Creating Value In Schools
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In A system that empowers: The future of professional development, report authors Loic Menzies and Marie Hamer argue that workforce development is the best way to secure educational improvements, especially in an era of budget constraints. They would like to see a professional development entitlement for teachers extending beyond the current ‘golden thread’ of early career development and the NPQ offer, with more short courses, and more government funding, especially for schools in challenging circumstances. Teachers in England currently do fewer hours of professional development than teachers in other OECD countries or high-performing countries like Singapore.
A system that empowers: The future of professional development, a collaboration between Ambition Institute and the Institute for Public Policy Research, starts from the position that educational attainment matters for overall life chances.
In England, educational achievement has improved over the past decade, but still lags behind other high-performing countries. Also, the attainment gap between disadvantaged pupils and their peers is growing again. So, what can be done to improve our education system?
The report authors argue that with limited funds and structural reforms potentially a distraction, ‘investment in workforce development is the most promising and sustainable policy lever.’ In fact, ‘investment in the expertise of teachers and the wider education workforce is the best way to unleash a powerful cycle of improvement’ (report page 5).
As evidence from the EEF has established, teacher quality and great teaching is the best tool for improving pupil attainment.
While the DfE has established a ‘golden thread’ offer with the early career pathway and NPQs, there are gaps, for example for teachers who prefer to develop classroom expertise rather than go into leadership, or to develop SEND expertise. Not everyone can dedicate the time to an NPQ, or access the funding for it.
There’s also an inconsistency in the quality of the professional development on offer for school staff. It’s not all evidence-based, or doesn’t always give the essential time needed to put strategies into practice.
Teachers in England are currently accessing fewer hours of professional development than teachers elsewhere. The median reported time spent on professional development in England is 21-30 hours a year, compared to average of 62 hours across the OECD, and 100 hours in Singapore (page 15).
The report makes nine recommendations, including the following.
The report is very focused on teacher professional development, rather than the wider workforce. Some of us would argue that it’s not just teachers who need a professional development entitlement for an improving education system!
How can teachers and leaders be empowered to solve the challenges they face in their schools? What do we even mean by empowerment?
… empowerment involves competence and personal mastery – alongside agency, self-efficacy and a sense of meaning.
So, for teachers to be truly empowered, they must not only care about and be trusted to respond to the challenges they face, they also need expertise and capabilities commensurate with the challenges they face. (Page 11)
The report authors would like to see a coherent professional development offer based around three career pathways:
Schools and trusts can support teachers by helping them to access professional development which:
