Do you believe teachers would benefit from a new, independent, professional body run by teachers, for teachers?
Do you believe that teachers deserve the respect and standing in society that doctors, lawyers, engineers and other professionals receive?
Do you long for the time when the future of teaching and teacher standards are developed by the profession and not externally imposed?
Did you have an excellent teacher who shaped your life and made a difference?
If you want to change the face of education, join us and pledge to make the College of Teaching a reality. Supported by teachers across the country, the Claim Your College coalition – a movement of over 450 organisations and individuals – has spent two years gathering support for a new independent, chartered professional body for the teaching profession.
The College of Teaching, led by Founding Trustees including teachers and headteachers, will be entirely independent from government, voluntary and led by its membership.
We are passionate about setting up a body that will give teachers equality of status with other professions; a body that will advance high standards and recognise excellence; a body that will promote evidence informed practice and policy.
We have a once in a lifetime opportunity to make this happen – but we need your help.
The College of Teaching is seeking to raise £250,000 directly from the profession and these pledges will match-fund contributions from charitable and philanthropic donations.
We are offering every teacher the opportunity to be part of this historic process by becoming a Founding Supporter. This will make the College the first Chartered College to use 21st century communications and e-payment technologies to establish its founding support.
The Government has agreed in principle to support an independent College of Teaching through ‘no-strings’ funding and this is still being explored. However, it is imperative that the College is truly owned by teachers and the teaching profession from the start.
After all, we believe the teaching profession is remarkable; we can, and should, strive to look after our own interests as a profession. We can assert our own view from the classroom and be clear about what works for children and young people.
It is time to take action! There are around 500,000 teachers in the UK – it only takes 10% to pledge £20 to quadruple our target and get the College off to a flying start.
We need you to rally to the call of Claim Your College – a growing movement that is supported by a diverse cross-sector of the teaching profession including unions, subject associations and schools.
The College of Teaching represents an idea whose time has come. Given the central importance of education, it is staggering that there is no single cohesive body, which can uphold respected standards of professional practice as set by the profession.
We must reclaim our right to access the professional knowledge and development we deserve. Fundamentally, we need to turn the tide on the negative rhetoric that has become associated with teachers and teaching in recent years and instead put the focus on supporting children and young people to be the best they can be.
This isn’t about political ideology – this is about creating a vision for teaching that we own and believe in. Teachers and educators have for years been struggling with a loss of autonomy and respect. A chartered College will bring teaching in line with other chartered professions like engineering, accounting and this can only be a good thing.
By donating to the Claim Your College campaign, we are asking you to invest in your future and to support the belief that if we stand together a College of Teaching could change the future course of the profession for the better.
Individually we change lives, together we support a generation of learners and united we can change the nation’s thinking. Join us and make history.
You can help us to achieve our funding target in three key ways:
Thank you for supporting our campaign.