CPD Team

                                    Calling all CPD coordinators in Scottish schools!

Make a point of clearing your diary for this year’s SLF (September 23 and 24 2009). This year the National CPD Team will be offering a number of CPD opportunities just for you! Makes a nice change, eh?

They include:

• a drop-in facility for CPD coordinators, the CPD Lounge. Get away from the crowds, sit down, put your feet up, chat to fellow coordinators and members of the CPD Team and enjoy a cup of tea on us!
• sharing practice events in the CPD Lounge led by CPD coordinators and CPD Team members
• the launch of CPDLead, an online professional community for CPD leaders
• a social event on the late Wednesday afternoon
• recommended seminars if you are still swithering

If you can’t make it in person, then there will be live interaction from the CPD Lounge on Glow.

All you have to do is email slfcpd@cosla.gov.uk to express an interest, we’ll do the rest! Look forward to seeing you there in person or online!

The National CPD Team has convened a Group to consider the developing role of the School CPD Coordinator and how we can support this role.

Members

• Sheila Smith, National CPD Team
• Karen Kerr, QIO, East Dunbartonshire Council
• David Kick, DHT/CPD Coordinator, East Dunbartonshire Council
• Irene Watters, QIO, Inverclyde Council
• To be identified, CPD Coordinator, Inverclyde Council
• Alice McGonigle, QIO, North Ayrshire Council
• Chris Collins, CPD Coordinator, Largs Academy,North Ayrshire Council
• Fiona Taylor, QIO, South Ayrshire Council
• George Docherty, DHT/CPD Coordinator, Prestwick Academy, South Ayrshire Council
• Bob McGowan, Service Manager, Learning and Development, Stirling Council

Aims/Remit

• to conduct an enquiry to gain an understanding of how schools lead and manage CPD/professional learning
• to identify and highlight interesting practice in schools and LAs
• to develop and disseminate support materials

Rationale

• New philosophical understanding of CPD – “it is not just about courses” – importance of collaborative learning, developing capacity, developing leadership, creating a learning culture
• Decentralising processes from LA coordination and delivery to school as key context for professional learning
• Changing responsibilities and accountabilities mean changing roles of LA CPD Manager and School CPD Coordinator
  Although the leadership and management of CPD can be widely distributed in schools there is a perceived need to focus in on the role of School CPD Coordinator
• Budgetary pressures mean expensive out of school opportunities are limited
• Development and training issues for those who have a lead responsibility to develop people
• QA: Issues of equality of opportunity, consistency, access, appropriacy, quality and impact

Key questions

• How do LA CPD Managers work with schools in terms of strategy, communication, consultation, meeting structures?
• How do schools assume responsibility for supporting professional learning?
• How does this translate into roles and responsibilities?
• Does capacity exist or need to be developed to perform these roles?
• How do School CPD Coordinators perceive their role?
• How do they work through and with others to achieve their aims?
• What does a good CPD school look like?
• How do schools establish supportive learning cultures and rich learning contexts?
• Do schools plan strategically for professional learning?
• How do schools maximise the potential of the PRD process?
• Where are schools on the spectrum from dependency to individual ownership of professional learning?

Outputs

• Online “Paper” consisting of rationale for development of CPD function in school plus spotlights on practice
• Criteria/features of a “good” CPD School/rich learning context/learning organisation?
• Development materials for LAs/schools to be available online
• Seminar at Scottish Learning Festival, Sept 2009 (see Abstract)

Timescale for the initial work of the group is over the period January to September 2009

It was great to see friends from North Ayrshire again today. Pam Dunsmore, Gillian Hamilton and Lorraine Facchini. That’s Gillian and Pam in the picture (as Lorraine had left before I remembered to get the camera out!) Some of their remits have been changed since my last visit but all of them are still passionate about CPD. Among the topics we discussed were; CPD on Glow, a local version of CPDFind, allowing for CPDReflect in PRD policies, how best to share practice in CFE and the EAC Critical Skills programme.

Oh and Christmas cake (not pictured)!

I had a very interesting discussion yesterday with Jackie Baker of the Open University. We talked first about CPDFind and how the OU want to be able to do even more with the system. They currently offer over 50 opportunities through CPDFind and the CPD Team are grateful for their support. The fact that they have over 600 more waiting to go on the system is very gratifying and we will do all we can to facilitate this! 

