Welcome,
Access to effective CPD has also been shown to have a positive effect on teacher engagement, motivation, and on levels of professional satisfaction and fulfilment. Not surprisingly, staff that are invested in and developed professionally feel more valued, and this is something that is becoming more important than ever in the face of the current recruitment and retention challenge in education.
At a basic level, CPD ensures that teachers keep up to date with the latest research and knowledge in education. More importantly, however, it also allows them to continually reflect upon, and keep improving, their practice at every stage of their career. At Kyra we firmly believe that teachers must be life-long learners, and that even the most capable teacher has the capacity to improve even further for the benefit of their pupils.
Development of teachers and leaders is at the heart of the Kyra strategy for improving and sustaining effective schools; we are, as our DNA states, a learning community. We know that effective professional development for staff should be collaborative and teacher-driven. Kyra seeks to maximise every opportunity, within and outside of our schools, for observation, joint practice development, networking, reflection and research as well as formal training courses and programmes. We believe that demand for professional learning should be driven by the aspiration teachers have for the children they teach and the passion they bring to their work. Therefore, our professional development offer has been, and will continue to be, a responsive offer – driven by our alliance and the teachers in it.
In this edition of the Kyra Journal, we explore the importance of CPD, as well as what effective CPD looks like in practice. In the pages ahead, you will find an interview with David Weston, founder of the Teacher Development Trust, who shares his insights on teacher professional development, as well as the journey the TDT has taken over the past seven years. We have also included an interview with the CPD Lead at Kyra, Leann Anderson, about her vision for the future of CPD at Kyra, and two school-based case studies, each of which demonstrates how CPD has been used to enable teachers’ progress, and to support school improvement. We hope you find the articles within this edition of the journal both useful and interesting.
Best wishes
Helen Barker
To read the full publication please download from the section on the right of the page.
You can read the following articles from the Journal by following the links:
2. Willougton Primary School; Lincoln CPD Enabling School Improvement
3. An interview with Leann Anderson; Deputy Headteacher of Kyra Teaching School
5. Further Reading & Resources; including The Summary of The DfE's Recruitment & Retention Strategy.