Staff Development for Teachers and Leaders

What should I do?   

The academic year is starting in September and with this, colleagues may be making important decisions regarding their professional development. In many countries, studying a Master’s degree is the chosen option since a Master’s is a qualification that is well-known and recognised internationally.

In terms of professional development for schoolteachers and leaders in the UK, the Government is offering NPQs (National Professional Qualifications). They are fully funded by the Department for Education and can help teachers and school leaders to improve their practice, progress in their career and increase their confidence in their teaching roles.

Types of NPQs

There are several types of NPQs to deepen teachers and leaders’ pedagogic knowledge and support their career progress if they want to become senior leaders. Each NPQ has a framework for its content. Some content is specific for each NPQ, other elements are common across all NPQs.

The following NPQs are designed for classroom teachers and middle leaders. The duration of the course is 12 months. Here is a summary of the frameworks. 

One of my colleagues who successfully completed her NPQ in Behaviour and Culture said that, “The NPQ framework uses a lot of concepts that are well established in the teaching profession. I found it useful to engage in a purposeful, collaborative reflection on my teaching practice with peers.”

Silvia Bastow has written a blog article regarding the NPQLTD.  Click here to read her article, if you are interested in this NPQ.

There is also an NPQ for Leading Literacy. The program covers 6 topics, with a mix of self-study and group coaching sessions, as well as face-to-face sessions with other participants.

For colleagues working in an international school there are International NPQs available. For more information click on here.

NPQ Assessment: To get your accreditation you'll need to complete the course with at least 90% of attendance, and to pass a written assessment (1,500 words) at the end. 

Leaderships NPQs

These qualifications are designed for teachers and leaders who are already in leadership roles and are wanting to develop their leadership skills. The current NPQs for leaders are:

• Senior leadership
• Headship
• Executive leadership
• Early years leadership
• NQP for special educational needs coordinators (SENCOs)

My experience doing an NPQ

My school supported my application for an NPQLT (National Professional Qualification in Leading Teaching). I found the program to be very intense, but overall, the content was interesting. It was quite refreshing analysing the latest research regarding how memory works, as well as looking at the impact of culture in an organisation. The modules I studied included academic research along with case studies where a leader was implementing the theory studied in the module in a primary or a secondary school setting.

On average I spent about 2 hours per week working towards the NPQ content and completing the required tasks. I was paired with a colleague and we had a virtual meeting every fortnight to reflect and discuss a case study. Networking with other colleagues studying the NPQ was particularly interesting, however during busy times such as mocks, this meeting was not always possible, and everyone had to complete the work on their own without working in collaboration.   

NPQs cover different topics, with a mix of self-study and group coaching sessions, as well as face-to-face sessions with other participants. In addition to independent work, I was requested to attend a 6-hour conference at the beginning of the program. The aim of this was to become familiar with the NPQ principles and requirements.

I took part in 6 communities of 1 hour each. The purpose of these sessions was to discuss and reflect on a persistent challenge in each participant’s school setting, to learn from each other’s experience, develop a network of support and improve our knowledge and practice around the NPQLT Framework, as well as applying the theory of the NPQLT in our setting.  Discussing real issues that colleagues were facing was motivating and useful, however, towards the end of the program participants were presenting fewer cases for discussion. At times it was hard to offer our point of view based on solid evidence due the fact that primary school colleagues did not have a deep understanding of secondary school issues and vice versa.

I attended 6 clinics with the duration of 2 hours each. The purpose of the clinics was: to retrieve knowledge from the insight and application modules, apply knowledge to scenarios, evaluate decision making and collaborate with colleges. These sections were valuable to consolidate knowledge and deepen our understanding of different topics. It was also useful to discuss different case studies with lecturers and other colleagues. However, both the communities and clinics were done after school and the content that was covered during the clinics was extensive, hence some sessions lacked depth and there was not always time for deeper reflection.

When asking different colleagues about how they were finding the program, some pointed out that becoming more aware and able to understand school changes and decisions was something they found useful. Most colleagues who I spoke to said that their teaching practice had changed, and they were able to see a positive impact on students’ outcomes. At the same time, several colleagues who were taking the program were not in management positions and said they felt frustrated as their Heads of Department were not familiar with the NPQ approaches and jargon, so their contributions at their departments were not fully valued. 

Master’s in education 

There are several options to complete a Master’s degree in education. It can be done full-time, part-time and online. Further information about Master’s courses can be found on university websites.

A colleague who has finished her master’s degree in education pointed out that doing a master’s has allowed her to engage meaningfully with education research: “The Masters in Transforming Practice at the University of Cambridge is a part-time course including online work and 5 conference days at weekends. Throughout the year, I have been able to engage with research and conducted my own school-based research, culminating in a 12,000-word dissertation. I was able to choose a research focus that aligned with my professional development goals and this has helped me develop my practice. The Master’s provides a good basis for PhD research or leadership roles that include co-ordinating staff development in schools.”

Advance Teacher Status – ATS

This program is equivalent to a Master’s. Successful participants will be awarded ATS status, and they will also gain Chartered Teacher Status, which is quite prestigious.

In order to apply for ATS one needs to be a member of the Society for Education and Teaching (SET) and meet the following criteria:

• Working as an advanced teacher.
• Hold a level 5 or above initial teacher education qualification for a minimum of four years (five years if you do not hold QTLS or QTS status)
• Hold a level 2 English and level 2 Maths qualification (level 3 if you teach English and/or maths)
• Teaching in a post-14 education setting for an average of eight hours a week while undertaking ATS.

Lead Practitioner

The program is made up of a framework of professional standards and a process of accreditation that has been designed by the profession, for the profession. It recognises the skills, experience and qualities of school staff at every level.

There are ten Lead Practitioner standards that make up the framework and they are divided into the following three categories:

• Personal skills and attributes: performing a high degree of emotional intelligence to inspire and motivate other colleagues.
• Professional knowledge: engaging with research and displaying and sharing pedagogical knowledge and evidence.
• Process and impact on others: demonstrating high quality coaching skills to develop a professional learning network.

To conclude, enrolment and completion of any program requires (in addition to any fees) a great effort in terms of time, especially if you are teaching full-time. Training is only productive is you are able to apply what you have learnt in your everyday practice, therefore when making such an important decision, one needs to consider how one is going to apply what one learns, otherwise the training may not be effective. 

Bibliography

•            UK Government. "National Professional Qualifications (NPQs)." Available at: https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/national-professional-qualifications-npqs  
• Ambition Institute. "Ambition Institute." Available at: https://www.ambition.org.uk/  
• Society for Education and Training. "Advanced Teacher Status." Available at: https://set.et-foundation.co.uk/your-career/advanced-teacher-status  
• SSAT. "Lead Practitioner Accreditation." Available at: https://www.ssatuk.co.uk/cpd/teaching-and-learning/lead-practitioner-accreditation/  
• Chartered College of Teaching. "Chartered College of Teaching." Available at: https://chartered.college/