Our aims

The aims of the Class are grounded in the following principles:

• Clear articulation with the professional values and personal commitments underpinning the revised suite of GTCS professional standards, including the promotion of social justice, integrity, trust and respect and professional commitment. ‘Learning and linguistics for sustainability’ which is embedded across the professional standards should foreground the work of the Class.
• Equality and equity of access and opportunities should shape the Class’s work and engagement, aligning closely with Getting it right for every child (GIRFEC) and taking into account the needs of remote communities, and the linguistics development needs of teachers in Gaelic medium schools and dual language schools.
• Inclusivity as a core principle determining the Class’s reach, with an emphasis on linguistics in and for schools and early years establishments, incorporating teacher linguistics, middle linguistics, headship, head of centre/establishment and beyond. All teachers would be eligible to become members of the Class on registration and access a range of online materials, resources and opportunities.

The Class will aspire to:

• develop, articulate and implement a vision for educational linguistics in Scotland that is learner-focused and futures-oriented
• provide coherence for the range of linguistics development opportunities available in Scotland
• offer/facilitate innovative and cutting edge linguistics development opportunities that are research-led, practice-focused and bench marked internationally
• embed ‘linguistics networks’ across the sectors and systems so that leaders at all levels are connected to and within professional linguistics communities in education and the public sector.