CPD - Preparing for SMT

Although I don't yet have a promoted position, I approached one of the Depute Heads and expressed my interest in this CPD opportunity because I felt that it was wise to take a long term view towards preparing for a career in teaching. The Depute was encouraging, so I am now attending six after school sessions during the course of the year.

The workshops are facilitated by the Head Teacher and without being specific, the first session looked at our motivation for being there. We started to look at the role of the Head Teacher within a school and the challenges that a role in management can create. One area I am keen to look at is how to get people to work with you to introduce change in a teaching environment when they may not wish to do so and how to prepare for the greater jump from classroom teacher to Faculty Head, rather than Principal Teacher.

Meeting 2

In todays meeting, we looked at how to structure interview questions to ensure that in a pressurised situations with time constraints, we are able to put across our answers in a constructive, concise fashion. The discussion highlighted the difficulty in doing this.

Meeting 3

In todays meeting, we discussed the role of self-evaluation within departments and the need to create a culture to support this. We looked at ways we could do this through observations, departmental learning & teaching frameworks and setting expectations of staff. We also looked at the role of the Depute Head in the school and their role in providing a link between departments and the Senior Management Team.

Meeting 4

During the final meeting, we discussed how best to structure your learning and development to provide you with the necessary skills to help you gain promotion. There was no clear answer but a combination of in-school development, external courses and qualifications were encouraged. The Head Teacher reiterated his point that the most important thing to remember is the classroom teaching.