CONTINUING PROFESSIONAL DEVELOPMENT POLICY

Transcription

1 CONTINUING PROFESSIONAL DEVELOPMENT POLICY Milestone is committed to safeguarding and promoting the welfare of children and young people and requires all staff, volunteers and visitors to share this commitment. 1

2 Milestone Academy CPD POLICY Principles, Values and Entitlements 1. Milestone Academy is a learning community and is committed to providing opportunities for the continuing learning and development of its entire staff. A learning community is sensitive to its environment and is constantly evolving, making use of the skills and talents of its entire workforce to the greatest benefit. At Milestone Academy, we make every effort to promote a culture where CPD and its effective leadership and management are given a high priority. CPD encompasses all formal and informal learning that enables individuals to improve their own practice. 2. At Milestone Academy CPD is seen as the collective responsibility of both staff as individuals and of the school community. Professional development should be for the benefit of both. 3. The Academy has an expectation that all members of the learning community will take an active role in their own professional development and have a responsibility to support the professional development of colleagues. At Milestone Academy CPD is an ongoing process of education, training, learning and support activities which is highly valued and receives the necessary levels of resources to ensure its success. 4. Professional development will be coordinated by a CPD Leader with an appropriate job description and who will be a member of the Academy leadership team. The CPD Leader will be appropriately trained and able to access opportunities to network with other schools and training providers. 5. All members of the school learning community will have an entitlement for access to high-quality induction, and continuing support and development. 6. The key elements of the CPD policy comprises: - effective auditing and identification of need and aspiration - appropriate match of provision to learning needs - reliable and explicit evaluation of the impact of provision - dissemination of effective practice. 2

3 7. The Academy will use a range of types of provision and providers adopting Best Value principles in determining these. The Academy is committed to working with all training providers to develop and improve the services they provide through collaborative planning and detailed feedback. 8. The Academy s CPD provision will allow staff to develop skills and competencies progressively, allowing them to build on and reinforce previously developed skills and expertise, particularly across the key areas identified in the appropriate standards frameworks, and the School Plan. 9. The Academy will provide and support opportunities for professional recognition including accreditation of the CPD undertaken. Auditing and identification of need and aspiration 1. The CPD Leader will be responsible for identifying the training and development needs of the school community. These needs will be identified through mechanisms such as performance management, self-evaluation, national and local priorities, other internal and external monitoring and feedback evidence and through informal and formal discussions with individuals and teams. The outcomes of the needs analysis will be a CPD plan which forms part of the Academy Performance Agreement. 2. The CPD Leader will be responsible annually for discussing with the Pincipal and Governing Body the main training and development priorities and the budgetary implications of addressing these needs. 3. Training and development issues will be addressed at Governing Body meetings and be included as part of the Principal s annual report. The CPD Leader will attend appropriate Governing Body meetings and report annually on the provision and impact of training and development. 4. The CPD Leader will facilitate access to a range of professional development opportunities and be responsible for communicating opportunities to appropriate staff. 5. The CPD Leader will be responsible for ensuring that opportunities are provided for the following groups of the school community as appropriate: Newly Qualified Teachers Staff new to the Academy or role 3

4 Teachers in their early years (EPD) Teachers with 5 years+ experience (including those beyond the threshold and those in the later stages of their career) Teachers specialising in teaching particular groups of pupils Middle Leaders /Curriculum Leaders (Emergent Leaders) Senior Leaders in their early years More experienced Senior Leaders The Principal Teaching assistants, bilingual support, language assistants and learning mentors Parents and carers as appropriate. Regular supply staff and those seeking to return to the profession Student Teachers Pupils where provision extends beyond the Academy 6. The Academy supports systems and opportunities for teams and the whole Academy to feed to the CPD Leader details of priorities and approaches to development. 7. The CPD Leader will be responsible for ensuring the effective organisation of access to opportunities, e.g. booking, confirmation and for providing appropriate support such as organising relevant resources, setting up appropriate meetings and organising membership of, and subscriptions to, appropriate bodies such as subject associations and school improvement organisations. Match of provision to learning needs The professional development opportunities available should: meet identified individual, team, Academy or national development priorities be based on recognised effective practice contribute to raising the standards of pupils achievements respect cultural diversity be provided by those with the necessary experience, expertise and skills be planned systematically be based, where appropriate, on relevant standards be informed by current research or inspection evidence make effective use of resources, particularly ICT be provided in accommodation which is fit for purpose with appropriate equipment provide value for money 4

