Diagnostic Review

Benchmark your progress and identify areas of strength and development each year with our member-exclusive Diagnostic Tool (commonly referred to as the CPD Quality Audit). 

Aligned throughout to research and evidence and the statutory requirements for CPD across all school roles, the aim of the review is developmental, rather than judgemental, designed to help school leaders understand the effectiveness of their whole school CPD programme, as well as how this may be improved. The format is designed to provide multiple strands of information on each area so the school can gain an accurate picture of how programme and process intent aligns with experience for all staff, and identify routes forward in their planning and development.

It is important to note that TDT Diagnostic Review is not a badging exercise, or about submitting documents as evidence to tick off against a checklist of criteria. Colleagues are encouraged to engage in this process to gain an honest, 360° perspective of current practice and view TDT as a ’critical friend’. TDT Diagnostic Review reports also undergo moderation within the central TDT team, where colleagues support with recommendations and challenge report outcomes.

Deliberately rigorous, through this process you will explore the 7 Domains of Professional Development using our evidence-based framework.

We draw evidence from three elements: a Self-Evaluation against the 7 domain framework, a whole staff Anonymous Survey, and Interviews with a cross-section of staff for qualitative backing to the data gathered at survey.

Diagnostic Tool

Complete or update your self-evaluation,
or view your completed report.

Notice of Updates, 2021


As with all TDT resources, the review tool is subject to regular external analysis to determine where data collection can be refined further, and this informs future iterations of the framework and survey questions. Most recently, we carried out a psychometric analysis with external researchers. From this we have taken steps in 2021 to reword survey questions and framework criteria to be more accessible and widely understood, avoiding variance in data outcomes by reducing need for understanding of underlying concepts, as well as to refine the uniqueness of questions to reduce time required to respond and ensure higher completion rates, and to remove double and treble weighted criteria (with most recent evidence suggesting it is not necessarily that there is hierarchy of elements, but the more that are meaningfully built into CPD, the more robust a provision or cycle of practice change will be). Continually reviewing use of the tool and impact on data collection allows for tighter analysis, helping us to determine whether school leaders fully understand the way staff perceive the CPD they are offered.

Plan Your Review

View our guide for the process
and start planning.

Are you enrolled with to a Keep-in-Touch membership this year? View our digital review guide and benchmark using the staff survey.

Completed this stage? Explore the Support, Lead and Connect areas of the portal to find advice from colleagues, and tools for reflection, training, implementing changes, and embedding effective practice in line with your report.