In 2004, the Teacher Training Agency (TTA, now the TDA) expanded its remit to
become more closely involved in the policy and operation of teachers’
continuing professional development.
The TTA also consulted widely to get views of stakeholders on current CPD
provision. Respondents suggested that:
-
There was not a strong ‘CPD culture’ in schools and among much of the school
workforce
-
CPD was too often short term, reactive and lacking in strategic vision
-
Teachers were too rarely involved in a systematic analysis of their training
and development needs
-
Teachers and schools too rarely considered the type of CPD that was likely to
be most effective in meeting identified training and development needs
-
CPD was too often not sustained
-
Too much CPD lacked focus and failed to take account of participants’ existing
knowledge and experience
-
Teachers too often undertook CPD ‘in isolation’ with little support or feedback
from the school’s senior managers
-
Many schools did not have well-established processes for evaluating the impact
of CPD at organisational, teacher and pupil level
-
CPD often not cost effective
-
There was uneven availability and access to CPD and poor information about
quality external providers.
As a result of their research the TTA identified seven issues that should be
addressed in building a stronger approach to training and development for all
staff in schools in the future. These were:
-
A focus on demonstrable impact
-
Sustained CPD activities
-
Better use of time
-
More attention to subjects and other areas of knowledge
-
Personalisation
-
Training for leaders and managers
-
Improved information about the range and quality of CPD opportunities.
Since reform would involve a cultural change for many teachers and schools, the
TDA (formerly the TTA) plans to work in close partnership with all those
actively involved in planning and providing CPD for teachers. Priorities for
the future development of CPD for teachers will focus on:
-
Embedding a ‘new professionalism’ in which schools are committed to
promoting CPD as a way of meeting school development needs and members of the
school workforce take responsibility for their own development and that of
others.
-
Improving the flow of information to schools and teachers through
reliable and accessible information and guidance about the expertise on offer
within their own and local schools, and about the external support available to
them in their education authorities from higher education, through private
providers, or through distance and e-learning.
-
Developing a coherent and progressive framework of Standards
The existing professional Standards for teachers have been developed over time
and to meet different needs. As a result, they do not sufficiently describe the
progressive expectations of the performance of school staff at different points
in their careers. A new framework will help teachers, as part of teaching and
learning reviews, to identify what professional development they need to help
them meet the Standards required for the posts they aspire to.
-
Ensuring that the framework of Standards for teachers is consistent with the
Common Core of Skills and Knowledge for the Children’s Workforce that
was introduced in 2005, and that all CPD policy takes account of the emerging
Children’s Agenda through which the Government aims for every child, from birth
to 19, whatever their background or their circumstances, to have the support
they need thrive and succeed.
Useful web links
To find out about the TDA’s latest plans for Teachers’ CPD, click
here.
To view the Common Core of Skills and Knowledge for the Children’s Workforce,
click
here.
|
|
