Ofsted's Independent Review of Teachers' PD in Schools

It is great to read the recent publication of Ofsted’s Independent Review of Teachers’ Professional Development in Schools- Phase 2 findings. Full report can be found HERE 

The Teaching School Hub Councils assessment of the review can be dowloaded HERE. 

This independent review also aimed to look for evidence on how the ‘golden thread’ (ITT/ECF and NPQs) of teacher development was being implemented in schools.  

Evidence collected ranges from a YouGov survey of 1825 teachers, 43 interviews across a range of school settings and a longitudinal cohort study of teachers across a year. 

It was pleasing to read in this phase 2 report about the positive impact of the ECT and NPQ programmes delivery by TSHs and the impact of effective mentoring on our ECTs development. Recent ECTs in the YouGov survey identified that they were confident in several areas owing to their ECT training, stating pedagogy, behaviour management and professional behaviours training benefiting them considerably. This makes it all worthwhile. 

The positive impacts of the NPQ programmes were also reported on. The reports states that NPQs are relevant, high-quality and tailored well to needs. In general, staff studying for NPQs remain positive about how their course is developing their knowledge, confidence, working habits and practice. Within our TSH region we know many schools/MATs have mapped ECF/NPQs programmes to their career pathways and embedded them in their PD offer and we are starting to see the impact of this. 

A summary of the key findings from phase 2 or the report can be found below with implications for school leaders to consider. 

Key findings from phase 2  

General PD findings 

1. “High-quality professional development that improves teachers’ knowledge, practice and confidence can have a positive impact on pupils’ outcomes. Teachers also feel more satisfied in their roles and are more likely to stay in their jobs when they regularly access high-quality training. Given current recruitment and retention issues and the short- and long-term consequences of the COVID-19 pandemic, it is more important than ever that teachers have access to high-quality professional development.” 

2. Barriers to accessing high-quality professional development are a long- term issue and not just a consequence of Covid-19. 

3. Barriers to CPD identified in our previous report have persisted, such as workload pressures and the costs of providing cover for teachers to attend training. 

4. Around half the schools visited focused on more short-term ‘crisis management’ forms of teacher development.    

5. In several schools, the teacher development offer was piecemeal and not strategically planned to feed into school improvement or teachers’ development priorities. This suggests that more could be done to ensure that the golden thread of teacher development is accessible to all groups of teachers, at all stages in their careers. 

6. By contrast, too many experienced and part-time teachers said they were still not getting a high-quality teacher development offer.  

7. The most effective schools used innovative ways of providing all staff with high-quality teacher development. These schools had invested in long-term strategic planning, which meant that they were providing staff with a coherent programme of development. 

8. Positive examples of PD provided teachers with a menu of development opportunities, both formal and informal, which was balanced between building pedagogical and subject knowledge. Teachers told us that this was building their confidence and helping them to be responsive to emerging needs in the school in the short term. 

9. There is no ‘one size fits all’ solution for teacher development. In schools with a strong teacher development offer, leaders provided staff with a variety of opportunities, both internally delivered and externally sourced. In doing so, they took account of their wider school context and staff’s individual goals. Effective schools had formal systems in place for staff to undertake training, as well as informal mechanisms for them to learn from each other on the job. 

10. For special schools, more demands on time leave less time for teacher development. 

11. Teachers mentioned that they found the learning on offer from these networks of high quality, as it was frequently research-based and offered teachers the opportunity to engage with other teachers. Being part of a network also allowed teachers to share ideas and good practice to be embedded as part of the development culture at the school. 

ECF findings 

12. ECTs and those studying for an NPQ were generally more positive about the quality of their training and development opportunities than the majority of teachers who had not been on either programme. School leaders also tended to be very positive about the opportunities available to them. 

13. Typically, ECTs indicated that the training they were receiving was effective and they could identify the impact it was having on their classroom practice.  

14. The success of the ECF relies on in school support from mentors and leaders 

15. Many aspects of ECTs’ experiences of the ECF are positive. This is reassuring. Early career training is important for building teachers’ confidence and increases the likelihood that they will stay in the profession long-term. This is particularly important in the light of recruitment and retention issues in the sector. 

NPQ findings 

16. NPQs are relevant, high-quality and tailored well to needs. In general, staff studying for NPQs remain positive about how their course is developing their knowledge, confidence, working habits and practice. 

17. Teachers and leaders think there is a gap in the golden thread between being an ECT and moving into a leadership role. 

Implications for School Leaders to ensure effective PD. 

• Ensure that PD is planned as part of a coherent programme based on school priorities and staff needs.  

• Increase awareness of NPQs programmes for more experienced teachers, ensure your PD programme is mapped with the ‘golden thread’ interwoven. 

• Invest in long-term strategic PD planning, providing staff with a coherent programme of development. 

• Research has shown that, where professional development is effective, teachers feel that their training and development across a year has allowed for focused, sustained and iterative changes to clearly defined key areas. Make PD a priority by being a school which is highly invested in the quality of the teacher development offer for their staff. 

• Ensure a variety of PD offer, both internally delivered and externally sourced considering of the wider school context and staff’s individual goals. Have formal systems in place for staff to undertake training, as well as informal mechanisms for them to learn from each other on the job. 

• Invest in appropriate and well-trained mentors as this is where we see success/best results from within ITT and ECF. 

• Ensure a balance between teacher development that addressed immediate, ad hoc issues and longer-term training on curriculum design and classroom practice. 

• Consider the use of high- quality networks, which are research-based and offer teachers the opportunity to engage with other teachers. Being part of a network allows teachers to share ideas and good practice to be embedded as part of the development culture at the school. 

• Monitor the quality of training, by vetting external courses and checking the training being provided by internal staff – Ensure that leaders have a clear idea of the knowledge and skills they wanted training to impart to teachers and what the impact would be in the classroom and had procedures in place to assess these elements. 

• Consider PD for part time teachers and those between ECT and leadership roles. It was noted in the report this is where there is often a gap.