As we previously highlighted in our article on staying motivated in demanding education roles, seeking out new learning opportunities is essential for personal and professional growth, as well as enabling yourself to take on new challenges.
If you haven’t considered doing so already, here are just some of the reasons you should be looking to invest in your continuing professional development (CPD) this year.
Developing practical leadership skills
Investing in developing your leadership skills can help you learn practical approaches for better action planning and monitoring your school’s improvement, as well as the know-how for building your own strong support networks that will bolster you in times of need or doubt.
Finding the courage to step forward
On the subject of doubt, whether you’re already in a leadership team or aspiring to progress your career, everyone will experience doubt at some point or another and sometimes the notion of greater responsibilities can feel daunting.
However, the power of CPD is that it’s not always about learning new skills, but rather in developing or realising skills you already have – understanding how to draw from these strengths to step up and reflect on your skillset more objectively to replace doubt with a drive to develop further.
Inspiring leadership within your teams
If you are part of your school’s Senior Leadership Team, likely a big part of your role is in facilitating discussion at all levels with teachers and teaching assistants to ensure quality teaching standards and consistent performance. Yet it’s how you set the tone for such discussions and interact with or encourage your colleagues, students, parents and other key stakeholders that will have a lasting impact on your school’s culture.
Through CPD learning, you can equip yourself with the skills to take this responsibility further and provide your team with opportunities to step up and shine by displaying qualities of trust, good communication and empathy.
Taking on new challenges
If you’re an education professional aspiring to progress into senior leadership, taking the initiative to work on your CPD is a significant step in terms of putting yourself of in charge of your development, identifying areas for improvement and learning, and empowering your development through new challenges.
There is a huge range of CPD courses available to help you develop both the soft and hard skills needed to move up in your career, whether that is focusing on how to manage difficult conversations at work, learning essential safeguarding practices or empowering yourself to lead change in your school.
CPD courses with NAHT
At NAHT, we want to help you maximise your impact on education by providing opportunities to take your role, responsibilities and skills to the next level and help you carve out a career path that is fulfilling both personally and professionally.
You can find out more about our full CPD programme here.