CONTINUING PROFESSIONAL DEVELOPMENT

Wirral Education Authority offers many opportunities for its teachers to be involved in relevant, focussed and effective professional development. Through the services and support offered at the Wirral Education Centre, and its professional staff of Inspectors, Advisors, Consultants, Advisory Teachers and Administrative Staff, courses are offered to enhance the belief in career-long professional development.

In this Authority the definition of "professional development" is interpreted as any activity that increases the skills, knowledge or understanding of teachers and their effectiveness in schools. Opportunities for In-Service Training and School Based Support are advertised in the "Directory of INSET Opportunity" which is published each term.

In this Directory will be found the details of all activities offered by the different Consultants, Advisers and Advisory Teachers in their own curriculum areas.

There is also a Management of Professional Development Programme which has been arranged in such a way that supports teachers at different significant points in their professional careers, for example Developing Teachers (2nd & 3rd Year), Established Teacher (4th & 5th Year). The courses within the programme have been referenced to the Teachers Standards Framework and as such should link in with each individual's Performance Management Review.

In the Education Development Plan the Local Education Authority supports the involvement of schools in the "Investors in People". The value of school involvement with this initiative is that it requires schools to focus on the development of all their people - not just the selected few - and to link that professional development to the school development plan.

In recent years the Wirral Education Authority has had successes in the following central government initiatives - Best Practice Research Scholarships, Professional Bursaries and
Sabbaticals.