January 17, 2017 at 08:24AM

The Chartered College of Teaching has today officially opened its doors for new members to join.

The college, headed by Dame Alison Peacock, pledges to place research and evidence “at the heart of learning” for teachers.

It costs £39 to join for an introductory period, with wider membership “following soon”.

Schools Week has previously revealed that members will receive access to more than 2,000 research journals, covering education issues and subject-specific topics.

It means teachers from England who become members will finally being able to dodge hefty paywalls to use the education research journals, similar to their Scottish counterparts who can access academic journals for free.

Peacock, chief executive of the college, said it will offer teacher-led professional standards, a professional code of ethics, and a platform for sharing knowledge.

She said the college aims to build an “authoritative, collective voice” about teaching, inspired and informed by research and stories of practice.

“When visiting schools and meeting teachers it is energising to witness world-class practice and to see the commitment and dedication that drives us all as educators.

“We look forward to working with our members to help shape the chartered college as we grow, providing evidence-based professional learning opportunities for communities of teachers.”

The college is a voluntary professional organisation which will be funded by the government to the tune of £5 million.

Schools Week revealed last year that a crowdfunding campaign by the college to raise £250,000 was abandoned after receiving just £20,000 during a four-month window.

The college had planned to use the cash to release teachers from their schools to work on the development of its membership model, but instead relied on volunteers.

Teachers are able to sign up at http://ift.tt/2juofZ5.

*Look out for a profile of Peacock in this week’s edition of Schools Week.

from Schools Week http://ift.tt/2jI0ael
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