Continuing Professional Development

Inclusive CPD

If our schools are to be fully effective, then everybody who is involved with the school needs to do their job well. The CPD Guidance document is the result of a series of meetings involving CPD Advisers from many North West Local Authorities. CPD leaders should therefore consider frameworks of provision for the continuing professional development of any or all of the members of the school community. Good school leadership will also develop ways in which these people can be part of the provision of support for other colleagues as well.

CPD is an inclusive entitlement where all staff are supported and encouraged to reach their professional potential. CPD policy and practice should:

For support staff:

•  Start at the induction stage.
•  Provide opportunities to become more effective in a support role.
•  Provide a staged progression of CPD activity, including opportunities to gain appropriate.
•  national qualifications and to work towards Qualified Teacher Status if appropriate.

• Qualifications and Training
• Career Progression
• Additional Professional Development and Training

For teachers:

•  Start at the early stages of a teacher's career.
•  Lead into the first five years of their teaching.
•  Support the development of advanced skills into leadership, as subject/aspect.
•  leader/manager, team leader, head of department, for example.
•  Support career progression to working as an Excellent Teacher, advanced Skills.
•  Teacher, school leader, Headteacher for example support teachers in the later stages of their career.   

For schools:

•  Recognise the right and responsibility of individual members of the school workforce to pursue their own professional development needs.
•  Ensure that the school workforce is aware of the opportunities available for professional development locally, nationally and internationally.
•  Plan each year for the professional development of all staff, linking to school improvement priorities and performance management outcomes.

CPD: The Key to School Improvement

An example of a CPD policy

This policy is an example of one that a school might use for CPD. Different sizes and types of schools are likely to require different structures. This document does not attempt to be definitive but rather to provide an example of a policy that reflects good practice which can easily be adapted to suit the particular circumstances of different schools .

Principles, Values and Entitlements

•  This school is a ‘learning community' where all are involved in a continuous process of improvement and enrichment. This school is committed to fostering a positive climate for continuous learning amongst its community. CPD is the means by which the school is able to motivate and develop its community. It does so at a variety of levels – individual, team, whole school and through wider networks with an emphasis on collaborative learning. It conforms closely to the General Teaching Council's (GTC) Professional Learning Framework.
•  This school believes in the DfES philosophy that ‘an effective school workforce' should take ownership and give a high priority to professional development. We believe that a coherent and progressive opportunity to develop professionally and personally both improves standards and raises morale through personal and professional fulfilment and assist recruitment and retention. The CPD will be co-ordinated by a CPD Leader with a clear job description and who will be a member of the school leadership team but who will also be assisted by others in taking forward this policy.
•  This school has systems to discuss and feed information to the CPD Leader including details of priorities and appropriate activity including the use of the school training days.
•  This school is committed to entitlement & equality of access to high quality induction, continuing support and development.
•  The central features of the CPD policy will comprise:
•  Effective auditing and identification of need and aspiration,
•  Ensuring appropriate match of provision to need,
•  Reliable and explicit evaluation of the impact of provision,
•  Effective dissemination of good and successful practice to ensure that such practice is embedded and reinforced.
•  This school will use a range of provision and providers adopting Best Value principles in determining these.

CPD: The Key to School Improvement

•  This school will support professional recognition including accreditation of the CPD Undertaken.

Identifying CPD Needs

•  This school will have a named CPD Leader who is a member of the leadership team. The CPD leader will receive training and support as appropriate in order to fulfil this role effectively.
•  The CPD Leader, in conjunction with the Senior Leadership Team, shall be responsible for identifying the school's CPD needs and those of the workforce. Such needs will be identified largely through existing mechanisms such as:

•  Performance Management
•  Self evaluation leading to school priorities for improvement
•  National and local priorities
•  Other internal and external monitoring
•  Through informal and formal discussions with individuals and teams. The outcome of this needs analysis will be a CPD plan, which forms part of the school improvement plan.

•  CPD issues will be discussed at governing body meetings and be included as part of the Headteacher's report. The CPD Leader shall attend appropriate governing body meetings and annually present a report on the provision and impact of CPD.
•  Requests for accessing CPD should be addressed to the CPD Leader
•  The CPD Leader shall provide and update details of the range of CPD opportunities available and be responsible for communicating relevant opportunities. The information will be kept up to date and made accessible and available to the workforce.
•  The CPD Leader shall be responsible for ensuring effective systems are in place for the organisation of opportunities (See ‘Role of CPD Leader').

CPD Provision

1. CPD Provision should balance school priorities, the range of aspirations, needs and interests within the workforce against available resources. The following criteria will be used to inform the decision making process to achieve such a balance:

•  Meet identified individual, school or national development priorities.
•  Be based on good practice – in development activity and in teaching and learning.
•  Raise standards of pupils' achievements.

A CPD Portfolio

A CPD portfolio is a collection of materials that records and reflects CPD work and provides an evidence base to underpin professional learning, pay progression and career development.

CPD Log

The CPD log provides an on-going record of all the activities and experiences, formal and informal, which happen throughout the year. This will enable the user to;

•  record these as they occur and note any actions necessary.
•  keep track of the range of opportunities taken and their usefulness.
•  reflect on how these opportunities have made a difference to professional practice.
•  reflect on the development which has occurred as a result of these opportunities.
•  identify further needs and actions.
•  recognise achievements.
•  prepare for a discussion with a mentor/team leader/CPD Leader by informing thinking.
•  record the location of hard copy evidence referenced in the log.