How can we support teachers to be the best they can be?
If we genuinely want schools in the British education system to be world-class, then we must provide the conditions for our teachers to thrive.
To achieve this, professional development, far beyond the first year of qualification, must be present throughout a teacher’s career, and every school must have the facilities and capacity to nurture this.
Is CPD a priority in your school?
Teaching is perhaps one of the few careers where training is not prioritised well enough or given the time and value it deserves, especially when compared to other high-value professions.
The norm shouldn’t have to be CPD on a Saturday, or ‘pay for your own’ training.
We are responsible for a significant proportion of the next generation’s development, and surely it is essential that we are as skilled as possible through considered use of research to deliver an educational experience that is of high quality, high impact, up to date and relevant.
Motivating teachers to be better…
The second is for schools, and this is a struggle in the current funding climate, to protect 1 per cent of their overall budget for teacher professional development.
Investing in high-quality CPD can also support recruitment and retention and bring benefits to workload and work-life balance – issues that persist negatively for the profession.
Despite this seemingly bleak picture, I do believe it is possible to entice people to stay in the classroom and even to return to the classroom if we can gain a clear understanding of what motivates individuals to become, and to remain, teachers.
Professional development is an entitlement. It should be protected for every teacher in every school. It goes without saying that we need support from the government to achieve this. Something we were struggling for before COVID-19…
