So my immediate response is no, CPD is no more important from an individual, effective practitioner perspective. However from an organisation perspective, and in respect of being able to demonstrate your engagement in CPD from a promotional perspective, it has become more important. As has the identification of individual and group-development needs linked to individual and organisation objectives, the structuring of support and the evaluation of impact has never been more keenly monitored. Nor has it ever been more central to the debate about professional responsibility.

2. Is CPD good / plentiful enough to meet the government’s goals on teacher standards?

In schools that do it well, yes, however the solution to the provision of excellent CPD is a complex one. It requires a shared understanding of expectations; in the best cases, excellent reflective practice on the part of the teacher and the flexibility within schools creates programmes that can meet the needs of all teachers. Professional Learning needs to be offered in a variety of different media, from coaching, through to bespoke 1:1 engagement, centralised training and open courses.

The best CPD is driven by the needs of the teachers and the school they work within. Budgets are tight, and so schools that have a strong understanding of the strengths of their own staff, using them to support others, are in a good position to make best use of limited funds. Schools should also be encouraged to ‘barter’ services with others, exchanging skills and time and therefore reducing the direct costs of training. Working together on shared programmes across federations and partnerships is a great way of achieving economies of scale, but does require a careful analysis of needs to ensure programmes are robust and truly meet identified skill deficits.

3. Who in schools can access CPD? How is it delivered (ie online / in person courses, free / paid for)?

CPD should be available to all staff in schools, and in good schools this is certainly the case. Continuing professional development is facilitated in variety of different ways, from 1:1 coaching, through to individual bespoke CPD or open courses delivered (either on-site by strong internal staff, or off-site at another school or venue).

4. Who delivers it – is the independent sector very involved now? Is this a growing area of opportunity?

In the very best schools CPD is delivered by their own strong staff or through the exchange of skills with staff in other schools. Schools are far less likely, in the current climate, to send staff out on open training courses. They will reserve some budget to ‘buy in’ expertise to support the training of staff in areas where they have no expertise (or other local schools are unable to provide), but this is far less of an option with current budget allocations. There is a very strong sense that the best Training and Professional Learning is delivered by those that are part of the culture and profession, and therefore are themselves practitioners. The growing area of opportunity is in helping schools articulate expectations, identify training needs / strengths, and facilitating the administration, monitoring and evaluation of the provision to ensure it is adding value.

5. Has the procurement of CPD been affected by the roll out of academies?

The local authority provision of CPD has significantly declined, and a cultural shift to use teachers to provide training for teachers has had an impact on the procurement of CPD. Both of these have coincided with a rise in the number of academies. Many schools create time for training in their directed time programmes, or alternatively collapse inset days into six hour-long twilight sessions. Teachers as professionals are willing to engage in professional learning, and the vast majority see it as an entitlement.

How do you handle CPD in your school? Let us know in the comments.