A skilled and motivated workforce matters in every profession. But in education, professional development (PD) is not just about career progression or boosting organisational performance.
When it is well designed and delivered, PD is one of the most powerful tools we have with which to address a major challenge facing our system: giving every learner the best possible chance to succeed.
At the EEF, our work is all about encouraging evidence-informed approaches to teaching and learning, and tackling the education inequalities that persist across England. We have worked with schools for over a decade and are now strengthening our focus on the 16-19 education sector so that every learner – at every stage of education – has the opportunity to thrive.
This includes initiatives such as our new Evidence Partnership, which will support colleges to embed evidence use across the sector, and our guidance on effective PD.
For those working in 16-19 education settings, the stakes can feel especially high: teachers are working with students to secure the qualifications that open doors to their futures. High-quality PD is not a “nice to have” – it is essential.
Building a culture, not just a programme
Delivering PD which makes a difference is about much more than putting on training sessions. It is about building a culture where teachers feel engaged, valued and supported to keep improving.
That means creating space for collaboration, making PD relevant to the day-to-day realities of teaching, and continually adapting based on reflection and feedback.
But, in the busy reality of FE and sixth-form life, balancing timetables, accountability and multiple priorities, PD risks being sidelined. So how do we keep it strategic and impactful?
A case study from Cornwall
Truro and Penwith College is one of the founding members of the EEF’s new Evidence Partnership for the 16-19 sector.
leaders at the college recognised that their traditional, top-down approach to PD was not landing. Among wider challenges around teacher retention and workload, there was a pressing need to rebuild trust and make PD more collaborative and inclusive within the college.
Their response was to create “education exchange” forums: voluntary spaces for reflective discussion, feedback and staff-led input into PD priorities. Decisions about what to focus on are now shaped not only by learner outcomes, lesson observations and research evidence, but also by what teachers themselves identify as most useful.
The college also shifted away from lecture-style training towards smaller, discussion-based sessions that encourage peer learning, while also encouraging clear progression towards their targeted outcomes. Representatives from across the college also now help to translate PD into everyday practice within teams.
Staff reported feeling re-energised and more invested in professional learning. The process is still evolving – effective PD always is – but the culture is shifting. A shared mission to improve teaching and give learners the best chance in life is uniting the community.
Engagement with teachers – and how this informs responses to professional development – will naturally vary across individual settings. Truro and Penwith College provides one example of how this can be achieved but, for other settings, this may be different based on their unique context.
How to improve your setting’s PD offer
For leaders wondering how to strengthen their own PD offer, there is now free tailored guidance to help. We have published a new resource specifically for FE and sixth form colleges, school-based sixth forms and other 16-19 providers.
Our Effective Professional Development in 16-19 settings guide and a range of other helpful resources can be found on our 16-19 education hub: https://educationendowmentfoundation.org.uk/16-19
Based on a review of sector practice led by a team from Sheffield Hallam University and hundreds of research studies, the guidance offers clear, practical steps to make PD more effective, whether you are just starting out or refining what is already in place. It is organised around three recommendations:
- Build a culture of continuous professional development.
- Use the KEEP framework to plan, design and deliver professional development (Knowledge, Engagement, Execution, Practice).
- Carefully consider evidence-informed content.
It is designed to be a genuine support in making PD a lever for real change.
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