How to make CPD a more EMPOWERING experience for colleagues
How to make CPD a more empowering experience for colleagues
Embed rigorous processes for CPD planning, evaluation and gathering evidence of impact. Get rid of paper and pen and use the online systems available to ensure you have business intelligence that will inform your decision making about CPD.
Evaluate CPD activities for short, medium and long term impact and revisit them regularly. If there is no expectation at individual or leadership level, ask why you are investing in it.
Make sure staff CPD has a clear pathway of progress over the short, medium and long term.
Insist upon CPD activities having a ‘source’. If a colleague is asking for a particular piece of CPD, ask why it needs to happen and what it is linked to in the wider context. Is it professional standards? The school development plan? Performance Management objectives? Whole-school reporting? Career development focus?
Other then CPD for statutory purposes, it should be clear that there is interest, enthusiasm and passion for the topic. Even if the topic isn’t that enthralling, don’t allow your staff to engage with dull, dry, uninspiring providers. If the learning is fun retention of knowledge will be better. Get feedback from your staff, and listen to what they have to say.
When thinking about evidence of impact, don’t ask ‘how and where did this CPD make an impact?’ Ask instead, when contributing evidence to individual and whole-school initiatives ‘which, if any, of my CPD activities helped me to achieve this?
