ABSTRACT
DfEE Circular 12/99 School Teachers’ Pay and Conditions of Employment summarizes the statutory pay and conditions of employment of school teachers in maintained schools in England and Wales. This document refers to the requirement that teachers work under the ‘reasonable direction of head teachers… (in relation to)… such particular duties as may reasonably be assigned’ (para. 109). This broad-brush expression of what headteachers of schools deem to be ‘reasonable’ actually demands, in terms of everyday performance, an array of expectations, duties, levels of participation, areas of knowledge, skills and personal attributes which may seem nothing short of formidable to a beginning teacher. This chapter considers the practical dimensions and some of the clear rewards of what being ‘professional’ means through an exploration of the teacher's wider role in the school community.
