ADVANCED SKILLS TEACHING

What is the role of an Advanced Skills Teacher?
In addition to classroom teacher's professional duties an Advanced Skills Teacher has other duties designed to make the best possible use of their excellence, including outreach work.

These may involve:

• Participating in Initial Teacher Training
• Participating in mentoring Newly Qualified Teachers
• Advising other teachers on teaching methods and classroom organisation
• Producing high quality teaching materials
• Disseminating to other teachers materials relating to best practice and educational research
• Advising on the provision of in-service training
• Outreach work
• Producing high quality resource materials.

The grade of Advanced Skills Teacher recognises the best teachers who want to progress as classroom teachers without necessarily taking on management responsibilities and aims to raise standards.

How do you become an Advanced Skills Teacher?
Schools can create AST posts and appoint ASTs, normally through advertising a vacancy. Candidates for AST posts must pass the national assessment procedure to be promoted to the post of AST. All candidates are assessed against national AST standards through a national assessment agency.

The process involves:

• Obtaining an application form from the contact name in the advertisement of the post.
• Completion of the form and passing it on to the current Head for completion of the Headteacher comments section.
• Form is passed to school advertising the vacancy for shortlisting
• Up to four candidates may be shortlisted and their applications sent to the national assessment agency.
• The agency arranges the assessment at the applicant's school.
• If successful the candidate will be interviewed for the vacancy in the normal manner
• Teachers who have passed the national assessment procedure but are not appointed can apply for other advertised AST posts without having to be reassessed.

For further information go to www.teachernet.gov.uk