5 have effective monitoring and evaluation systems including seeking out and acting on user feedback to inform the quality of provision. provide opportunity to measure impact CPD at Milestone Academy Every member of staff at Milestone Academy has an entitlement to excellent provision of Continuing Professional Development. The Academy will support a wide portfolio of CPD approaches matched to the need of learners. As such we prescribe a number of entitlements. These will include: An excellent Induction Programme, tailored to meet the needs of the individual and their role Well planned Inset Days, developed by the Senior Leadership Team to meet the needs of the Academy, often led by highly rated National and International Speakers A varied programme of informal in-house training delivered as Twilights, to Team Meetings or during contact time by a range of in-house professionals such as School Nurse, ICT Technician and specialist teachers, Speech and Language Team, Leadership team and others. A first class programme of formal in-house training led by experts in their field in Autistic Spectrum Disorder, Multiple Disability and Visual Impairment, SCIP, Signing, PECS, MOVE and Moving and Handling. Signing training provided by our Signing tutor, delivering taught lessons to classes where staff and pupils will learn alongside each other, as well as high quality training to all staff on INSET days, twilight sessions and informally as requested. An excellent system of progression for Teaching Assistants. We aim to pass 4 Teaching Assistants each year through the nationally recognised Diploma in Working with Children and Adults (formerly NVQ level 3), supported by our in-house qualified trainer. The opportunity for Teaching Staff to attend nationally recognised training in TEACCH we currently aim to train 2 teachers a year on this 5-day, out of County course on a rolling programme. Opportunities to complete a part-time degree in Child and Youth Studies or Early Years for selected suitably qualified staff. Opportunities to gain Qualified Teacher Status on the School Direct programme. Milestone Academy works in partnership with Canterbury Christ Church University and Kent and Medway Training to provide both salaried and unsalaried School Direct places. Opportunities for teaching staff to attend relevant external courses 5

6 Excellent opportunities for postgraduate study for suitably qualified staff. Opportunities through observation to experience and learn from excellent practice or peers e.g. model and demonstration lessons Development and progression through opportunities for sideways moves and promotion Coaching and/or mentoring provided for staff new to their role in the Academy, as part of the Academy s induction process (see Induction Policy). Job enrichment/enlargement (e.g. a higher level of responsibility, job sharing, acting roles, shadowing, leading meetings). Producing documentation or resources such as curriculum development, teaching materials, assessment package, ICT or video programmes. Collecting and collating pupil feedback, data and outcomes. Academy visits to observe or participate in successful practice. Opportunities for secondments, exchanges and placements (e.g. within a regional, national or International organisation, an exchange or placement with another teacher, school, higher education, industry, international exchange, involvement with Governing Body) International professional development. Research opportunities. Distance learning (e.g. e-learning, relevant resources such as educational journals and publications, training videos, reflection, simulations). Practical experience (e.g. national test or exam marking experience, opportunities to present a paper, contribute to a training programme, co-ordinating or supporting a learning forum or network, involvement in local and national networks, involvement with a subject or specialist association). External partnerships (e.g. with a colleague, group, subject, phase, activity or school-based team meetings and activities such as joint planning, observation or standardisation, special project working group, involvement in a formal or informal partnership such as a Network Learning Community). Minibus Driver Training for all suitably qualified staff A supported system for maintaining Professional Development Records led by a detailed in-house database of Staff Training and development which can accurately assess training needs A well supported system of Performance Management for all staff with reviewers chosen to meet the needs of the individual A varied and comprehensive selection of well chosen periodicals, from which relevant information is shared according to the needs of individuals and which are available as a general resource A well stocked library which all members of staff can access Access to the Internet at various locations in the Academy for all staff 6

7 A programme of laptops/chrome Books/ipads for all teachers with Internet access available for professional development Evaluating Impact and Disseminating Effective Practice 1. Following professional or other development, the participant will discuss with the CPD Leader or line manager the opportunities to disseminate to other staff. Relevant feedback about the provision and the ideas should be provided for the CPD Leader. Where it is agreed that there would be benefit in a wider circulation or follow up, the CPD Leader will be responsible for organising this e.g. circulating relevant resources, a session at a staff or subject meeting, introducing a teaching or learning strategy, inclusion on the Academy websites. 2. The CPD Leader will be responsible for ensuring whether any follow up is needed to the provider, e.g. feedback, issues of access. 3. The CPD Leader will review annually whether any aspects of the CPD provision (e.g. service level agreements or subscriptions) do not represent value for money and make appropriate recommendations to the headteacher and Governing Body. 4. The CPD Leader will be responsible for assessing the value for money of training and development through seeking to monitor and evaluate impact. The CPD Leader shall be committed to ensuring that CPD systems and procedures conform to current best practice. This will be undertaken at a variety of levels including: immediate/short term evaluation by participants longer term follow up for a sample of CPD undertaken usually at a period no less than 3 months following the provision informal discussion with colleagues about improved practice 5. Measures used to determine the impact of training and development will be drawn from: participant evaluation pupil and school attainment the student voice external and internal evaluation and inspection processes recruitment and retention data the changing qualification profile of the staff 7

8 6. The CPD Leader will provide an annual report to the Governing Body on the impact of the training and development undertaken including the identification of future needs and an evaluation of the CPD Leader role. Training costing > 500 In agreeing to fund a training course or qualification costing the Academy 500 or more, the following conditions will apply: All assistance in the form of fees and expenses for the course/qualification shall be required to be repaid in full if: a. the employee, having signed up for the course/qualification, fails to commence the course b. The employee fails to complete the course without adequate reason c. The employee chooses to withdraw voluntarily from the programme prior to completion. d. Should the employee leave employment within 1 year of gaining the qualification/completing the course, then they will be liable to repay 100% of the course and exam fees. Should the employee leave in the second year of employment following course completion then 50% of the course and exam fees will be due. Thereafter there will be no requirement to repay any course or exam fees. By signing this agreement the employee explicitly consents to any of the repayments outlined above being deducted from any salary or other payments due under their contract of employment. Signed: Principal Date: 8