In recent years, there seems to be a growing consensus backed up by evidence that quality of teachers and teaching is the single most important success factor in education. As the much quoted Andreas Schleicher of the OECD said “The quality of an education system cannot exceed the quality of its teachers and their work.” Policy approaches to improving the quality of teachers having tended to focus on raising the quality of entrants to the profession and the removal of ineffective teachers. However, a report released yesterday by think tank The Centre for Reform argues that the impact of these approaches could be dwarfed by improvements in the quality of teaching of the 438,000 established teachers currently working in our schools.
Studies show a teacher’s productivity improves significantly within their first two or three years of teaching, but this development slows for most, and even stops for some, beyond this point. The report, therefore, calls for a much greater emphasis to be placed on the continued professional development of those currently teaching and criticises the quality of current CPD provision. Too much school-led CPD, or whole school INSET days, according to the author, are ‘overly management –led and disproportionately focused on the demands of centrally directed reform or whole school priorities’ and does not address the needs of individual teachers. To counter this, the report suggests that there should be a professional expectation on teachers to undertake certified and accredited career-long CPD and that ‘Government should give schools and teachers the time and space to concentrate both individually and collectively on improving classroom practice by ensuring a reasonable period of stability’. Specifically, The Centre for Reform recommends that the ‘teaching profession should sign up to the aim of developing its own system of post initial teacher training qualifications, continuous professional development obligations and revalidation or recertification processes.’ (Recommendation 1)
To support this aim, the report highlights the potential role of a Royal College of Teaching (currently under consideration) and recommends that: ‘Those developing plans for a Royal College of Teaching should give detailed consideration to the role it could play in professionalising teacher CPD and to how quickly such arrangements could be put in place.’ (Recommendation 2)
The report discussed how schools can more effectively manage, develop and quality assure CPD through collaboration with other schools, in-school CPD specialists and coordinators, and work with Teaching Schools. To ensure that CPD is tailored to the specific needs and development goals of individual teachers, the report recommends ‘every teacher should be required to have an Individual CPD Plan. Schools would need to satisfy themselves that each member of their teaching staff had a properly drawn up plan but would not be expected to approve it’. (Recommendation 3)
The dangers of the ‘unregulated market for CPD’ concern the report’s authors and to counter this and generally improve the content of CPD they call for the use of educational research and recommends that ‘the remit of the Education Endowment Fund should be extended to include a wide-ranging responsibility for encouraging the evaluation, dissemination and application of research into classroom practice.’ (Recommendation 4)
Finally, the report addresses the resourcing of CPD, suggesting that to ‘enable individual teachers to clearly own their personal CPD challenges’ resources should be developed for teachers recommending that ‘the government should encourage schools to pilot a system where teachers access a personal budget to fund their CPD costs and an allocation of time in which to undertake it.’ (Recommendation 5)
The Centre for Reform report echoes points made by Prof. Rob Coe and the Chief Executive of the Teacher Development Trust, David Weston, in presentations to North East Schools. In this presentation Prof Coe of Durham University, outlines the features of effective CPD as evidenced by research (see from slide 25).
David Weston’s mission to improve the quality of teacher professional development in education led him to establish the Teacher Development Trust. In this article he outlines the Seven Deadly Sins of Teacher Development and the Good CPD Guide (accessible here) aims to help you to find peer reviewed, quality CPD providers by searching their free database.
If you have been inspired to review your school’s approach to CPD then you might want to join the National Teacher Enquiry Network (established by the Teacher Development Trust). This is a collaborative partnership focused on innovation and improvement through highly effective and evidence-based staff professional development and learning. Schools in the network receive a peer-audit of their CPD against a Quality Framework and awards for excellent practice, as well as access to exclusive resources, events, expertise, research and discounts.
SCHOOLS NorthEast is working in partnership with the National Teacher Enquiry Network on this important priority area for our region’s schools. This means that SCHOOLS NorthEast members or prospective members can take advantage of special partnership arrangements. To find out more speak to Bridget Clay (at the Teacher Development Trust) on 0207 250 8276 or email nten@tdtrust.org.
Or even better, you can find out more in person by attending the NTEN Conference at Cramington Learning Village in Northumberland on 4 December (9am until 3.30pm). The conference is open to existing NTEN members and non-members and is a great opportunity to share best practice around professional development. Tickets are just £12 and you can reserve your place by following this link https://ntenconference2.eventbrite.co.uk/.
Also, if you are a SCHOOLS NorthEast Partner School don’t forget that you can commission us to organise and deliver training/ CPD in your locality based on your needs at no or very little cost. Previous examples include events on: how best to spend your pupil premium; implementing the new policies on pay and conditions; exploring collaboration and schools partnerships; visioning; and effective Governance. To find out more about the local CPD request service email Chris Zarraga on c.zarraga@schoolsnortheast.com or call 0191 204 8866.
Your view
What do you think of the recommendations in the CentreForum report? Has your school taken an innovative approach to CPD? What types of CPD have you found to be most effective in improving outcomes in your school? How can collaborative networks support your school’s CPD offer? Let us know your views, email think@schoolsnortheast.com .