By Ken Muir, Chief Executive, GTC Scotland

‘At their meeting on 30 January, the GTCS’s Education Committee received an excellent input on the Senior Phase Benchmarking Tool (SPBT) from Project Manager, Eileen Gill, and Professional Advisor, Colin Sutherland.

Read the full GTCS article here:http://www.teachingscotland.org.uk/education-in-scotland/the-standards/news-senior-phase-benchmarking-tool-and-gtcs-professional-standards.aspx

OK, so the SPBT isn’t the catchiest of titles or acronyms, but it masks one of the most important developments taking place just now in Scottish education – one element of several (CfE; GIRFEC; Professional Update; new NQs; GTCS’s revised Standards to name but a few) that align closely with each other and which, taken together, are inter-related elements designed to improve and “future proof” the Scottish education system for all current and future learners.

The SPBT also helpfully focuses on wider aspects of learner achievement and not solely narrow attainment, as used currently by the Standard Tables and Charts (STACS) which it replaces, and much-beloved of press and media in constructing the much-dreaded school “league tables”.’

Read the full GTCS article here:

Senior Phase Benchmarking Tool and GTCS’s Professional Standards