CPD: Where to now?
I have spent the last few years developing a CPD programme for the staff in my school that I am really quite proud of. It has leadership development pathways for those who wish to progress outside of the classroom, the opportunity to attend external courses for exam guidance and inspiration (or at least it has for now - Devon to anywhere else is pretty costly) and it has relevant sections for teachers at all points of their career. It was designed to be a cradle to grave (is that an appropriate description for teaching?) system.
But it has one flaw and it is a deeply frustrating flaw because the flaw is in my favourite bit. I have always believed in the Dyaln Wiliam approach that teachers need to get better not because they are not good enough but because we can all get better. The building blocks of my CPD approach is formed on this basis - all teachers participate in a long term CPD project - either an inquiry group or a book club. In the inquiry group teachers from multiple disciplines come together to work on an area of school need, for example stretch and challenge, or raising attainment in underperforming boys. They read research on the topic, trial strategies in their own classrooms, carry out peer observations and generally investigate the issue working in collaboration. In book club group staff come together to read and discuss an educational book which I buy for them - they are given choice as to which book they would like based on a 'niggle' - something in their teaching they would like to address. The system still needs a little tweaking, it needs to be tighter but the essence is right, it is good. I like what we have done.
But there's a but and it is starting to feel like a big one. My initial fear was that staff would not engage with the programme - I was wrong, the staff have been brilliant and they love their books. And yet despite this, despite the buy in, I don't feel like the programme is having the impact that I want. So I did a little audit against the standards for teacher professional development:
1. Professional development should have a focus on improving and evaluating pupil outcomes.
This is there and is beginning to emerge - staff select their area of development based on pupil outcomes and will reflect on the success of their work against pupil outcomes - check.
2. Professional development should be underpinned by robust evidence and expertise.
Each group, whether inquiry or book club, are based around reading research, books written by people who know what they are talking about. Opportunities for staff to attend workshops with experts are made available (although finances will begin to affect this) but overall - check.
3. Professional development should include collaboration and expert challenge.
Yes - certainly in terms of collaboration - perhaps the expert challenge element could be improved but as a general theme - check.
4. Professional development programmes should be sustained over time.
This. This is my flaw - they are sort of sustained over time but not really. At the moment we give staff two disaggregated INSET days in return for 10 hours of CPD spread out across the year organised in their free time - lunchtimes and after school. If you have worked in a school however, you will know that there is no such thing as free time so the CPD groups and the quality of the work within these groups gets squeezed.
5. Professional development must be prioritised by school leadership.
I am lucky on this one - I am on SLT and work within an incredibly supportive SLT who do see this as important and support the programmes at all levels.
So my issue is how best to structure my CPD programmes so that staff get a lot from them and we can see the real impact of the time they are investing. If I had a magic wand, I would send the children home early at least once per half term to ensure that all teachers have the time and space to engage with these programmes fully. As many of the children in our school arrive by bus this is not a viable option. For the same reason, collapsing mornings or afternoons are also not viable, I have thought about incorporating it into our pre-existing meeting cycle to provide the iterative rhythm that makes a difference (and I think this is my preferred option) but this would involve removing two INSET days a year from staff (unless I find an alternative way of utilising this time) and removing time from how those meetings are currently spent. With budgets being squeezed, it is more important than ever that teachers are given time and space and expertise to support them in developing their practice. So my question, dear reader, is how do I achieve this?
But it has one flaw and it is a deeply frustrating flaw because the flaw is in my favourite bit. I have always believed in the Dyaln Wiliam approach that teachers need to get better not because they are not good enough but because we can all get better. The building blocks of my CPD approach is formed on this basis - all teachers participate in a long term CPD project - either an inquiry group or a book club. In the inquiry group teachers from multiple disciplines come together to work on an area of school need, for example stretch and challenge, or raising attainment in underperforming boys. They read research on the topic, trial strategies in their own classrooms, carry out peer observations and generally investigate the issue working in collaboration. In book club group staff come together to read and discuss an educational book which I buy for them - they are given choice as to which book they would like based on a 'niggle' - something in their teaching they would like to address. The system still needs a little tweaking, it needs to be tighter but the essence is right, it is good. I like what we have done.
But there's a but and it is starting to feel like a big one. My initial fear was that staff would not engage with the programme - I was wrong, the staff have been brilliant and they love their books. And yet despite this, despite the buy in, I don't feel like the programme is having the impact that I want. So I did a little audit against the standards for teacher professional development:
1. Professional development should have a focus on improving and evaluating pupil outcomes.
This is there and is beginning to emerge - staff select their area of development based on pupil outcomes and will reflect on the success of their work against pupil outcomes - check.
2. Professional development should be underpinned by robust evidence and expertise.
Each group, whether inquiry or book club, are based around reading research, books written by people who know what they are talking about. Opportunities for staff to attend workshops with experts are made available (although finances will begin to affect this) but overall - check.
3. Professional development should include collaboration and expert challenge.
Yes - certainly in terms of collaboration - perhaps the expert challenge element could be improved but as a general theme - check.
4. Professional development programmes should be sustained over time.
This. This is my flaw - they are sort of sustained over time but not really. At the moment we give staff two disaggregated INSET days in return for 10 hours of CPD spread out across the year organised in their free time - lunchtimes and after school. If you have worked in a school however, you will know that there is no such thing as free time so the CPD groups and the quality of the work within these groups gets squeezed.
5. Professional development must be prioritised by school leadership.
I am lucky on this one - I am on SLT and work within an incredibly supportive SLT who do see this as important and support the programmes at all levels.
So my issue is how best to structure my CPD programmes so that staff get a lot from them and we can see the real impact of the time they are investing. If I had a magic wand, I would send the children home early at least once per half term to ensure that all teachers have the time and space to engage with these programmes fully. As many of the children in our school arrive by bus this is not a viable option. For the same reason, collapsing mornings or afternoons are also not viable, I have thought about incorporating it into our pre-existing meeting cycle to provide the iterative rhythm that makes a difference (and I think this is my preferred option) but this would involve removing two INSET days a year from staff (unless I find an alternative way of utilising this time) and removing time from how those meetings are currently spent. With budgets being squeezed, it is more important than ever that teachers are given time and space and expertise to support them in developing their practice. So my question, dear reader, is how do I achieve this?
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