Continuing Professional Development (CPD)

Principles, Values & Entitlements

At North Ealing Primary School (NEPS) we value all our staff and governors and see them as education’s best resource and we actively encourage their development. We recognise that Continuing Professional Development (CPD) promotes high morale, motivation, self esteem and collegiality in the workforce. At NEPS we believe in the philosophy that “effective teachers should take ownership and give a high priority to professional development”. Staff Development is necessary to ensure that staff have the skills, knowledge and understanding to deliver the school aims. It is important that the school is seen as a learning organisation for the adults within it as well as the pupils.

NEPS is committed to providing all staff members with a high-quality induction and ongoing professional development within a diverse and inclusive workplace, ensuring equality of opportunity and fair access to growth and progression, irrespective of protected characteristics.

All staff will have opportunities through appraisal and other mechanisms to discuss and make requests regarding their professional development needs. Equally, governors need to have appropriate induction and training in order to carry out their duties effectively.

At NEPS, there is a commitment to staff development that balances school and individual priorities, while actively promoting staff wellbeing and maintaining a healthy, sustainable work–life balance. Improving standards and the quality of teaching and learning will be the main focus for CPD planning and provision. However, professional development needs that individual staff members have identified also need to be considered. The ultimate aim is the improvement in the practice of individuals and teams in order to raise standards in teaching and learning. This will be facilitated by creating learning communities in which supportive and collaborative cultures directly extend the capacity for continuous self improvement.

Professional development can take many forms and can be accessed:
• Externally, through training, further study, the Local Authority, Further Education institutions, subject associations and private providers
• Through cross-school and virtual networks
• Within school

Examples of professional development include; induction, coaching and mentoring, lesson observation and feedback, observation and sharing of good practice, collaborative planning and teaching, shadowing, peer observations, whole school development events attendance at courses, visits to other schools and distance learning etc.

Leadership and Management of CPD

North Ealing Primary School’s two named CPD coordinators are Marcia Bruley and Srah Barnes, Deputy Head Teachers. The CPD leaders are supported strategically by the link governor for training.

The CPD coordinators shall be responsible for identifying the school’s CPD needs and those of the staff working within it. One CPD lead will be responsible for EYFS, KS1 and Inclusion staff. The other CPD lead will be responsible for Lower and Upper KS2 and Curriculum development. It is recognised that there will be some cross over in these roles. Individual staff CPD needs will be identified primarily through the appraisal process.

A whole school CPD action plan, linked to and integrated with the School’s Development Plan, is developed by the CPD leads. The action plan should be updated annually following the appraisal process in the Autumn term, after individual staff development needs have been identified and fed through to the CPD lead. CPD planning will be informed by a range of sources:

• the needs of the school as identified through its self-evaluation (SEF) and outlined in the School Development Plan;
• outcomes from the staff appraisal planning meetings (discussed in more detail below)
• issues identified through other monitoring, e.g. OFSTED, external audit, School Link advisor visits, Healthy Schools;
• national and local priorities, e.g. national strategies, local authority strategies, local community priorities;
• feedback from staff and others including governors, pupils and parents/carers through consultations, surveys etc;
• individual requests for CPD made outside of the performance management process.

In order to and value for money, the action plan should be evaluated and reviewed prior to the beginning of the new CPD action planning cycle. This review should inform the subsequent whole school plan.

• The budget is targeted at the priorities identified by the school – those identified through the SDP etc and those identified for professional development through the appraisal process.
• The training needs of Early Career Teachers (ECTs) are recognised as a priority.
• Staff and governors undertake joint training when and if appropriate.
• The Headteacher reports annually to Governors to inform the Governing Body of the ongoing professional development of staff.

The school will ensure that it will use resources carefully to support CPD and that the budget is used to ensure best value.

Appraisal

• At North Ealing Primary School the CPD programme will be informed by staff training and development needs identified by the reviewer and reviewee at the appraisal meeting.
• The governing body will ensure in budget planning that, as far as possible, appropriate resources are made available in the school budget for any training and support agreed for reviewees.
• If there are competing demands on the school budget between CPD identified for a reviewee and the training and support which helps the school achieve its priorities, the school’s priorities will have precedence; however the aim will be to meet as many requests for CPD as the budget allows
• Teachers cannot be held accountable for failing to make good progress towards meeting their performance criteria where the agreed CPD recorded has not been provided
● Although appraisal procedures are statutory only for teaching staff, the school has chosen to address the CPD needs of support staff by ensuring an appraisal procedure is also used for every member of support staff. This reflects the importance attached to the role support staff play in the school.

Leadership and Management of CPD

Supporting a range of CPD activities
The school will support a wide portfolio of CPD approaches in an effort to match interests, career development and preferred learning styles of staff and to maximise the impact on improving teaching and learning within the school. CPD opportunities can be internal or external to the school and can involve courses, in-school training days, observation of best practice, visits to other schools, distance learning, team teaching, coaching and mentoring, secondment, research opportunities, shadowing etc.

