Plans are seemingly well underway to create a national College of Teaching in England.

It would be responsible for setting standards and sharing research to help people in primary and secondary teaching roles do their jobs, although membership would be voluntary.

Full members would be required to have qualified teaching status (QTS), but the College would not take any responsibility in disciplinary hearings or be able to set pay levels.

This is the initial blueprint for a professional body for the teaching profession produced by a commission set up by the Prince's Teaching Institute, which included input from heads, teachers, academy providers and unions.

Plans regarding a national body for teachers - to perform a similar function to groups for doctors and lawyers - have been discussed since 2012, but this is the first time any definitive roles have been outlined and the commission was keen to keep the College's responsibilities distinct from those of the teaching unions. 

The political row about QTS has affected the plans, with the commission allowing those without QTS to join as associate members, but insists this should be viewed as a stepping stone to becoming a full member and not an alternative type of membership. As such, the maximum length of time somebody could be an associate member is three years.

There are also plans to have a higher rank of fellow membership.

Chris Pope, chairman of the commission and co-director of the Prince's Teaching Institute, said: "The breadth of technical, intellectual and personal capabilities that we expect from teachers is extraordinary. Yet teaching remains a major profession with no independent body to set standards for the profession."

In order to finance the change, membership costs would be set between £30 to £130 per year and initial figures suggest this could cover anticipated running costs of £11 million to £14 million annually.

Is this a good idea? Would you pay for membership?