Professional Development at South Pennine Academies
What kind of Professional Development should you expect from South Pennine Academies?
All of South Pennine Academies’ Professional Development programmes have been carefully selected and designed to promote expertise over mere compliance training.
The programmes and opportunities offered in our Professional Development brochure are based around the eight PD values below, which support the DfE’s ‘Standards for teachers’ professional development principles:
- PD is prioritised by SPA leaders: All SPA leaders are invested in the development of their staff, plan and allow quality time for PD as well as provide support and follow-up with staff back in their academies to drive sustained impact.
- Purpose and Impact: All of our PD opportunities are focused on improving and evaluating pupil outcomes to support the Trust’s vision of improving the life chances of the students in our academies.
- Evidence and expert led: The Trust’s vision is to ensure that all academies are world class Centres of Excellence for T&L; this is reflected and modelled through our PD programmes. Sessions are underpinned by robust, relevant evidence-based research and we will draw on internal and external expertise to build on the work undertaken between peers in our academies.
- Freedom to take risks: All programmes and opportunities encourage participants to step outside of their comfort zone, challenge preconceptions and take a risk.
- Challenge and Feedback: Embedded in the language of coaching, feedback is central to the ethos of all of our programmes. All participants will receive honest and direct feedback and expert challenge.
- Collaboration: All of our programmes facilitate opportunities to collaborate and innovate with colleagues from other academies, with different specialisms, experiences and from different phases (which, we hope, will lead to further networking and collaboration opportunities beyond the programme).
- Reflection: There will always be built-in time for participants to meaningfully reflect on their learning and progress.
- Trust: There is an implicit expectation that participants take responsibility for their learning, that they are accountable for it, too, because they are professionals who want to do the best for their students. All SPA Professional Development pathways seek to do this.
Ultimately, whichever pathway, programme or opportunity you choose to follow you can be assured of professional dialogue, a chance to practice, the opportunity to receive feedback, and the time and space for personal reflection.
For further information on any of the opportunities laid out in our SPA Professional Development 2020/2021 brochure, or to discuss suitability or appropriateness of a programme, available funding, or to book, please don’t hesitate to contact us via email or phone:
Email: PD@southpennineacademies.org
Tel: 01484 503110
SPA Professional Development Brochure 2022/23
SPA Professional Development Framework and Directory for Associate Staff 2021/22
