CPD is the driver for educational quality
CPD should never be seen as an option for all those who have a role to play in educating the next generation wherever along the spectrum they work. In every other profession CPD is a pre-requisite of retaining a professional qualification.
Teachers are the ones who educate all those professionals whether to work in the law, in finance, in architecture, or in medicine. We have recently undertaken a survey of 5000 senior leaders in education and over 80% of those who have replied are saying that CPD should be a priority but is a casualty of severe budgetary constraints, continued issues with staff absenteeism and difficulty in recruiting staff. All of which puts any opportunity for CPD on the back burner. If growing the economy is high on the agenda, without a world class education system growth would be very difficult to achieve.
Creating Quality Assurance Systems Within an Education Setting is a highly praised live webinar that gives an outstanding spotlight on quality as a tool for excellence in education.
CPD, Coaching and Leadership
Learning Cultures are a leading provider of coaching training for the education profession. Becoming a coach is synonymous with powerful leadership. Where headteachers, principals and others working at the forefront of their organisation learn how to coach they create a culture where individuals and teams translate the vision and ambition for high quality learning and teaching into a reality.
The leader’s role is to conduct and not to play all the instruments. The harmony that comes from the development of a coaching philosophy is one where there is no such thing as failure, everyone knows their strengths and how they can improve through a shared commitment to professional learning; the process is non-judgemental and non-directive and the trust that emerges means the most difficult of projects or tasks are accomplished through a shared commitment to creating the highest-quality outcomes.
Enhancing Leadership – a coaching approach to school improvement – find out how to build the foundations for a positive coaching culture in your school or college.
CPD and the curriculum
I have just finished writing the first of two books about the curriculum. My research confirms to me that all those involved in curriculum design or delivery need to have a programme of professional learning that will equip them with a deep understanding of the mechanisms and processes of curriculum cohesion. They all must be a part of the quest to plan and deliver a sequential and conceptual offer that ensures all pupils make progress and are deepening their knowledge within and across the subject boundaries. Their teaching repertoire must create the right conditions for pupils to be able to work towards mastery of a range of skills for learning an demonstrate their growing knowledge within a range of subjects.
Curriculum and Teaching & Learning Webinars – all you need to support design and delivery of high-quality education outcomes
Creating a Consistent, Knowledge Rich & Sequenced Primary Curriculum – a live webinar
Sequencing for Progression and Deep Learning in the Secondary School – a live webinar
The mechanisms of cognitive science that will help pupils to retain knowledge over time within specific subjects and be able to make connections across the range of subjects being taught is also a key element of learning for all teachers. Where subject leaders and teachers have the opportunity to delve into some of the recent research they have a great insight into how pupils access knowledge, develop and retain important skills for learning and can use their growing knowledge to become highly successful across a range of core and foundation subjects.
CPD and subject leadership
Subject leaders need to have the skills and confidence to empower their teams to make the right choices about how to teach and what to teach. They need to have the expertise to build teams that can work together in synergy with the curriculum intent, vision and rationale for each subject and for the school as a whole. They must have the subject knowledge and be able to work with others to develop high quality learning outcomes in every lesson and have the ability to feedback with authority and the skills to encourage all staff within their jurisdiction to want to continuously improve their teaching for the benefit of all pupils whatever their starting point.
Research evidence suggests that many subject leaders in primary schools and those teaching in Key Stage 3 do not always have the up-to-date subject knowledge and often a deep understanding of curriculum and cognitive theory and practice to lead with confidence and authority.
Coaching and Team Building for Subject Leaders learn how through coaching subject leaders can build outstanding teams who will deliver a cohesive and visionary curriculum
CPD and teaching and learning
Training teachers how to coach is a delight. Where teachers are lucky enough to learn how to coach, they learn the absolute importance of how to ask the right questions, how to listen actively and with empathy, how to encourage challenge, reward effort and motivate rather than criticise.
Coaching gives teachers the pedagogical skills to inspire their colleagues, their pupils and others within their sphere of influence to take risks, solve their own problems, try out new approaches and always know that they will be rewarded for what works well and not for what they have not yet achieved.
Coaching can be powerful in supporting the early career teacher (ECT) to develop as a competent and innovative professional. The role of the ECT mentor is critical in the process of supporting the ECT to feel confident in how they experiment with pedagogy, know how to manage learning and build a deep understanding of the curriculum, the school’s vision and their part in implementing it. We have a course Coaching the ECT – going beyond mentoring which gives those with responsibility for creating the right environment for ECTs to learn over the two years they will be working with the Early Career Teachers’ Framework the ability to become independent and ready to start a long and successful teaching career.
CPD and pastoral care and well-being
Being a part of the teaching profession is a privilege and has for many been a vocation they would not have changed for any other way of life and work. It is a worry that so many are leaving the profession, taking early retirement or continuing to be in their place of work but disaffected, over-worked and feeling under-valued. The pandemic and its hangover continue to affect how resilient staff are in the face of change and challenge. The language and the rhetoric don’t help, phrases like catch-up, gaps in learning, tutoring programmes all suggest that there is a problem and that a magic wand of criticism and inspection will somehow sort things out.
Creating a culture of positive mental health and well-being – our suite of well-being webinars
What the profession needs is the opportunity to reflect, they need time to share their experiences, their goals and hopes for the future. All staff need to feel they can contribute to building successful futures that will make a difference to the life chances of all their pupils.
Renewed passions for learning must come from creating time and the resources to build a culture of self-esteem and self-worth for all in the profession and for the pupils they inspire and lead.
Creating a culture of professional learning with Learning Cultures. Give me a call on 01746 765076 / 07974 754241 or use the contact us form on our website. Glynis Frater – Director of Coaching and Professional Development
CPD and Learning Cultures
We are a team of education professionals who have all had senior leadership experience in schools, colleges or universities. We are committed to using sector-led research and opportunities for professional and coaching conversations with the profession to ensure we deliver the highest quality programmes and courses linked to leadership, quality, coaching, curriculum, teaching & learning and well-being. We know how important CPD is and what a difference it makes to a school or college and the leaders, teams, teachers and support staff that work tirelessly to create the best possible outcomes for their learners.
We provide solution focused content, the participant receives a wealth of materials, research, resources and activities to take back to share with colleagues. It is our philosophy that any training or professional development must have an impact on learning and achievement so it is essential that the learning one person receives on one of our training courses takes their learning back and cascades it to others.
