Guest blog written by Claire Probert, Lancot Challenger Academy

CPD. So often associated with death by PowerPoint, as a room full of tea-drinking teachers subtly write ever expanding to-do lists to be completed later that same day, if not during the training!

I don’t find this acceptable; I firmly believe that we should practice what we preach. For our pupils, we rightly demand that our staff eliminate passive learning, develop active questioning, promote pupil led learning and all within an engaging, safe and positive climate. At my school, my staff deserve exactly that too and myself and my IRIS Lead, Jenny Fraser, are passionate about offering this to our team.

In this video interview, Andy Newell, Managing Director of IRIS Connect interviews Daniel Muijs, Deputy Director of Ofsted about the new Ofsted Framework 2019. The questions asked in this interview were selected by school leaders and cover topics such as evidence-informed practice, domain specific CPD and Ofsted’s latest approach to observations. 

Watch the full video interview with Daniel Muijs or skip to a topic of your choice to hear Daniel’s answers.

Reflective practice is a more systematic process of collecting, recording and analysing our thoughts and observations, as well as those of our students, and then going on to make changes.

The Lifelong Learning UK Standards are clear that self-reflection is a core component of effective teacher CPD and key to enabling teachers to become skilled in their roles.

Refining teachers skills and practice through continuing professional development (CPD) is a key factor in any school’s success. So, cultivating a positive culture around professional development is essential, but it can be complex.

Here are 10 easy ways to help your school develop a culture where improvements in teaching and learning can thrive.  These tips also support the implementation of the Department for Education’s Standard for teachers’ professional development.

Half term is over, May is quickly passing and ensuring success for all your students in the upcoming exams and tests, I'm sure, is rarely far from your minds. Here are 3 ways video technology can not only support exam and test preparation, but enhance it for both you and your learners.

Have you recently given someone lesson observation feedback? Did you feel like you motivated your colleague and inspired them to try different teaching methods?

If you've ever been on the receiving end of poor feedback then you'll know how unhelpful it is. Feedback is highly personal and can either make or break a situation. According to Professor John Hattie, receiving effective feedback is the factor that has the most impact on a student’s progress. This can also be applied to a teachers’ continuing professional development (CPD), making it one of the most important aspects of CPD.

So, to get the most out of lesson observation feedback, you should always be looking for better ways to give it, whether formally or informally. Here are 6 tips...