Continuing Professional Development
The CPD programme at Harris Academy Purley aims to be highly personalised to the needs of each individual member of staff from teachers to classroom support and from technicians to the premises team.
Too often CPD sessions are delivered to staff in a conference format where it is assumed that ‘one size fits all’. In reality we know that this is not optimal for providing staff with the skills that they need to improve their practice and have the most impact possible on student progress and outcomes.
Our comprehensive, rigorous and individualised CPD programme, working with our ITE partners, aims to address this.
Faculty and department meetings
Faculty and Department meetings are scheduled for each week and should include a CPD slot. Department focussed training occurs within subjects and is overseen by Directors of Learning, Lead Practitioners and Subject Leaders.
Department focussed CPD emerges out of each subject’s Self Evaluation Document and Department Development Plan, but typically could include:
- Past paper analysis
- Online webinar courses from exam boards
- Subject knowledge master-classes
- Subject specific pedagogy – for example practical training in Science
ITE
Harris Academy Purley has an enviable record of training and developing new teachers, entering the profession for the first time.
All Initial Teacher Education trainees – whether Schools direct, Teach First or PGCE – benefit from a rigorous, comprehensive weekly training plan in addition to the support from their ITE provider.
All trainees have an agreed subject mentor and a detailed mentor programme is delivered by mentors on a weekly basis with a minimum of one lesson observation per week.
ITE is overseen by the ITE Lead Ms Mahmud and Assistant Principal Ms Pengelly.
ECT
Whether you have trained at HAPU or are joining us for your induction years, Early Careers Teachers are fully supported at Harris Academy Purley. All ECTs benefit from a reduced timetable, identified subject mentor and ECT training from the facilitators linked to the Harris Crystal Palace Teaching School Hub and our Awarding Body, UCL.
The Induction and the ECT CPD programme are overseen by Ms Pengelly.
Main-scale and leadership staff
At Harris Academy Purley we firmly believe that teacher training does not finish with Induction and allocate time every week to Continuous Professional Development, either as a whole staff body, within Faculties or Departments. We aim to combine essential all-staff training with an individualised approach which develops a colleague whatever their experience or starting point. Whilst the majority of CPD is delivered in department areas, focused on the development of teaching and learning, subject knowledge and departmental improvement, there are also opportunities for more individualised staff development including voluntary sessions focused on behaviour management and strategies to support specific SEND students on a regular basis.
National Qualifications
The Academy is supportive of staff undertaking the new National Qualifications (NPQLT, NPQLTD, NPQBC, NPQSL, NPQH, NPQEL) with a range of options for these and other opportunities via the Harris Leadership College and School-Led Network. Academy support and time for completion of National Qualifications is subject to authorisation by the Principal and agreed on an individual basis.
Details of NPQ programmes: www.school-led.org.uk/123/our-npq-programmes-1
