Task

Create a supportive environment. Reflect on your thoughts and conclusions to produce a report which addresses the following:

'What I need to do to further develop my knowledge and understanding of key guidance and available frameworks’

‘Steps I will take to ensure that professional development at your school provided in a supportive, professional environment’

I chose to look at ‘Creating a supportive environment’ as teacher workload is always something that is in broad discussion, both within school and within government. I think it is important that teachers are not overloaded and, as a member of the leadership team, it is vital that I consider workload when planning teacher development. I am aware of the teachers’ pay and conditions document and limits to directed time. This academic year, we have moved from formal professional development sessions to a peer coaching model. In doing so, we have had to be careful to ensure that teachers are provided time to do this and that there is still adequate time for key notices or updates to be provided. Because of this, we have advised a short, weekly coaching session for each pair and, when necessary, we have quick staff meetings – usually under half an hour.  

One area in which I would like to improve my own knowledge and understanding is the availability of NPQ programmes and how to identify when colleagues are ready to undertake these. Having completed the NPQSL last year and the NPQLTD this year, I am aware of the time required to complete these courses and would not wish to push someone to undertake one before they are fully prepared. On the other hand, I am also aware of the importance of encouraging colleagues to continue to develop their own practice and expand on their responsibilities within school.  

In order to ensure that professional development sessions atmy school are supportive and feel effective, I would like to introduce more clarity around the professional development programme and additional (voluntary) opportunities for staff to provide feedback on the professional development they have received and its effectiveness. At the moment, a lot of professional development sessions are not communicated in advance so teachers are often not aware of what we will be working on until  the session itself. I feel that, for some people, it can be beneficial to know in advance what we will be working on; whether this is to complete reading, reflect on your own practice or just to feel a part of the cycle. 

Something else I would like to continue to work on is the feeling of an open-door policy in which members of staff feel comfortable requesting particular professional development and being provided with this when they request it. Historically, teachers completing NPQs or similar programmes have been those approached by SLT. There are occasions when teachers can self-identify areas in which they would like to develop and I believe we should be encouraging this and looking for opportunities to provide this development to them. As part of this, I would like to become more familiar with existing high-quality provision such as mathematics work groups, in order to allow teachers the opportunity to develop without a large time commitment from the school itself. 

Want to know more? 

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