We also had a conversation about OpenLearn, OU’s learning portal. What is on offer is quite impressive:

• Openlearn had over 3 million visitors in the last 2 years and they have recently launched OpenLearn Scotland
• It contains 5000+ hours of learning
• They have a dedicated Labspace with another 3000 hours of discontinued learning materials, where members can ‘do their own thing!’
• A Knowledge Media Institute for those interested in the future of learning

We look forward to continuing the discussion with Jackie and her colleagues to make these high-quality resources more visible to educators in Scotland.

We would love to hear from you if you or colleagues have used these resources for CPD. Please leave a comment!

This is a guest post from Andrew Brown of the Glow team at LTScotland.

Today I had the great pleasure of attending the annual conference of ADES – the Association of Directors of Education in Scotland. Why was I there? This year, ADES are moving their online community into Glow, and today saw the launch of their National Glow Group. As of today, all Directors of Education in Scotland have access to a National Glow Group for them to discuss, collaborate and share – and from the word ‘go’, they did just that.

The conference keynote was delivered by Prof. Richard Teese – not live in person, but live via Glow Meet. He’d very generously agreed to deliver the keynote speech for the conference from his study (at 2am his time) to those gathered on the other side of the world to hear him.  Prof. Teese is always challenging in his observations. He raised many important questions in light of the OECD report, and called those present to think critically about some of the challenges facing Scottish education. Two of his challenges for those present leaped out at me – to strengthening student engagement and to improving satisfaction with school – how would the directors of education envisage working towards achieving this?

No sooner had Prof. Teese finished speaking than the members of ADES set about discussing the points he raised – in a discussion forum in Glow. They now have collated responses to some of his questions, and set many new questions of their own to ask him. Those present seemed to appreciate what can easily be taken for granted – the ability to see the questions and responses from people seated at other tables instantly collated in the one place for all ADES members to see.

What a great start to the ADES Glow Group! An international speaker of high reputation joining by Glow Meet, and discussion in the Glow group. What a great example for us all of how we can share our ideas for Scottish education across the country!

Just catching my breath after going straight from Kirkwall to Lerwick last weekend. It was good to be part of another great CPD event. My thanks to all the participants who took part and they can get a set of notes in my previous festivals post. The scenery, as always, was spectacular and the weather included, gales, hail, rain, sunshine and snow (as you’ll see from the photo show below!)

It was great to get time with Sarah Henry (the new CPD manager for Shetland Islands Council). She did a great job of the two-day event and she will be a great addition to the CPD Network.

I have just finished a couple of workshops at Orkney Islands Council’s Integrated Children’s Service Learning Festival. A bit of a mouthful but well worth the visit. Marilyn Richards oversaw an impressive range of both local and imported CPD talent and, as is always the case, the hospitality was tremendous! It was a coincidence that Marilyn won the ‘CPD Puggy’ prize in my workshop, honest!

 It was also great to welcome a new member to the CPD Network, Carol McManus (pictured above), who has taken on the CPD management remit in Orkney. What was less than great was the flight to Lerwick in the height of the storm! I have included a wee slide-show below of the highlights.

I recently had the opportunity while on a private visit to Orkney to meet with Education colleagues at the Council’s Headquarters in Kirkwall.

Marilyn Richards, Head of Quality Development, Morag Millar and Carol McManus, Service Improvement Officers all have a role in relation to CPD. Carol is a new colleague who has the remit for overall CPD Coordination. In fact the day I visited was her first day in post and I think we both learned a lot from the discussion!

Orkney is a unique context with a strong sense of local identity and many distinctive features. One notable feature is the flexibility which can be achieved in an intimate setting where people really know each other well. When a need for specific development work is identified, the team can mobilise people very quickly to get involved and there is always the opportunity for teachers to “put their hands up” and offer to lead on developments. In this way much work on CfE including developing cross cutting themes, personalisation and choice and creativity has been developed. Some work is undertaken jointly with colleagues from Shetland.

This intimacy of scale was very well illustrated when I happened to mention that I had met two probationer teachers in a café and the team immediately knew to whom I had been talking. The probationers had been very enthusiastic and full of praise for the support they were receiving in their school.

At the time of my visit the final preparations were being made for the 3rd Orkney Learning Festival, which, after two successful years has now developed as an Integrated Children’s Services Festival to include colleagues from NHS, Community and Families and Social Work. In total 600 colleagues will be participating in a wide ranging and exciting programme of CPD.

It was a privilege to get an insight into the very different context that colleagues worked in and to the unique strengths that Orkney had to offer. Thanks to Marilyn, Morag and Carol for their time and best wishes for another successful Learning Festival in October.