Professional Development
In order to become a centre of excellence where students can present the best version of themselves, we encourage all staff to embrace learning. Our team at Meridian High School is dedicated to developing an innovative and purposeful climate for teaching and learning and the development of excellent practice throughout the school is an exciting journey.
As a school we are working in partnership and collaborating with other schools and institutions including: GLF schools, GLF and West Sussex Teaching School Alliance, Science Learning Partnership, Voice 21, Goldsmiths University, Kings College London, Ambition Institute, Chartered College of Teaching, National Professional Qualifications and June Whittle Coaching. These collaborations support the development of in school practice, but also support the development of teaching and learning externally.
Programme of continued professional development (CPD) for the whole school:
The CPD model at Meridian High School is part of a two week cycle. The first part includes the research informed pedagogy which is delivered through whole school CPD. The following week will be time spent in departments or faculties where subject leaders work with their teams to incorporate the pedagogy into practice.
Voluntary CPD opportunities:
Practical Pedagogy
Practical pedagogy is a voluntary breakfast CPD session where a strategy is shared and staff can then implement them into practice. The sessions are lead by different members of staff across the school and take place on a Wednesday morning. Leaders of the session follow the sequence of Show-Discuss-Do-Review in which they can then begin to trial and tweak the strategy that is delivered into their teaching. Strategies are research informed and support the whole school development foci.
Leadership at all levels
At Meridian High School we believe in developing leaders at all levels. This is supported by the staff questionaire which shows that 48% of our current staff see leadership within the next steps in their career. Twice a half term we offer voluntary sessions which cover different aspects of leadership of which includes the roles within a leadership team, leading teaching and learning, culture, coaching, having difficult conversations and much more. We openly encourage leaders and aspiring leaders to join.
External offer
As a school we value and encourage staff to engage with external CPD opportunities. We have a comprehensive offer of external development opportinities which includes but is not limited to:
| CPD opportunities | CPD opportunities |
|---|---|
| New and reformed NPQ's | Evolve coaching |
| CPD Facilitator training | Pastoral welfare leading |
| Literacy EEF | Timetabling |
| Voice 21 | Forest School |
| Human Resources | Home Cooking |
| Instructional Coaching | Personal Finance |
| Lego Therapy | Bromcom |
| 4 Matrix | Thrive |
| Specific exam board training | Sensory Processing |
| Phonics | NCFE courses (Educational management) |
| C Teach | Ambition- Closing the gap |
| National SENDCO qualification | First Aid |
| Duke of Edinburgh | Lexia |
| Exam board specific training | Coaching |
| Subject specific hubs facilitated by exam boards | Delivery of NPQBC and NPQSL |
Early Career Teachers
From September 2021, all Early Career Teachers are required to access an entitlement to an induction programme underpinned by the Early Career Framework. Schools must select one of the following three approaches:
| Full Induction Programme (FIP) |
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| Core Induction Programme (CIP) |
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| School based Programme |
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At Meridian High School we follow the full induction programme through Ambition Institute. We have selected Ambition Institute as their carefully sequenced and evidence-based curriculum for teachers and mentors focuses on how teachers learn as well as what they learn. Staff are trained to use instructional coaching, one of the best-evidenced forms of professional development, meaning our early career teachers will benefit from bite-sized content and tailored, observational feedback to keep getting better over time. Participants (ECT's and mentors) will also benefit from our innovative Steplab platform, designed by teachers, for teachers and accessible and available on-the-go to fit around their schedules.
Each term participants will focus on a different strand of effective practice: behaviour, instruction and subject. They will also develop understanding of how pupils learn.
The key learning from the three strands is outlined below:
What they'll learn
Behaviour
- Using routines to support behaviour management.
- Creating a positive learning environment.
- Support with overcoming low-level disruption.
Instruction
- Supporting pupils through instruction based strategies such as questioning, scaffolding and explicit teaching.
- How to adapt teaching style to work for all pupils.
- The importance that prior knowledge plays learning.
- How to use feedback effectively.
Subject
- Creating good habits of planning to support learning goals.
- Strategies for examining and addressing the gaps and misconceptions pupils may have.
- Considering how literacy can be developed across all subjects.
How they'll learn
- 3 full-day conferences (focused on deepening their understanding of how pupils learn, the principles of responsive teaching, and effective implementation).
- 6 one-hour virtual clinics to support early career teachers with strategies for classroom practice, based on their study materials and key areas from Early Career Framework.
- Weekly modules of online learning. Self-study modules help early career teachers engage with the latest research and ideas for practical classroom implementation in a manageable and accessible way.
- Weekly instructional coaching sessions designed to support early career teachers to apply insights from the study materials into their classroom practice. Mentors will provide teachers with a specific, bite-sized action step to practice each week that responds to their own classroom context and practice.
