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

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Elizabeth Holmes

Happy New Year! 15 CPD resolutions for teachers

'I think in terms of the day’s resolutions, not the year’s.' - Henry Moore So, a new calendar year is almost upon us and although we are only a third of the way through the academic year, it still feels like a time to reflect on how things are going – focusing on what we may change for the better...
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Elizabeth Holmes

Teacher wellbeing: once more with feeling

Teacher wellbeing has been a major professional interest of mine for well over a decade. I have been writing on it and supporting teachers and lecturers through training and personal development, visiting many schools and speaking to hundreds, if not thousands, of teachers over the years. What do I...
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Lizzie Gait

Twilight training – when is CPD most effective?

Last week, I had the pleasure of attending our Growing Excellence in Learning and Teaching conference to run a focus group with a selection of highly engaged leaders of teaching, learning and CPD from across the country. For me, the aim was to find out more about what schools view as effective CPD...
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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...
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Elizabeth Holmes

Reflective practices – how they can work

‘I don’t think much of a man who is not wiser today than he was yesterday.’ - Abraham Lincoln Recently when I was working with a group of PGCE students, the subject of reflective practice and how new teachers can achieve this under time restraints came up. There was no doubt that being a reflective...
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Elizabeth Holmes

Wellbeing: take control of yours and your school’s

Stress and workload issues don’t just disappear during the summer. Avoid ruminating this holiday and take action to improve your wellbeing next term, advises Elizabeth Holmes. ‘The greatest weapon against stress is our ability to choose one thought over another.’ William James It's summer, and with...
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Elizabeth Holmes

Does having a strong professional identity hold teachers back?

Elizabeth Holmes looks at the impact of professional self-image on professional learning in schools. ‘Change is the end result of all true learning.’ Leo Buscaglia Looking back at staffrooms I have sat in over the years, it is evident that as educators we all have a sense of professional identity...
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