Our Research on Effective CPD

With support from globally leading partners, researchers and advisors, TDT curates and disseminates rigorous evidence to support school leaders with their staff development approaches.  We are fortunate to work with thousands of professionals whose lived experience informs the improvement and development of our work. Below, you can find a selection of research and reports we have led or played a central role in developing.

a group of school leaders collaborating

Transforming Teacher Appraisal

With the removal of Performance-Related Pay, schools and trusts now have flexibility to reshape their appraisal process. This change, following the Workload Reduction Taskforce recommendations, acknowledges that previous systems were often burdensome and ineffective. 

What can we learn, and what needs to change, in order for teacher appraisal to have a positive impact on teacher development?

With this change comes decisions for school leaders around teacher evaluation, development, and pay:

  •  What are the essential elements of an effective teacher appraisal system that promotes professional growth and development? 
  •  What evidence-based strategies can be employed to design and implement appraisal systems that enhance teacher quality while minimising unintended negative consequences?
  •  How can appraisal systems balance accountability with development objectives without undermining teacher trust and agency? 

 

We are  excited to share our research report on teacher appraisal which synthesises findings from across education and related sectors to offer school leaders clear, evidence-based recommendations for designing developmental appraisal systems in schools. 

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a teacher appraisal meeting
Transforming Teacher Appraisal: Moving away from Performance-Related Pay and towards meaningful professional growth
September 2024 marked a significant turning point in how UK schools approach teacher appraisal - our research considers what this means for teacher development
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Creating a CPD entitlement that works – our findings
In response to the Labour Party’s mission document, we began to explore their proposal of an entitlement to continuous professional development. 
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Findings from the ECF Review
TDT’s newly published exploratory study, gratefully enabled by funding from the Gatsby Foundation explores how England’s flagship Early Career Framework (ECF) programme for new teachers might be enhanced in terms of flexibility, subject focus, and sustainable capacity building. 
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Teacher Autonomy: How does it relate to job satisfaction and retention?
Retention of teachers is important, never more so when recruitment and retention figures are falling and schools increasingly struggle to recruit the staff they need. 
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Developing Great Teaching: Lessons from the international reviews into effective professional development
This review - Developing Great Teaching   provides a foundational summary of the features of effective professional development in schools.
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DfE Standards for Professional Development
Our founding CEO, David Weston, was asked to chair the CPD Expert Group who shaped the current Standards for Teachers’ Professional Development.
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