As the new academic year kicks off, now is the perfect time for teachers to start thinking about Continuing Professional Development (CPD).
In a profession which is frequently evolving, it’s vital teachers stay up-to-date with the latest trends, topics and information within their chosen field. Whilst there is some level of training in place to support teachers, it’s sadly not enough. This means in order to progress, professional development in education is a must.
Professional development in education
A new Standard for Teacher’s Professional Development was introduced by the Department of Education in 2016. It highlighted what counts as CPD for teachers and how it should be implemented within schools and organisations that provide teachers with professional development.
All teachers are required to stay on top of their field of expertise. Learning materials and guidelines are constantly changing and without adequate training, teachers can get left behind. Continuing Professional Development, therefore, helps teachers to keep up with the latest changes as well as topping up their skills.
CPD for new teachers
New teachers would especially benefit from CPD. While they’ve spent years studying and training to become a teacher, early enrolment in CPD helps them to feel supported. Lack of support is one of the leading reasons why teacher applications are down. Recent research and reports have delivered news that teachers often feel abandoned by the system, left with never-ending piles of work, poor pay and an uphill climb to provide pupils with the best education.
CPD for teachers helps to instil confidence not just in teachers, but in pupils and their parents too. It delivers benefits throughout the entire education system. Providing professional development in education is therefore crucial for raising standards, developing trust and creating a sustainable education system.
A spokesperson for the Department for Education claims it is working on addressing issues such as providing better behaviour management training for new teachers. However, what really needs to be addressed is that teachers need continuous, not just one-off, training.
The benefits of implementing CPD in education
Implementing CPD in education should be considered crucial, rather than optional. A recent report entitled “Developing Great Teaching”, states that providing opportunities for professional development, which are specifically designed at improving pupil outcomes, really boost student achievement. However, there’s also a strong link between high-quality CPD and teacher retainment.
Schools which do provide good quality CPD, are more likely to attract, motivate and retain high-quality teachers. As it stands, schools which don’t provide CPD and other training opportunities, are experiencing a high teacher turnover. The irony here is that it costs more to employ and train new teachers than it would to invest in CPD.
The number of benefits continuing professional development delivers in the education sector cannot afford to be ignored. Teachers both old and new need to be given access to CPD in order to continue to develop their skills, confidence and knowledge within their chosen field.
So, CPD has crucial benefits for both new and existing teachers. Schools definitely need to start switching their outlook on what CPD means in education, seeing it as an important investment rather than an unnecessary expense.
The importance of choosing a respectable provider
Schools and teachers who are considering implementing CPD into the workplace will find numerous providers available. However, not all CPD providers offer the same quality of service. Therefore, it’s imperative that care is taken to ensure a high-quality, respectable provider is chosen.
Opting for a provider which has years of experience within the industry and excellent reviews will guarantee a high-standard of continuing professional development. It also shows parents, pupils and the education sector in general, that your school is committed to providing the very best education. This helps to build up your authority within the sector, making more teachers want to work at the school, and more parents want to enrol their children.
So, if you’re looking to attract the most talented teachers, boost enrolment numbers and increase your school’s rating, CPD is definitely something you should begin exploring.
Now that the new academic year is upon us, what better time to start working towards a more sustainable education system and improving your school’s performance? If you aren’t currently offering a good standard of CPD, now is definitely the time to look into it.
Become a CPD accredited provider
We hope this article was helpful. Established in 1996, The CPD Certification Service has over 27 years’ experience providing CPD accreditation. With members in over 100 countries, our CPD providers benefit from the ability to promote themselves as part of an international community where quality is both recognised and assured.
If you are interested in offering training courses, seminars, workshops, eLearning, or educational events suitable for Continuing Professional Development, please visit the Become a CPD Provider page or contact our team to discuss in more detail. Alternatively, if you are looking for a free online CPD record tool to help manage, track and log your ongoing learning, as well as store your professional training records and attendance certificates in one simple place, go to the myCPD Portal page.
