of the child

International human rights treaty applies to children under 18. Gives them certain rightsa such as the right to have their views taken into account, to be free from violence, have rights to expression.

• Equal opportunities act

• Data protection act 2007 safeguards the rights of individuals with regard to the processing of personal data and its free movement. The Data Protection Act (1998) was drafted to ensure the privacy of personal information stored electronically on computers nationwide. The Act aims to “promote high standards in the handling of personal information, and so to protect the individual’s right to privacy”.

Anyone holding data relating to living individuals in electronic format (and in some cases, on paper) must follow the Act’s 8 data protection principles:

The 8 Principles of Data Protection

Under the DPA, personal information must be:

• Fairly and lawfully processed

• Processed for specified purposes

• Adequate, relevant and not excessive

• Accurate, and where necessary, kept up to date

• Not kept for longer than is necessary

• Processed in line with the rights of the individual

• Kept secure

• Not transferred to countries outside the European Economic Area unless there is adequate protection for the information

http://www.bytestart.co.uk/content/legal/35_2/data-protection-overview.shtml

• Health and safety at work act 1974 Protecting employees against risks to health and safety. Responsibility for h and s with the employer, but also duties on employees to for their own safety. Provision of safety equipment, training and risk assessements.

• Special educational needs and disabilities act 2001 (an amendment to the Disability

discrimination act 1995)

o Disability discrimination Act 1995, Making it unlawful to discriminate against disabled persons in employment and the provision of goods and facilities The Disability Equality Duty (DED)

The Disability Discrimination Act (DDA) 1995 has been amended by the Disability Discrimination Act 2005 The General Duty

The Act sets out a General Duty, which requires that public bodies have due regard to the need to eliminate unlawful discrimination and promote equal opportunities for disabled people. They will also need to consider the elimination of harassment of disabled people, promotion of positive attitudes and the need to encourage the participation of disabled people in public life. Clearly, this General Duty has implications for the educational sector and the way that local authorities, schools, colleges and universities set about equalising opportunities for disabled pupils, students, staff and parents. http://www.teachingexpertise.com/articles/implementing-the-new-disability-equality-duty-975

In 2001, the special educational Needs and disability Act (SENDA) was introduced, and from 2003, a new section of the Disability Discrimination Act (DDA) came into force. DDA part 4 – all providers of post-compulsory education were legally obliged not to discriminate against students with disabilities, this may mean making ‘reasonable adjustments’ for a student with a disability.

• Further education and training act 2007

The Further Education and Training Act 2007 has today received Royal Assent. It was introduced into Parliament on 20 November 2006 and completed its passage on 18 October 2007

The Further Education and Training Act enables key aspects of the further education reforms described in the March 2006 White Paper Further Education: Raising Skills, Improving Life Chances. The further education system will be able to increase participation and achievement still further and so play its full part in achieving the skills challenge articulated by Lord Leitch.

The Act includes:

powers which will enable the specification of further education institutions in England to award their own foundation degrees;

provision enabling the Learning and Skills Council (LSC), in certain circumstances specified in the Act, to intervene in the management of unsatisfactory further education provision in England, with similar powers for Welsh Ministers to intervene in institutions in Wales;

http://www.dius.gov.uk/press/23-10-07.html

• Office for standards in education (Ofsted)

• Employment equality (age) regulations 2006 – vocational training. The Employment Equality (Age) Regulations 2006 becomes law on 1 October 2006. This law makes it illegal to discriminate against employees, job seekers or trainees on the grounds of age.

Age is accepted as the commonest form of discrimination in the workplace. We already have laws in place to prevent differential treatment on the grounds of race, gender, disability, sexual orientation, and religion. This is not just a law to help older workers keep their jobs until they retire, but to give all workers irrespective of age, a longer and better quality of working life. Younger workers will benefit because they will be paid the rate for the job, not a lower rate than older workers doing the same job.

All businesses benefit from the value of a diverse workforce. Discrimination and victimisation are counter-productive and lead to an unhappy workplace where staff turnover is greater and job satisfaction diminished. Training will no longer be refused to workers because they are close to retirement or because they are too young. No employee should make derogatory remarks about another employee’s age – terms such as ‘wet behind the ears’, ‘old codger’, ‘should have retired years ago’ and other such remarks are discriminatory and therefore after 1 October 2006 will be illegal.

http://diversity.monster.co.uk/10378_en-GB_p1.asp

• Learning and skills act 2000

Race relations Act 1976 – under this act discrimination on the grounds of colour, race, nationality, ethnic, or national origins is illegal.

The Equal Pay Act 1970 is an Act of the United Kingdom Parliament which prohibits any less favourable treatment between men and women in terms of pay and conditions of employment.

For an employee to claim under this Act they must prove one of the following:

That the work done by the claimant is the same, or broadly the same, as the other employee.

That the work done by the claimant is of equal value to that of the other employee.

That the work done by the claimant is rated (by a job evaluation study) the same as that of the other employee.

Sex Discrimination Act 1975 – under this act treating anyone less favourably because of their sex or marital status is illegal.

