Efficiency savings
But what are the financial and time implications
of increasing CPD in schools already struggling with both? ‘Partly it’s about using the same time and money smarter,’ says Weston. ’The quality and quantity of CPD can often both be improved. There’s the visible, set-piece CPD – where teachers spend time out of the classroom for seminars and workshops. But that’s not necessarily the most important part. In a way that’s like going to the supermarket and buying the right ingredients; you still need to know what to do with them when you get home. So it also depends on how much time and support you will have, and how much meeting time is given to consolidation of training as opposed to engaging in admin.’ With teacher vacancies over twice as high in the
most deprived parts of England, Weston sees that attracting and keeping staff by providing good CPD is essential. ‘This is where the problems are most acute,’ he says. ‘With a grant from the DfE we have identified five CPD Excellence Hubs that will each use an evidence-based approach to transform teacher development in some of the most challenging schools. We don’t simply deliver training to leaders and teachers, we focus on strengthening the schools’ strategies with quality in-house development. We’re taking an innovative approach to change the way that schools design, commission and implement CPD, and are mentoring the schools in the hub areas over a two-year period.’ CPD is not just for teachers. Schools’ biggest
EXPERT ADVICE
expenditure is on support staff, but their training often lags behind that of teachers, despite the fact that they often deal one-to-one with the most challenging pupils and have enormously varied roles. ‘We consistently find that support staff have a more negative view of CPD than
NURTURE EXISTING STAFF There is always a natural amount of staff turnover, which can be a good thing, because new staff bring fresh ideas, and diversity is key. But investing in the professional development and wellbeing of current staff is equally important. Create career guides linked to
training options for all roles in your school or MAT, to show progression. Consider what opportunities you can provide for staff to acquire new skills, for example, leading on specialisms/subjects, work shadowing, coaching and mentoring. And think creatively! Start with a blank piece of paper
and map out what’s needed in terms of staffing. Always come back to pupils’ needs – are they being covered? Can it be done differently?
teachers do,’ says Weston. ‘They often feel like an afterthought. They are asked to sit through training that’s not relevant to them, or, even worse, they’re not invited on courses that would be relevant.’ Budget cuts have obviously resulted in reduced
spending on CPD. But there are ways to be more effective, such as collaborating with neighbouring schools, and shopping around for providers. Weston says that two-thirds of schools choose big-name suppliers that they have used before, rather than using their local authority database or sites such as
goodcpdguide.com. There’s a question as to whether staff are getting the CPD they really need; top-down decision making can mean leaders bypass teachers in choosing what would best help them in improving their pupils’ learning. Finally, Weston advises against hoop-jumping for Ofsted, and ending up with a one-size-fits-all programme that doesn’t meet your own school or pupils’ needs.
Smarter recruitment Currently, the cost of advertising a vacancy with agencies is very high, with some schools spending up to £80,000 a year. However, testing has now begun on a new DfE digital teacher vacancy service, which will allow schools to publish their vacancies for free, and candidates to search for jobs at no cost. At the same time, the Department is also working on a commercial framework for agency supply teachers (which should be available from September 2018) that will support schools to get better deals, including on the use of temp-to-perm fees. But even with these changes afoot, it’s vital to
present an image that will attract the teachers that your school needs. You can obviously do this on a local level. Teachers talk, and will have a combined network of thousands of potential candidates, so
n Specialisms – do you have in-house expertise or could someone learn those skills? n Train to train – for example, invest in a teacher to receive MAPA (Management of Actual or Potential Aggression) training who can then train other staff and provide in-house support. n Share staff with other schools – for example, a part-time French language assistant. n Succession planning – are you currently growing and developing your own middle and senior leaders of the future? Consider the teaching allocation and expectations of SLT staff. n How will you best utilise the apprenticeship levy? If you are in an LA school have you found out
how it will be administered? n Get to know your staff – especially support staff. They may well have a whole variety of skills and experience that they would be happy to share, for example by running after-school clubs. Have they always worked in education? What have they done in the past? What qualifications do they have? Do they have valuable experience/ knowledge? Are they fluent in a language? Are they involved in any clubs or activities outside of work? What are their aspirations?
n Hayley Dunn is Finance Director at Codsall MAT. She is an ISBL Fellow, avid Twitter user @ ShropshireSBM and blogs at
ShropshireSBM.org.
FundEd SUMMER 2018 19 MM R 2
IMAGES: MICROVONE; SHOWVECTORSTUDIO/
ISTOCKPHOTO.COM
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