The Optimus blog

The blog that inspires leaders in the UK education sector

The Optimus blog

The blog that inspires leaders in the UK education sector

Coaching staff

Joanne Miles

The challenges of sustaining joined-up CPD

When coordinating a whole-school development cycle for all staff to get behind, there are several common pitfalls to be aware of. This year I have written online materials and organised workshops for Optimus on the thorny issue of joining up continuing professional development (CPD) cycles with...
Read more...
Nickii Messer

Driving change and getting staff on board

One of the most certain things in schools is that nothing remains certain for long! Ensure you are communicating change clearly and effectively. Change happens all the time, and business managers and leaders constantly have to manage not only the change, but the people who are (or think they will...
Read more...
Owen Carter

Visible leadership for better learning

How well do you know your school, and how well do your staff know you? Here's why schools need visible leaders. Are you a leader wanting to improve outcomes in your school? Well, a good bet would be focusing on teacher learning. Viviane Robinson led an analysis of 30 research studies on the...
Read more...
Lizzie Gait

How to engage staff in CPD

NTEN recently held a ‘How to engage staff in their CPD’ event at Blue Coat Academy, Nottingham. Lizzie Gait, training development lead, shares her thoughts and provides a brief summary of their latest research. As a CPD enthusiast, I found this be an incredibly useful event and was excited to be...
Read more...
Elizabeth Holmes

How to encourage professional dialogue in schools

Effective face-to-face professional dialogue requires good listening skills, empathy, compassion, understanding and being civil in the event of disagreements. Elizabeth Holmes explains what schools can do to encourage positive discussion. A single conversation across the table with a wise man is...
Read more...
Lisa Griffin

Coaching for CPD and school improvement

Coaching is a vital part of developing staff and driving whole-school improvement. We spoke to schools to find out the approaches they take to coaching. What does coaching look like in your school? Have you thought about the role coaching plays in your long term strategy to harness staff...
Read more...
Elizabeth Holmes

Great CPD: making it count

'Learning is not attained by chance, it must be sought for with ardour and attended to with diligence.' - Abigail Adams After over a decade of thinking and writing about teachers’ professional learning, I never tire of talking to teachers about their experiences of CPD and how we might improve what...
Read more...
Liz Worthen

Creating a buzz around CPD

Thursday afternoons at Bluecoats Academy in Nottingham are CPD time. Official teaching finishes early and staff all engage in CPD activities (while pupils benefit from extra-curricular activities, coaching and specialist teaching). Lisa Harrison, Assistant Principal in charge of CPD, told us about...
Read more...