The Children Bill 2004, keeps a record of information about children, and their involvement with health, legal and social services to help to track them, for protection. One of the duties placed on Local Authorities is “to make arrangements to promote co-operation between agencies and other appropriate bodies (such as voluntary and community organisations) in order to improve children’s well-being (where well-being is defined by reference to the five outcomes), and a duty on key partners to take part in the co-operation arrangements”.

Every child matters

professionals enabled and encouraged to work together in more integrated front-line services, built around the needs of children and young people;

– common processes which are designed to create and underpin joint working;

– a planning and commissioning framework which brings together agencies ‘ planning, supported as appropriate by the pooling of resources, and ensures key priorities are identified and addressed; and

– strong inter-agency governance arrangements, in which shared ownership is coupled with clear accountability.

A code of practice standardises the work of a profession and sets out the service that should be expected. This gives the public confidence in the work of the profession and makes the profession publicly accountable.

There are 2 key organisations involved with codes or practice within the learning and skills sector – Lifelong Learning UK (LLUK) 2005 and the institute for Learning (IfL).

Ifl code includes …..www.ifl.ac.uk/members_area/code_prof.html

New professional Standards for teachers, Tutors and trainers in the Lifelong Learning Sector – www.lifelonglearninguk.org

“CS1 Understanding and keeping up to date with current knowledge in respect of our own specialist area.

CS2 Enthusing and motivating learners in own specialist area

CS3 Fulfilling the statutory responsibilities associated with own specialist area of teaching.

CS4 Developing good practice in teaching own specialist area.”

T4 discuss issues of equality and diversity and ways to promote inclusion with your learners. Review other points of referral available to meet the potential needs of learners.

The further education sector is known for making education and training accessible to a diverse population of learners, and to provide opportunities for certain groups in society that have been excluded. In the lifelong learning sector, especially with the current emphasis on work based learning, the base of learners is more diverse than ever before.

Tummons describes three key terms in the learning and skills sector:

“Widening participation – learners from underrepresented groups are recruited and supported to enable them to take part in education.

Differentiation – teaching and learning is planned to take account of the individuality of learners.

Inclusive practice – ways of learning and teaching that encourage the fullest participation by all learners.”

Although the terms equality and diversity are often heard in the same sentence there are key differences in their meaning. Equality seems to infer that everyone should have equal opportunities, in this case in education, so you may think this means everyone should receive the same education and you can provide the same learning activities. However, recognising the diversity of learners means that one size does not fit all, and to provide equality of opportunity we actually need to recognise that learners will require a diversity of educational opportunities and may need to be treated differently.

“Tutors cannot treat their group as just one big group of learners: it is made up of individuals, who may need slightly different things from their tutor or their college in order to make the most of their course or programme of study.” Tummons becoming

Equality may be achieved by:

Flexible courses – timing and venue

Distance learning

Support within the classroom i.e. a note taker or signer

Providing additional support in the form of key skills

Providing assistive technology – i.e. magnifiers for visually impaired learners, speech recognition software.

Someone with mental health issues may need more one to one support.

Financial provision – free travel, childcare, subsidised or free course fees, i.e. EMA

Blind marking of work, where the tutor does not know who completed the work.

Ensuring resources and language used is non sexist, and non stereotypcal

Include multi cultural examples and case studies

Challenge discriminatory or stereotypical comments by learners and ensure mutual understanding between different cultures, religions and age groups.

Arrange the physical layout of the classroom to take account of any special needs:

For example hearing impaired students should sit near the front of the class and you shouldn’t talk facing away from them.

Allow room for wheelchairs and arrange ground floor accommodation.

Ensure resources are accessible and inclusive, for example dyslexic students may find it easier to read black text on a yellow background.

Teaching and assessment is delivered in a variety of ways maybe an assignment can be in the form of an oral presentation

The teacher’s attitude towards the diversity of students will also be noticed and may influence the learners. They will be picking up on the way the tutor is handling the class and how they are talking to students, therefore it’s important to be a good role model.

Tummons p101

Petty p69

“all students must feel that they are positively and equally valued and accepted, and that their efforts to learn are recognised, and judged without bias. ..they must feel that they, and the groups to which they belong (eg ethnic, gender, social-class or attainment groups) are fully and equally accepted and valued by you, and the establishment in which you work.”

The introduction of ILPs for many courses helps individual learners to plan what they want to achieve and the required outcomes. The tutor can then monitor the learner’s progress against these goals.

Wallace 2007 p114,

When talking about a lesson plan: ” An additional column headed ‘inclusion and differentiation’ woulod remind the teacher at the planning stage to think carefully about the issue of inclusiveness in relaation to the learners for whom the learning experiences are being planned. And it would act a sa reminder after the lesson to evaluate the success or otherwise of these alternative strategies, which might also have included different ways of assessing or recording an individual’s achievement.”

Information about equal opportunities may also be available within the institution:

posters in the classroom

Equality policy explained at induction and in the student handbook.

