FEATURE: CPD
Delivering high-quality professional development that works for the whole school
equate to efficient, innovative, and compliant work practices. Professional development has become a big
business in the education sector, with UK schools spending £900m annually on education technology alone. It may seem obvious to suggest that teachers need to continue learning in order to keep teaching well. However, recent studies have suggested that despite such emphasis being placed on the professional development of teachers, this has had limited impact on student outcomes. So, the challenge for any education provider is
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n our final feature this month we take a look at CPD in the company of Chris Read,
the Head of the Centre for Professional Learning at Consilium Academies. Chris explains why CPD is so important to Consilium, and how the Centre for Professional Learning came about.
In a profession that focuses on learning, knowledge, and, educating it is key for teachers to dedicate time to their own Professional Development. For those in the education sector, taking part in
regular training and development not only increases knowledge and skills but it can also
how can we offer our educators high-quality professional development that has real student outcomes and benefits and works for the whole school?
Focusing on professional development programmes that impact student outcomes As a Multi-Academy Trust, responsible for nine schools across the North of England, we knew we needed to find a better way to provide all our staff with professional development, that was bespoke and was truly impactful on our students. That’s why this term Consilium Academies launched its Centre for Professional Learning (CFPL). A big part of what we do at the Centre for
Professional Learning is support our teachers to do their job efficiently and effectively – be this
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through teacher mentors, heads of department, or in-school leads for professional learning. We know lots of teacher professional development – in fact, most teacher professional development – doesn’t change teacher practice, and that which does, often doesn’t affect student outcomes. So, for us at the CFPL, and Consilium Academies as a whole, it is imperative to focus on this objective. We know there are a wide range of factors
that affect how well children do in school, not all of which we can influence. However, of all the factors which we can directly impact, the quality of teaching is the most impactful and important (Hattie, 2003, Hanushek, 2014, Leithwood et al, 2008). There are of course other factors which matter too, such as previous educational experiences, access to good study environments, class sizes, classroom environments, learning resources, etc, but investing in our teaching staff and providing them with bespoke professional development that caters directly to their individual needs, means we are more likely to have an impact on student outcomes. We know, however, that schools can only be
successful at supporting students when they are safe, lessons are well resourced, schools are well run and have a budget that allows them to invest in people, teachers are looked after, and students are supported pastorally as well as academically. It is for these reasons, and because of the vital importance of non-teaching staff on student
October 2021
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