Teachers, leaders – we need your help!
The best available evidence indicates that great teaching is THE most important lever schools have to improve outcomes for all pupils, regardless of background, challenge or need. Our core charitable mission here at TDT is to advance education by promoting and encouraging effective professional development in teaching and education.
How can you help?
Labour are exploring the introduction of a CPD entitlement for teachers. We believe such a policy could have a significant impact on outcomes for children and young people, but the way in which it is developed and executed matters.
We have convened an expert group to ensure that any new policy taken forward makes more schools feel like great places to work and develop, so that the best wisdom of the profession can be used in every classroom to help children thrive and succeed.
Have your say!
Please take time out of your busy day to have your say:
- What should an entitlement include?
- How should an entitlement be delivered? And,
- What does the government need to do (and ask others to do) to make it a reality?
The survey will take around 30 mins to complete (depending on how much you have to say) and we really are keen to hear all views to help shape our thinking on what an effective entitlement to CPD might look like. Please grab a cuppa and take time to reflect on what would really make a difference to you, your practice, the school you work in and the children you work with.
More about the Expert Group for CPD Entitlement
Earlier this year, we announced that we are leading an Expert Group to consider what an entitlement to Continuing Professional Development (CPD) might look like for teachers in England. This is in response to plans announced by the Labour Party to introduce a funded entitlement to CPD if they come to power.
This idea has the potential to be beneficial to teachers and the wider school system. The crises of morale, recruitment, and retention continues to increase the pressure on schools – on leaders and teachers – as they try to navigate an increasingly complicated landscape of increasing school absence, challenging behaviour, curriculum changes, inspection, funding pressures, and so much more. An entitlement to CPD could help to ensure that teachers feel equipped to respond to the challenges they face and help to address some of the broader, systemic issues facing the English education system.
But there are risks. If an entitlement is not framed in the right way – if it is too narrow or too broad in what it considers to be CPD – then a lot of money could be spent for too little reward. How an entitlement is delivered also matters. What are the expectations on teachers? Will there be monitoring and by whom? How will it be funded? What happens if teachers do not take it up? The risk of a burdensome and overly bureaucratic process sucking up funding rather than it going on front-line development is real.
Here at TDT we believe in investing in people to develop expert schools – schools that have a culture of support and development, that understand how effective CPD can be transformative. That means we have a good understanding of what works, and what doesn’t. We are committed to understanding the very latest evidence so that our professional development is based on the best knowledge.
But we are also determined to act with heart and to be humble. That means we know that the very best evidence counts for nothing if there is not an understanding of the circumstances somebody is facing in their school, that considers the person not just the job title. And we want to be open to new ideas and perspectives, believing in the collective wisdom and experience of teachers and other education professionals.
That is why, alongside the work of the Expert Group, we want to engage with teachers and those with an interest in education across the country. So today we are launching an online survey to gather views and evidence across a range of issues linked to the introduction of any entitlement. This survey will remain open until midnight on 30 November, and we are particularly keen to ensure we get responses covering the full range of educational experiences and settings, including special schools and alternative provision.
TAKE THE SURVEY
