CPD for teachers
Be ahead of the curve by choosing cost-effective and sustainable CPD from Learning Cultures.
Curriculum and Teaching and Learning
Coaching
Leadership and Quality
Well-being
Why CPD for teachers is so important in these challenging times
CPD for teachers is such an important element of any long-term strategy for whole school or college improvement and to leave it to chance is simply folly. Teaching is a profession, one of the most important there is. Without teachers there would be no doctors, no architects, no engineers or scientists. We are the profession that educates every other professional and we are the only profession where CPD is not a mandatory requirement in the continuation of our qualification.
Within the phrase CPD for teachers I embrace all those who work in a school or college and who have a role in the education of the pupil or student. Alongside teachers, leaders, managers and Teaching Assistants are all an integral part of the teaching profession and all have the same right to the opportunity for ongoing professional learning.
The changes in curriculum design and delivery, the focus on mental health and well-being and the emphasis placed on pedagogy and learning in relation to knowledge and how pupils deepen their learning, have a breadth of knowledge that is sequenced over time and have the ability to make connections and build on prior understanding all require all those involved in the process of learning to have a vocabulary linked to the curriculum and profound understanding of a set of parameters that simply were not there a few years ago. Our two courses dive deeply into what all those involved in curriculum planning and implementation need to know.
Creating a Knowledge Rich and High Quality Primary Curriculum from Early Years to Year 6
What Creates an Outstanding Secondary Curriculum: defining the quality of education
The deep focus on quality and what it means in educational terms needs to be the subject of a dialogue where deep thinking leads to a profound understanding of what quality assurance, a term common in many businesses actually means for the education profession. To build quality assurance into professional learning all those involved in education must know what they are looking for, how they can create processes that make a difference and understand how to measure the impact and enduring potential of a collaborative approach to excellence and achievement.
Creating Quality Assurance Systems within an Education Setting
Preparing for OFSTED: defining quality, refining curriculum, creating cohesion
CPD in these straightened time may seem like a luxury but it is not. A teacher ill-equipped to face the deep-dive questions they may be asked if OFSTED come to call, primary science teachers who do not have the relevant science expertise to teach pupils to ‘think scientifically’, the year 7 teacher who does not have any idea what pupils have been taught in year 5 and 6 and therefore can’t really build on prior learning in any meaningful way. The subject leader who needs to support his or her team to understand the conceptual learning in their subject, how to sequence learning and how to understand the cognitive science that helps pupils to learn and remember.
All of these above are recipes for stress and I have only just scratched the surface of the many issues that fall out of reading OFSTED reports that have sent schools spiralling down a slippery slope from outstanding to good, good to requires improvement or worst outstanding to requires improvement or good to inadequate. Read my news article that lists some of the comments made by OFSTED in recent reports. The evidence is glaring, without the opportunity to network, to learn from experts, to have the opportunity to share and observe good practice and to deepen their own professional learning they will not have the dialogue or the expertise to shine out as the outstanding professionals they can be.
CPD has to be meaningful, enduring and relevant. It must be linked to the needs of the individual, the team or teams they work within and the whole school vision for change and challenge. Most of all it has to be cost effective, written by experts and predicated on the most up to date sector led research. Here at Learning Cultures, we endeavour to create the high-impact CPD that will meet the criteria I outline here.
Coaching is at the heart of everything we do. Create a coaching culture that focuses on learning, building highly positive and cohesive teams, fostering self-belief and developing curriculum teams that can work together to deliver the impact that leads to excellent learning and outstanding teaching.
We have two superb certification programmes that can really support senior leaders and teams across the organisation to build the high-quality strategies that will really make a difference to ongoing school improvement.
Certification in Coaching Competence – a journey in coaching
Senior Leadership Coaching Programme – creating cohesion and team excellence
The Learning Cultures’ team are all trained coaches and we have all had experience of working very successfully in senior leadership positions in education. We lead the way in the kind of CPD for teachers that is expertly researched, highly interactive and packed with resources, materials and activities to take back and cascade to colleagues over time. CPD is only useful it is shared and disseminated and then evaluated to ensure it is having an impact on learning, teaching and whole school improvement.
Glynis Frater
Learning Cultures Limited
01746 765076 / 07974 754241
glynis@learningcultures.org
