Editorial

Abstract

Every teacher in England is a member of the General Teaching Council (GTC). Membership is compulsory. The GTC is an independent professional body with a governing council of 64 members. Forty-four council members are practising teachers, including 25 elected teachers. There are representatives from the teacher unions and associations, equality bodies, local government, governors and parents. The GTC regularly produce 25 leaflets about professional issues and the spring issue of 2003 began with the title ‘Keeping teachers in teaching’. A number of key aspects were highlighted: ‘Placing learning at the centre’, ‘Teachers as leaders of learning’, ‘Retention—what teachers want’, ‘Research of the month’, ‘GTC seeks new ways to recognise teachers' professionalism’ and ‘GTC response to workload reform’. An interesting section entitled ‘Some key findings’ revealed data that should disturb even the most optimistic politician. Fifty per cent of teachers nationally are aged over 45 years, 22% of teachers are aged 35–44 years, and 73% of teachers are women. The significance of the last point was not discussed. Also, retention data were not included.