I demoed CPDReflect and they are keen to adopt with one or more groups. Importantly, the group are also keen to incorporate CPDReflect ‘mentions’ into their PRI guidelines so that it is seen as a clear alternative to the paper process.

In the afternoon, I spoke to secondary CPD coordinators and (among other things) demoed CPDReflect again. One head teacher commented that it was a valuable addition to their PRD toolkit. “It might not suit all but some will take to it”

Next on their agenda, interestingly, was the Child Protection officer who outlined the compulsory Tier 1 ‘training’ on CPD which has to take place every 3 years. It would be interesting to offer online CPD in that area! Any one got some thoughts on that?

If you are visiting from Dumfries and Galloway, you will find the various links on the festival post.

 Many thanks to Gillian and her colleagues for their hospitality and opportunity to learn with them.

And the title of this post? We had a laugh that we could rename the review process to the above if we used the innovative feature in CPDReflect?

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.

 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.

The opportunity for shared learning as we reflected with the leadership team on the teaching and learning we had participated in was a very constructive experience focussing as it did not on ” good” or  “bad ” practice but on the actual activities which took place in the classroom.

These are Simon’s slides…

These are Tom’s …

Here is my contribution …

And all the links can be found here:

• The web sites of GTCS, EIS, CPDScotland, Learning and Teaching Scotland and HMIE,
• Curricular change – Curriculum for Excellence
• The online CPD at Journey to Excellence
• Collegiality and impact - Richard Elmore’s work is highlighted here
• Types of CPD - See a previous blog post on this topic
• To find out more about the 4-stage model of CPD, read Margaret Alcorn’s paper on Teachers for Excellence 
• Find out more about CPDReflect here   
• For specific CPD opportunities, try CPDFind
• To find out more about Glow, visit www.glowscotland.org.uk
• To get regular CPD updates subscribe to the CPD team email bulletin
• John Johnston and his CPD Collective can be seen on OpenSource CPD
• Read and comment on Don’s Ledingham’s Learning Log

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.

 The group’s experience make it an ideal context in which to pilot Learning Rounds, an innovative process intended to bring system wide improvement across schools and authorities. The Brechin colleagues are now going to take their learning to the next level by using the Learning Rounds model as a tool to develop skills of observation and feedback. As Jimmy Thomson, PT Schools of Ambition in Brechin, commented, “you learn more by observing then by being observed”.

With the support of Angus Council and the Headteacher at Brechin HS, Steve Dempsey, the Learning and Teaching Committee will take on the client role and invite an observation group into their classrooms to collect data on a specific focus chosen by the group themselves. The observation group will consist of teachers from Brechin HS, along with PTs from other Angus Secondaries and SCSSA and National CPD Team colleagues.

Learning Rounds derives from a model developed by Professor Richard Elmore in the USA which derived originally from medical training. In the medical rounds model, a senior hospital consultant mediates discussion with trainee doctors to agree a consensus on data and develop a descriptive voice before proceeding to diagnostic and intervention stages. The medical analogy is not perfect however, as no “illness” is assumed in the educational version. Learning Rounds is based on a partnership model where the client most certainly has a voice and the “consultants’” role is to produce high quality data about an agreed focus and to feed it back to the clients who will then take ownership and determine any next steps. The client group and the observation group can then proceed to engage in a joint enquiry if required.

The Brechin HS project is one of four current projects within the national Learning Rounds pilot:

• six Directors of Education are participating in a project looking at system wide improvement at directorate level.
• North Ayrshire Council is hosting a project involving HTs and DHTs in several schools who will be investigating school effectiveness in teaching.
• Lastly, candidates on the Flexi Route to the Standard for Headship will visit each other’s schools to observe colleagues’ leadership practice.

It is anticipated that the learning within the LR project will be on various levels. The client group will receive objective, non-judgemental feedback about issues identified by them. The observation group will hopefully gain confidence and learn the skills of focussed observation, achieving consensus on evidence, giving feedback, facilitating productive discussion and developing professional dialogue about learning and teaching. There will be learning generated by undertaking a joint enquiry and lastly, learning will be identified and shared across the four different contexts of the project and a model will be developed which can be adapted to suit any future context.

For more information on Learning Rounds, please contact Graham Thomson at SCSSA or Sheila.Smith@cosla.gov.uk.

(graham.thomson@ed.ac.uk)

For more information on the Learning and Teaching Committee at Brechin High School, please contact Jimmy Thomson at the school.