A COUNCIL MEMBER’S EXPERIENCE

Thinking of standing in the first Chartered College Council elections but want to know more about what’s involved? Want to know more about what being on the Council of the Chartered College involves? Aimée Tinkler – one of our Council Trustees and a teacher for over 14 years – blogs on her experiences.

Being a member of the Chartered College Council over the past two years has been an absolute honour. Being a small part of the growth of the Chartered College – from the Founding Membership to the pivotal organisation it has become – has been humbling and I remain a huge advocate as it goes from strength to strength.

As with any trusteeship, the role of member of the Chartered College Council is to ensure it is carrying out its role effectively. We have worked on a wide range of things such as the long term direction of the College, the development of the membership offer and each of the different membership categories.  In each discussion, our role as the Council has been to both support and provide constructive challenge to ensure all decisions are carefully thought through and made in the best interest of the organisation and its members.

This might sound a bit daunting but, in reality, the Council works together and makes decisions collectively. Different members of the Council have different skills – some are experts in areas such as accountancy and law, while others are practising teachers. This balance is essential: it allows us to be an effective board and ensures there’s a really strong representation of the very people the Chartered College was created to support.

Before joining the Council, I had some experience of governance and how charities were run through voluntary posts I held and sitting on various school governing bodies. This set me in good stead for my work with the College, particularly in my role as Chair of the Membership Committee.  This has been a particularly rewarding aspect of the role and one where I felt I made a real contribution because I understand first-hand the challenges teachers face and what they need from a professional body such as the College.

It has also given me the opportunity to work alongside the permanent staff team in London on really key areas such as the launch of student membership and the introduction of the Chartered College Fellowship. In recent months I have worked alongside the rest of the membership Committee to oversee the process of Fellowship selection process and other members of the board have been closely involved in overseeing the development of the Chartered Teacher programme.

In terms of the time commitment involved, I have found my work for the College has fit easily alongside my full-time teaching role. Council meetings are held in London four times a year on a Saturday and sub-committee meetings are held, often by telephone conference, every few months. We don’t get involved in the day to day running of the College as this is the remit of College staff led by the CEO, but we are there as a ‘critical friend’.

There is no doubt that I have benefited enormously from being a member of College Council and it has been one of the most rewarding aspects of my career so far. It has been great professional development too – being involved with all sorts of people at the very leading edge of the education profession has given me an insight into the profession which may not have been possible from my own classroom. I hope I’ve also got better at chairing meetings as I have now had a lot of practice!

Having the chance to support and shape the work and strategic direction of the College has allowed me to make a difference to a cause which really does matter to me and which I am passionate about. I have been able to give something back to the profession. It is absolutely right that there is representation on the Board from teachers who work in classrooms every day and I would strongly encourage anyone who thinks they have a contribution to make and some time to spare to consider standing for election on to the Chartered College Council.

To stand in the elections, visit CCTvote.co.uk