ATVSRG

Targets

ATVSRG has agreed the following work-targets for the twelve months from April 2008 to March 2009. Continuing support from FIH is conditional on meeting these targets.

1. Adopt a constitution for the ATVSRG – September 2008
2. Finalise the work of the Pilot Assessment Project (PAP) to develop a procedure for assessing the professional competence and fitness of newly qualified AT teachers for admission to the Register and publish agreed guidelines - September 2008
3. Define and agree the standards, over and above the current National Occupational Standards (NOS), for AT teachers - September 2008
4. Define guidelines for Continuing Professional Development (CPD) - September 2008
5. Consult with the memberships regarding the Complementary and Natural Healthcare Council (CHNC) – September 2008
6. Define criteria, and design a process for the accreditation of AT teacher training courses - December 2008
7. Identify differences in teaching styles of the Professional Associations to demonstrate the diversity of the profession, and the choices available to the public - December 2008
8. Design a structure and procedures for the ATVSRG to mesh with the Federal Regulator, the Complementary and Natural Healthcare Council (CNHC) – March 2009

Notes

re [1] Constitution - The Constitution was adopted in June 2008. The majority of the drafting was done by one of ATVSRG’s lay members, Ian McLeod, who has a legal background. The Constitution specifies which organisations can be members of ATVSRG, and voting procedures.

re [2] Pilot Assessment Project - The Pilot Assessment Project has been delegated to a sub-group, which has met several times (twice under the guidance of an independent chair) to discuss criteria for admitting to the new register those teachers who do not come from a currently recognised pathway to professional status. Members of the sub-group have observed a range of teaching from different backgrounds.

re [3] National Occupational Standards - The NOS are now subject to revision in a sector-wide project being run by Skills for Health.

re [4] Continuing Professional Development - CPD will be mandatory for members of the new register. A sub-group, co-ordinated by Stephanie Smith (STAT) is working on the design of the CPD.

CPD is defined as ‘The purposeful maintenance, improvement and broadening of knowledge, skills and personal qualities in order to perform professional activities successfully throughout working life. CPD should support the individual’s needs, enhance the development of the Teacher and improve professional practice.’

re [5] The Complementary and Natural Healthcare Council - This Council (CNHC) was launched in early 2008, and is rapidly taking shape. As our work proceeds, the ATVSRG member associations will be consulted on the nature of the relationship that the AT profession will choose to have with the CNHC.

re [6] Accreditation - It will be a requirement of joining the CNHC that training courses should be accredited - that is they should be approved as meeting an agreed set of standards. Graduates of accredited training courses will be able to proceed to the new Register. A sub-group of ATVSRG, co-ordinated by Tim Kjeldsen (ITM), is working on accreditation procedures.

re [7] Different styles of teaching - There are several approaches to teaching the Alexander Technique, resulting in different styles of teaching. It has been agreed that these differences in style will be described on our website.

re [8] Meshing with the regulator - When CNHC is fully functional, it will have a set of Profession Specific Boards - one for each profession - through which communications will be channeled between the professional associations and AT teachers and the Council. The PSB will be small, with just five members and an independent chair. PSB members will need to be selected and trained - they will represent the whole profession; they will not be representing their Professional Associations. In addition, there will need to be a forum at which the Professional Associations can meet (see the section on Regulation).

Reports of work in progress

The Pilot Assessment Project group (PAP)

One of the most difficult tasks facing the ATVSRG has been the identification and establishment of standards by which to assess whether an individual is qualified to enter the national Register as a teacher of the Alexander Technique, while respecting and protecting diversity in the profession.

As we looked for ways in which to accomplish this task, Diane Grayston, our independent chair, related to us her experience with one of the other groups she has worked with, in which a pilot assessment project was given a test-run. She told us that this kind of project not only provided a forum in which to unpack and examine differences of opinion, but also created an opportunity to acknowledge agreement and common ground. Acting on her recommendation, ATVSRG formed the Pilot Assessment Project (PAP) sub-committee.

To form the sub-committee, each of the four organizations nominated one representative. Through a process of meetings, emails, and teleconferencing, the PAP sub-committee first undertook the task of creating a set of criteria which would define the knowledge, understanding and skills that a qualified teacher of the Alexander Technique ought to possess and be able to demonstrate. This effort was greatly helped firstly by the appointment of Estella Cauldwell as the project manager, and then secondly by the appointment of Tom Lane as an independent chair for the sub-committee.

The list of draft criteria arrived at by the PAP group was then tested in two separate day-long encounters for the issues of appropriateness and observability by comparing the derived theoretical list with elements of knowledge and skill that could be seen in various teaching demonstrations. This enabled the sub-committee members to revise and refine the criteria to fit actual practice. The current list of draft criteria is in its eighth full version and is very nearly agreed in all details.

The second task assigned to the sub-committee was to develop a testing procedure by which candidates could be assessed against this list of criteria for the purpose of qualifying to enter the national register. The sub-committee was reminded that the procedure that was created, in addition to being effective at screening out unqualified candidates, must also be both cost-effective and non-onerous.

Some of this task was accomplished through developing ways of observing and assessing the teaching demonstrations during our day-long encounters. Like the work with the draft criteria, the considered procedures went through many various versions and refinements. Through the direct guidance of Tom Lane, however, the sub-committee has now developed a procedure which it has tested at yet another day-long series of teaching demonstrations. Although some important issues remain unresolved, the testing procedure itself seems very close to a final agreement.

Exactly what purpose the agreed criteria and procedure will be used for remains unclear. The assigned purpose for these procedures has changed frequently throughout the time that the sub-committee has been working. In fact, direct use of these agreements may never be made. In spite of this, the work done by the PAP sub-committee in working together to propose a viable assessment procedure and to articulate criteria which give greater detail to the NOS has helped to move us forward in our continuing joint efforts to define and regulate the Alexander Technique teaching profession.