Conference was privileged to hear the last public speaking engagement of Matt MacIver as Chief Executive/Registrar of the General Teaching Council Scotland.

Matt talked warmly of his professional contact with Judith McClure over the years, including their respective early roles in developing leadership in Scotland. Among the challenges highlighted by Matt were:

- Succession planning for head teachers and other leaders

- Changing the view held by some that Chartered Teacher is simply a career progression

- If we are going down the route of professional standards, why is there no standard for leadership?

- Revision of the Standard for Headship to meet the new leadership challenges

- Developing effective CPD for heads that encourages development of leadership skills

He spoke warmly of the leaders that influenced him from his early days as a young teacher in Kilmarnock through to his current position. Matt’s penultimate (and passionate) plea was for conference to go out and ‘talk up’ the noble profession of teaching.

Finally, Matt was fulsome in his praise of leaders as represented by SELMAS conference delegates, ““extraordinary people doing an extraordinary job!”

Categories: SELMAS