Continued Professional Leadership and Development at CHS

Continuing Professional Development (CPD) can be defined as ‘any activity which enhances the quality of teaching and learning within the School. It should develop the school and the individual and impact directly on what goes on in the classroom’.

At CHS we are committed to helping all new colleagues feel welcome, known personally and supported in the school. Members of teaching staff have a dedicated induction and probationary period when they start their career with us. We hold an induction day for all new teaching staff (including ECTs) at the start of the Autumn Term and a weekly induction programme until October half term. There is an induction procedure for those who begin at other points during the academic year.

ECTs follow a separate, comprehensive programme and by dedicated support from both a department and whole school mentor throughout their induction year, where their pedagogy is further developed.Heads of Department also have the opportunity to further develop through tailor-made termly developmental meetings.

There are weekly drop in Further Professional Learning ‘30 minute takeaway’ sessions which cover a very wide range of high quality in-house teaching and learning topics and also wider professional issues.

We have an extensive Staff Library which is regularly updated with educational resources, books and external course information.

There is a dedicated site for teaching and learning which can be found here: https://sites.google.com/chschool.co.uk/tl20/menu.

All Departments are allocated dedicated training time and use this to enable teachers to attend external training opportunities and to encourage the sharing and development of good practice. This includes one day bespoke courses and or longer qualifications.

Two out of the four whole staff INSET days are based on CPD, providing different training opportunities which change annually to reflect and help embed current priorities within the school’s evaluation and improvement document.

Teachers’ performance management meetings provide regular opportunities for discussion about pedagogy and career development. Members of support staff have their own performance management meetings to support their professional development. As part of this process colleagues are actively encouraged to observe each other teaching both within and outside their faculty areas. Staff can also engage in the process of discipline enquiry for this process.

CHS has supported colleagues on a range of bespoke in-house training courses which includes Improving Classroom Practice (RQT Programme), Preparing for Senior and Middle Leadership; alongside the teaching and learning professional learning communities schedule.

We have a dedicated CPLD Site for further information.