Introduction – the context we are working in
Even before the arrival of the Covid-19 pandemic, schools, and school leaders in particular, were facing significant changes because of OFSTED’s new Inspection framework with its emphasis on breadth and balance in the curriculum. This new framework for school inspection was accompanied by increasingly pressured budgetsa, making it effectively a double squeeze on resources for schools. When one adds in the consequences of adapting to a radically new set of demands on teaching provision around social distanced and online learning in the midst of the pandemic, the effect is to create an environment where school leaders need to raise their professional learning game whilst making every penny count.
It's at times like these that relevant research findings become not merely an optional tool but a vital support mechanism; they help leaders make evidence-informed judgements about where and how they should be investing in CPD and professional learning (CPDL). This article summarises key messages for leaders to incorporate into their thinking, drawn from recent systematic explorations of the dizzying array of evidence into professional development and learning. It offers help with gauging the likely value of both internal and external approaches to CPDL and for working out whether or not what they do is paying dividends for staff and for pupils.
Where does the evidence come from?
The core publication underpinning this piece is Developing Great Leadership of Continuing Professional Development and Learning 2020.1 The report was funded by the charity Right To Succeed, and built on a previous review of research reviews of the evidence about effective CPDL, Developing Great Teaching1 sponsored by the Teacher Development Trust. In both reports, the core goal was to identify systematically what existing research reviews could say about professional development practices and approaches which had strong evidence of improvement of attainment for learners.