What does effective professional learning - for teachers and school leaders - look like?
For me, it is inseparable from my identity first as a geographer and then as a geography teacher. I found in professional learning the enchantment and challenge of growing as a subject teacher and of supporting others through mentoring, initial teacher education and professional development. It was about becoming a better geographer, a better teacher and, ultimately, helping others to do the same, for the benefit of the children and young people we teach.
This perspective was rooted in my experience as a secondary geography teacher, but having the privilege of working across phases has broadened my understanding of professional learning, leading me towards a more holistic view of what it means to be a teacher and leader, and of how we continue to develop throughout our professional lives.
Professional learning is also an inherent part of . The more deeply teachers understand their practice, their students and the evidence that informs their decisions, the greater their capacity to exercise professional judgement, but depends on the conditions in which professional learning takes place.
This means we have to understand what shapes those conditions, including the approaches and ideas that influence the creation, provision and selection of professional development.
Review of teachers’ professional development standards
This is why the Chartered College of Teaching is proud to be hosting the Review of Professional Development Standards, led by Professor Sam Twiselton. The landscape has changed considerably since the current Standard for Teachers’ Professional Development was published in 2016.
The review will develop a new set of professional development standards, based on the latest evidence and extensive engagement with teachers and leaders across the sector. A steering group, chaired by Professor Twiselton, will provide expertise. It is hoped the review’s work will be completed by June 2027 and that the standards will replace current non-statutory guidance published by the Department for Education.
The question we need to explore is: if professional learning is central to being a professional, what should we expect from the standards that support teachers and leaders?
The standards should help teachers and leaders to make better decisions about professional development and contribute to a shared professional language about what it means to keep learning throughout a teaching career.
That means developing the standards requires engaging with the changing professional development landscape and evidence base, and listening carefully to the profession - to what teachers and leaders tell us about what enables meaningful learning, and what gets in the way.
How teachers can get involved
Over the coming months, teachers and school leaders will have opportunities to engage directly with the questions at the heart of the review. We are particularly keen to hear from those who want to host conversations, bring colleagues into the discussion or help us to reach parts of the teaching profession whose voices are not always heard. The first opportunity will be for teachers to express an interest in joining the .
Reforms on special educational needs and disabilities support and inclusion, changes on curriculum and accountability and new policy priorities are converging at a time of significant change for schools and trusts. Professional learning is crucial to how we navigate this change. We have an opportunity to put professional learning closer to the heart of educational improvement, as one of the mechanisms through which sustainable change becomes possible. This is why the review matters now for the teaching profession.
Dr Grace Healy is director of education for the Chartered College of Teaching
