Powerful professional learning helps children succeed and teachers thrive
In an educational landscape where pressure is mounting around teacher recruitment, retention, pupil outcomes and quality of teaching, there has never been a more important time to invest in staff development. Founded by teachers in 2012, the Teacher Development Trust is the national charity for effective professional development in schools and colleges. We are raising awareness of the importance of CPD, building tools to help teachers transform their practice and supporting schools to achieve success for all their pupils. With support from the DfE, EEF, TES Global and Durham University, TDT have led the way in commissioning and publishing guidance around effective CPD, including the Developing Great Teaching report in 2015 and the Standard for Teachers’ Professional Development in 2016.
Our Approach
Using a strong international evidence base of what constitutes successful teacher professional development, at the Teacher Development Trust we are working with the entire education sector to promote the principles of good CPD by:
- Stimulating demand for high quality CPD through the TDT Network, our national partnership of over 220 schools & colleges supporting world class, evidence-informed professional learning
- Ensuring access to high quality training provision via our free database, TDT Advisor, and encouraging providers to attain high standards via our quality marks and community reviews;
- Providing training (including professional accreditation) and bespoke support to schools engaging in collaborative teacher enquiry models such as Lesson Study
- Publicising and disseminating research, and campaigning to raise the status of professional development
Our Work
Our work is underpinned by the key principles of effective teacher professional development and learning, which must:
- maintain a tight focus on pupil learning needs with ongoing rigorous evaluation of outcomes,
- be applicable and relevant to the teacher’s current classes, and contribute toward whole-school development,
- be collaborative and teacher-driven,
- be sustained over a period of at least two terms (and ideally more),
- involve regular external expert input and build on the best existing practices and understanding.
View our current flyer to learn more.