Walsall College invests in staff professional development through SET’s Advanced Teacher Status programme   

Walsall College, based in the West Midlands, has invested in 18 of their teaching staff to undertake Advanced Teacher Status (ATS) – the largest cohort a provider has enrolled on the programme at one single time.

Launched in 2017, ATS is a professional status recognised in the Further Education and Training sector, which is gained after successfully completing a 12-month period of professional development and maintained through membership to the Society for Education and Training (SET).

It is designed for professionals teaching post-14 learners in all possible settings, including FE colleges, adult and community learning, work-based learning, employers, schools, offender learning settings and more.

Those awarded ATS are additionally awarded with Chartered Teacher Status by the Chartered College of Teaching.

Alongside funding a large number of staff to embark on their ATS journey, Walsall College has signed up as a Corporate Partner of SET, which will see 50 teaching staff become members of SET. The college has also pledged to support a further cohort of teaching staff to work towards gaining ATS.

Announcing the partnership, David Turner, Assistant Principal for Quality at Walsall College said: “Becoming a Corporate Partner with the Society for Education and Training [SET] is a demonstration of the college’s commitment to providing meaningful professional development for its front-line workforce. Opportunities through SET, such as our significant investment in those going forward for Advanced Teacher Status enable staff to not only to continually develop their practice and be at the forefront of innovation, but to increase their confidence in influencing the next wave of curriculum leadership and affecting wider positive organisational change.

“Access to SET’s expertise, resources and network will further inspire staff to deliver an outstanding further education student experience.”

As a Corporate Partner, staff will benefit from a valuable range of professional development opportunities, including access to exclusive content, research, webinars, events and discounts.

Martin Reid, Director of SET, said: “Advanced Teacher Status is seen as a highly-valued badge of professionalism that demonstrates a commitment to the highest standards of teaching of training. This investment is a statement of intent from Walsall College and will have a positive impact not only on teaching staff, but for learners. This is the first time a provider has enrolled a large group to work towards gaining Advanced Teacher Status. We are pleased to welcome Walsall College as a SET Corporate Partner and to support them in this journey.”

Applications for the next ATS cohort, which starts in October 2021, are open until 31 August 2021. More information on the Advanced Teacher Status programme can be found on the SET website.