Implementation of CPD

• All staff who undertake training beneficial to whole school development are expected to feedback at either department or whole school level.
• Priority is given to staff with qualifications that are statutory and need to be regularly updated e.g. Health & Safety qualifications such as First Aid certification.
• NEPS ‘buys back’ into the Local Authority (LA) CPD opportunities and all staff are encouraged to attend as many twilight courses as they wish.

1. The index of LA courses is available through Ealing CPD online and all LA courses should be booked through this online portal
2. All staff have their own login and can book LA courses online.
3. Ealing CPD online retains a record of all LA courses attended by school staff.

• The National College has a range of accessible CPD opportunities

1. All staff have an account and can book courses and webinars online
2. National College retain a record of all CPD attended by school staff

• Other platforms are available for staff to book CPD opportunities, e.g. The History Association, Kapow, Maths Hub etc.
• Applications for day courses must be discussed with the CPD coordinators as these may involve funding for supply cover and will need to match SDP priorities, or professional development needs indicated by appraisal or other reviews.
• Applications for external courses will be taken by the CPD leads for approval to the Core Team.
• The CPD coordinators will list all external courses attended by staff in a central file.
• The Headteacher with the Finance Officer is responsible for the completion of the financial return under the relevant budget headings.

N.B. It is the responsibility of staff attending a day time course to leave appropriate work for their class(es)

Leadership and Management of CPD

Early Years Foundation Stage and Key Stage Development
Year teams meet every two weeks under the direction of the Year Leads. Staff development includes – team building, exchange of ideas and advice on teaching and learning, moderation of pupil work, discussion on behaviour management and pastoral issues, subject coordinator input, collaborative planning etc

Support Staff Development
Class-based support staff, SMSAs, office staff and site staff attend staff meetings every half-term under the direction of a senior team.

All support staff are encouraged to participate in the LA CPD opportunities for career progression e.g. National Qualifications, Higher Level Teaching Assistant status (HLTA) etc.

Additionally, all staff participate in part of the whole-school INSET training to ensure continuous professional development and alignment with school-wide initiatives.

Leadership and Management Development
The Senior Team meet regularly to discuss issues relating to the organisation, progress, management and smooth running of the school

• staff development for senior team includes –

a) opportunity to plan, develop, monitor and evaluate school improvement initiatives
b) discuss and resolve issues relating to the school curriculum, ethos, personnel and community
c) respond to LA and national initiatives at a school level
d) encouragement to participate in the LA & National College CPD opportunities for
career progression e.g. NPQH, Leading from the Middle, Leadership Pathways, Aspirant Leaders
e) opportunity for succession planning e.g. shadowing, ‘acting up’ and mentoring/being mentored

Governor Development
Governors receive an induction programme on appointment which includes an information pack, a tour of the school and a one to one meeting with an established governor. New appointees should also attend the LA’s training for new governors, ideally within a term of their appointment. Governors are encouraged to develop their own knowledge and skills through LA provided courses which the school buys into, and to make known any training needs they may have so these can be addressed as appropriate in order to ensure effectiveness in the role. Whole governing body training will be arranged periodically as needs arise or particular issues are identified.

Review & Monitoring
• North Ealing Primary School evaluates the impact that CPD has on teaching and learning and raising standards through monitoring (including observations, work scrutiny, pupil voice), data analysis and appraisal.
• Information on training opportunities is available to all members of staff through appraisal, staff and department meetings and other providers.
• Staff have an opportunity to discuss individual professional development needs with their line manager, specifically during the appraisal process, but at other times as necessary.
• The Headteacher provides details of budget spending priorities to the LA and Governing Body.
• Senior Team inform staff of whole school training priorities linked to the school improvement targets
• Details of staff CPD to be reported annually to governors.
• All staff who undertake training beneficial to whole school development are expected to feedback/disseminate at a department and/or staff meeting.
• Professional qualifications arising from training organised/paid by the school to be reported to the Governing Body Pay Committee and Personnel Committee

Health & Safety
• All staff to receive appropriate health and safety training e.g. First Aid, Fire Safety Training. Such training will take place on school training days or staff meetings whichever is the most appropriate. Staff are encouraged to balance the attendance at courses with life and school priorities.
• Clear health and safety procedures form part of school induction for all staff.

Equal Opportunities
Access to development opportunities must be available to all school staff regardless of protected characteristics. Provision must conform to the requirements set out in the school’s Equal Opportunity Policy.

Other relevant documents:
● Staff Appraisal Policy
● Recruitment, Retention and Induction
● Equality Information and Objectives
● Anti-racism Policy

Policy last reviewed
Autumn 2025
Policy / Document due for review
Autumn 2028