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Step 1. Make sure that you get good professional support
Step 2. Get the most out of performance management
Step 3. Look for opportunities in your own school
Step 4. Manage your CPD by reflecting key questions for you
Step 1: Make sure that you get good professional support
Having access to the right quality of practical advice and guidance is recognised as a crucial element in getting established in the profession. Through its arrangements for the induction and performance management of its teachers, your school has the responsibility to take every reasonable step to make these available to you.
- Make sure, if you are in your first five years of teaching, that your school assigns an experienced member of staff to act as your Induction Tutor or Early Professional Development Mentor.
- Consider asking your headteacher or deputy to assign you another member of staff if you feel that your current tutor or mentor is unable or unwilling to support you appropriately.
- Your LEA will have one or more named contacts who deal with induction issues, and will have nominated at least one CPD co-ordinator with responsibility for supporting the professional development of teachers in their first five years. Contact your LEA if you have any important issue regarding the quality of your induction or CPD.
- You can take the initiative in getting professional support from colleagues whose practice you respect and know to be successful. Most of the teachers whose experience is featured in Pathways have highlighted the importance of the inspiration and practical assistance they received during the early stages of their careers.
| Susan (Primary Headteacher): 'The headteacher of my first school had great clarity of thought and the ability to encourage evaluation and reflection. She engaged in many activities to continue to develop her own learning and encouraged teachers to do the same. There was a wealth of opportunities for further learning and development, which every teacher had access to and which certainly helped to shape my career.' |
| Helen (HEI Lecturer): 'During the six years that I taught at a middle school I was fortunate to work with a team of well-motivated and enthusiastic teachers who were willing to share their expertise. The headteacher encouraged the staff to be innovative and to develop their skills through in-service training.' |
| Sarah (Advanced Skills Teacher): 'Beyond school, the headteacher helped me to select courses that were relevant to my professional development and at the same time encouraged me to offer my advice and support to pyramid schools, in specific areas such as classroom management and practice, behavioural strategies, planning (short and medium term) and setting targets for children.' |
| Wai Lin (Literacy Consultant): 'My most influential role models were the LEA literacy and numeracy consultants. I was inspired by their enthusiasm and dedication to their subjects and by their commitment to the belief that all children have a right to the best possible education. I also gained confidence and encouragement from my headteacher and deputy head.' |
| Tamsin (Reception Class Teacher): 'I receive outstanding support and encouragement from the headteacher. I feel she has total belief in me and what I am doing. She encourages me to push myself and take on new challenges and responsibility.' |
| Sally (PSHE Co-ordinator): 'We had staff who were doing their NPQH qualifications, one who became an AST for inclusion, staff going through Threshold – nobody just taught. We have always been encouraged to develop ourselves and not be held back by our relative inexperience.' |
| Hermione (Teacher in second year of teaching): 'My headteacher has supported and encouraged me all the way and enabled me to develop my skills as a teacher. She has opened so many doors for me and truly let me fly.' |
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Understanding CPD
