ÌÇÐÄVlog

There can’t be many teacher CPD events that include a silent disco - or that offer staff such a mix of sessions, from curriculum development to professional cookery tips and how to deliver CPR.

But being different was what the inaugural tEdFest - run by the Ted Wragg Multi-Academy Trust - was all about.

The event, which took place across two school sites in Exeter and Plymouth on one of our dedicated Inset days last October, was designed to help reimagine how CPD can be delivered and show that we want to invest in staff, not solely in their professional roles but as people, too.

After all, if we invest in the growth, wellbeing and progression of all colleagues, we can support staff who love coming to work and who are able to transform lives.

A fresh take on teacher CPD

Shaped by feedback from a previous development day, aligned with our strategic priorities of brilliance and belonging, and inspired by high-impact models such as researchED, this was a new approach to professional development that I envisaged - and I turned it into a reality with support from colleagues across the trust.

The festival offer was shared with staff at the start of the autumn term, and we encouraged them to start signing up for different sessions throughout the term on a first-come, first-served basis.

In total, there were 200 courses on offer, delivered by over 150 facilitators, which were shaped by offers of support and ideas from colleagues across our family of schools, meaning that there really was something for everyone.

There was a mix of teaching CPD workshops, delivered by both internal and external speakers, and more varied sessions - including learning how to use design tools like Canva, or a taster session with our trust choir - that could be dipped into around these core offerings.

Alongside this, we had keynote talks from notable speakers such as Amjad Ali, who focused on adaptive teaching; Ania Townsend, director of communities at Steplab, who spoke about delivering impactful professional development; and Dr Alex Blower, founder of Boys’ Impact, who shared insights into his work to close the outcome gap for young men eligible for free school meals.

A silent disco ran every hour of the festival, allowing colleagues to drop in for a break between sessions or during lunch and have some fun together.

Mix of opportunities

The timings were such that attendees could attend a mix of workshops and keynotes, enabling them to make the most of the day.

Our festival brochure suggested session pathways for different job roles while still preserving choice, but ultimately staff were trusted to choose what they would find inspiring and engaging.

The impact was huge: more than 1,300 members of staff attended, including teachers, teaching assistants and co-professionals. This led to 6,000 courses being attended and over 5,000 hours of CPD being completed on the day.

Feedback has also revealed how popular it was, with 12 per cent more staff now saying that the trust offers professional development activities that suit their needs, comparing April 2025 to November 2025.

We are also continuing to see a year-on-year increase in staff satisfied with their opportunities for career progression.

It truly was a celebration of what makes us brilliant, and a moment to connect, reflect and grow across roles, phases and specialisms. The plan now is to build on this for next year and consider how we can make it an even bigger and better event.

Siobhan Meredith is executive director of education at Ted Wragg Multi-Academy Trust, which runs 18 schools in Devon

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