"Early professional development (EPD) benefits teachers by boosting confidence, expertise and the experience offered to pupils." – Foxdell Junior School. Read the full Foxdell case study
Unlike during the induction period there are no statutory or contactual entitlements to release time for continuing professional development (CPD) or EPD for teachers in their second or third years of teaching.
Benefits of EPD to schools
Schools and local authorities that adopt a flexible approach to early professional development provision generally produce better outcomes, both for teachers and schools.
- Supports staff recruitment and retention
- Develops an effective and confident workforce which supports improvements in pupil attainment
- Develops staff confidence in supporting school improvement and becoming future leaders
- Develops the pedagogic knowledge base within the school
- Boosts teachers’ commitment to and excitement about teaching
Benefits of EPD to teachers
According to research, the greater a teacher’s level of involvement in selecting their professional development opportunities, the greater the benefit they derive from it.
- Enhances teaching practice, morale, confidence and subject knowledge
- Prepares teachers for future increased responsibility and their career ahead
- Promotes a willingness to continue professional learning and to make effective changes in practice
Benefits of EPD to pupils
Collaborative, sustained and reflective EPD is likely to have the most impact on teachers’ practice and on pupils’ learning and attainment.
- Can raise performance and pupil motivation to learn
- Can improve responses to ‘unpopular’ subjects and areas of the curriculum
- Can improve questioning skills; responses and pupils’ organisation of their work
- Can improve pupils’ use of collaboration as a learning strategy
