New Directions Education – Echoing Estyn Sentiments with CPD

A report by the office of Her Majesty’s Inspectorate for Education and Training in Wales – Estyn has today reported that the quality of teaching in schools improves when staff are working in an environment where they are trusted and supported.

The report identifies that environments in which schools allow their teachers to learn are the most successful in improving the quality of their teaching.

Gary Williams, Director of Business Development for New Directions Education welcomed the findings ‘we want to ensure that the supply staff that work for our organisation have access to as much continuous professional development as possible – for free. We recognise that supply teachers can sometimes feel isolated, with limited access to learning opportunities’.

Williams continues ‘our aim as an agency is to support our supply staff and give them as much opportunity as possible to progress. Estyn’s findings come at a time when our organisation has issued a summer training programme for all supply staff. We launched the initiative just a few weeks ago and already have over 650 spaces filled’.

The report states ‘effective teaching is at the heart of school improvement and central to implementing a new curriculum in Wales. School leaders should encourage an open classroom culture where teachers are comfortable when reflecting on and sharing their practice’.

New Directions Education recently opened a state-of-the-art training suite at their Cardiff head office to address the need for access to training for all supply staff. The summer training programme will additionally run at venues across Wales and North West England where the organisation has offices.

The summer training programme includes: Digital Competency, Mindfulness, Team Teach, Manual Handling, Emergency First Aid, Assessment for Learning, Mental Heath Awareness, Sign Language, Creative Writing, Impact Wales and Personal Safety and Behavioral Management.

New Directions Education are the appointed ‘managed service provider’ of staff to the education community throughout Wales. Williams concludes ‘our commitment to encouraging a stronger workforce of supply staff for Wales is unwavering. We want to continue to lead a positive approach to supporting those who work supply in an ever changing world of education’.