A few weeks ago, David Wibberley, assistant principal at Kingsbridge Community College, Devon, asked a PE teacher to run a session for colleagues on creative use of IT.
The teacher had some good strategies for using technology but had never run a continuing professional development (CPD) session before. “He was very nervous,” says Wibberley.
But the session went well, with teachers getting out their phones and laptops to try some of his suggestions on the spot. Not only was it effective CPD for them, but it was CPD for the teacher too. Wibberley, who is responsible for teaching, learning and CPD at the college and director of the South West Teaching School Alliance, hopes it will have encouraged him to one day apply for a management job.
Since schools are places that believe in the power of learning to achieve positive change, it is natural for professional development to be an important part of any teaching career.
But while most state schools in England have five days’ worth of in-service training a year – in which staff can catch up with administration and training – how they handle the overall professional development of their teaching staff is up to them.
James Brown, teaching school lead at Affinity Teaching School Alliance, a group of 57 primary schools in Leicestershire, says: “A head might sit down with a member of staff and say: ‘These are the opportunities open to you. Where do you want to go?’”
Opportunities include becoming a specialist leader of education within a school or group of schools, or a school that requires improvement, taking on roles in pastoral support, engaging with parents or liaising with the wider community, and delivering professional development programmes for other teachers. Some may want to pursue pedagogical research, others a senior management role.
“There is a very healthy professional development culture in schools at the moment,” says Brown. And this assertion is borne out by last month’s launch of the Chartered College of Teaching – the new professional body for teachers – which reflects growing recognition of how valuable to schools good CPD can be.
“It’s pretty clear that if designed well, it can improve outcomes for children, and there is evidence to show that it improves outcomes for children from more disadvantaged backgrounds most,” says David Weston, chief executive and founder of the Teacher Development Trust. “It also improves teacher morale.”
Sometimes CPD simply involves sharing general tips and ideas about teaching through discussions with colleagues and mentors. Sometimes it can be subject-specific support for teachers tackling a new topic or common area of difficulty. Staff may need to know about new rules and regulations, IT systems or dealing with particular disabilities. And those interested in leadership roles may need particular guidance or further qualifications.
Increasingly, teachers are establishing their own professional development opportunities.
Helen Rogerson, who has worked in schools for eight years and is now head of upper school at Westonbirt school, regularly attends and organises “teach meets” for science teachers and attends Association for Science Education conferences, as well as events organised by #WomenEd, which connects aspiring female leaders in education, and researchED, a teacher-led organisation for those interested in educational research.
For her, the value lies in making connections, sharing problems and enthusiasm and bouncing ideas off of each other.
“It’s about finding that perfect way of teaching,” says Rogerson. “I know there isn’t one but that doesn’t mean you shouldn’t go hunting.”
At Kingsbridge College, Wibberley holds 15-minute intensive training sessions every other Wednesday to pass on ideas and get staff to try them out. He also occasionally holds longer sessions after school if more specific training is needed, and for new pushes – such as motivating girls to study physics – he will put posters up in the loos. He has also involved teams of staff in parody videos and role-playing disaffected teenagers.
“If CPD is something you experience and interact with directly you are much more likely to embed it and try it out in the classroom,” he says.
Wibberley’s own recent CPD has tended to focus on business models for running courses and on integrating data – both skills that he had never imagined needing when he first went into teaching.