Equal Opportunities: Governors must ensure that the school acts with fairness and with regard to equality in everything it does. This is with regard to all of the following:

race

disability

sex

sexual orientation

religion or belief

age (in relation to employment)

This section outlines the national framework for change which is underpinned by the

Children Act 20041 3.9 The Government is committed to ensuring more young people stay on in education and training

until they are 19. The aim is to make sure that young people are

supported to realise their potential and develop positively through their teenage years. We want

to provide a wider range of opportunities for young people and we want to ensure appropriate

and timely support for young people with additional needs. This will include better advice and

guidance, more tailored to the needs of the young person and relevant to today’s world.

Duty to safeguard and promote the welfare of children and young

people commences 1 October 2005.

Equivalent duty on schools in Section 175 Education Act (2002) already

in force.

Align with equivalent duty on schools and Further Education through the

Education Act (statutory guidance – Safeguarding Children in

Education, Sept 2004). Comply with the Special Educational Needs (SEN) statutory framework. Review policies and support for SEN to ensure: effective delegation of

resources to support early intervention and inclusion; reduced reliance on

statements; ensure appropriate provision; improve specialist advice and

support to schools and information to parents; and reduce bureaucracy.

Consider how best to work with other Local Authorities and SEN Regional

Partners to share ideas and plan support.

Consider how to promote effective support for SEN in early years. Introduction

Section 140 of the Learning and Skills Act 2000 places a power and a duty on the Secretary of State to make arrangements for the assessment of young people with learning difficulties and disabilities when they are undertaking or likely to undertake post-16 education or training or higher education.

The Learning and Skills Act 2000 is an Act of the Parliament of the United Kingdom. It made changes in the funding and administration of further education, and of work-based learning (or apprenticeships) for young people, within England and Wales.

Every Child Matters, or ECM for short, is a UK government initiative that was launched in 2003, at least partly in response to the death of Victoria Climbié. It has been the title of three government papers and the website www.everychildmatters.gov.uk, and led to the Children Act 2004. Every child matters covers children and young people up to the age of 19.

Its main aims are for every child, whatever their background or their circumstances, to have the support they need to:

Be healthy

Stay safe

Enjoy and achieve

Make a positive contribution

Achieve economic well-being

Each of these themes has a detailed outcomes framework attached to it which require multi-agency partnerships working together to achieve them. These include children’s centres, early years, schools, children’s social work services, primary and secondary health services, playwork, and Child and Adolescent Mental Health services (CAMHS) . It is important that all professionals working with children are aware of the contribution that could be made by each service and plan their work accordingly.[1]

It is now in place in all schools[2] throughout the United Kingdom and it is the central goal of Every Child Matters to ensure every pupil is given the chance to be able to work towards the goals referenced within it.

5. Achieve economic well-being

Engage in further education, employment or training on leaving school

Ready for employment

Every Child Matters

Every Child Matters: Change for Children is a new approach to the well-being of children and young people from birth to age 19.

The Government’s aim is for every child, whatever their background or their circumstances, to have the support they need. This means that a variety of organisations, including those involved with education, will be teaming up to share information and work together, to protect children and young people from harm and help them achieve what they want in life.

monitoring the educational progress of all looked after children who are being educated within their authority, whatever the setting (school and 14-19 further education settings), as if they were attending a single school.

T3 ground rules

Act confidently with the class from the beginning, body language, initially teachers have authority because of their role, and should expdect to be obeyed.

Apply rules and sanctions

Use manners polite, use names, use icebreakers to ensure leasrners get to know each other

Role model of being prepared, organised, provide actiities to engage learners,

Express rules clearly, apply them consistently, negotiate rules

Decide what BEHAVIOUR IS ACCEPTABLE DEPENDING ON THE LEARNER.

Be aware what behaviour is appropriate don’t expect the impossible

Students need to know what you expect from them and what they can expect from you during the course. They need to know where the boundaries lie and what will happen if they step over the boundaries.

Put them up on the wall

Have a written contract

Tell them what they can expect from the teacher

Aware of college disciplinary procedure

Can be revisited or revised

Explain the vALUE of having rules

Ask them for good and bad examples of classroom behaviour in respect of learning, what makes learning difficult

Agree or disagree with a set of rules

Should they be revised what are the consequences

http://tlp.excellencegateway.org.uk/tlp/it/resource/assets/documents/agreeing_rules_cl.pdf

important because everyone may have varying expectations of appropriate behaviour.

I see ground rules as mutually agreed reciprocal arrangements where others’ views and needs

are appreciated and valued. This creates a safe and respectful space in which all participants have the

opportunity to benefit from the learning experience.

Group discussion of expectations and incorporation of all

views ensures that every student feels heard and included. This form of inclusion facilitates a

memorable establishment of ground rules which are individually as well as collectively meaningful.

When discussing ground rules with learners it is important for the teacher to establish their own

rules which reflect their commitment to the teaching/learning relationship. My own ground rules would

incorporate being fully prepared for lessons and ensuring I keep good time for classes to start and finish

promptly. I would reciprocate learners’ commitment to completing assignment by making sure that all

marking is completed and returned in equally good time. Further rules to ensure students get the most

out of their learning experience encompasses my making sure all have an equal voice when expressing

opinions.