What does Continuing Professional Development (CPD) in schools look like?

CPD consists of reflective activity designed to improve an individual's attributes, knowledge, understanding and skills. By supporting individual needs and improving professional practice.

Effective CPD starts within the school through induction, coaching and mentoring, observation and mutual feedback, collaborative working and sharing good practice. A hallmark of effective CPD is an ethos in the school of lifelong learning and development which can be provided by colleagues and peers, or at other times specialists from outside the school such as the local authority or an independent consultancy such as Learning 2XL who will offer bespoke solutions that reflect the features of effective practice through....

• Discussing professional development issues in senior management and staff/ team meetings
• Coaching and mentoring
• Collaborative peer working
• E-networking and e-learning
• Involvement in networks, development groups or projects (local, regional and national) which provide opportunities for professional development
• In house courses and workshops and professional development events
• External conferences, courses and networking
• Research and investigation
• Skills-based training

Reviewing your school policy for Continuing Professional Development (CPD)

The school is a community of learners therefore all decisions about the provision of CPD will take into account; the needs of the school, the professional needs, interests and aspirations of staff and the school's resources available to provide professional development.

CPD is part of an annual cycle which links together:

• CPD and ongoing development
• Performance development and management
• School self evaluation and improvement

School self-evaluation on continuing professional development

Self-evaluation allows the school to critique approaches to CPD such as;

• Addressing all the strategic aspects of CPD
• A CPD policy is in place and being implemented
• Roles and responsibilites are in place for the leadership of CPD

CPD impact and evalution

As a school you will want to evaluate the impact of CPD to identify effectivenss and that it provides value impact on the teaching and learning experiences of children and young people and provides value for money.

Planning for CPD and the evaluation of its impact should be integral to performance management. It should be;

• Focused on what particpants learn, how they use what they have learnt
• Within an agreed timeline for evaluating outcomes
• A collaborative process
• Evidence based
• Considered in the short, medium and long term and include formative reviews of impact
• Include a cost-benefit analysis
• Review regularly to ensure it remains effective and proportionate