CPD
Years ago, when they were new, agencies used to offer Continued Professional Development (teacher training) as one of the benefits of being signed up with their agency. These days, apart from some on-line training for safeguarding (which is mandatory), agencies don’t tend to offer much training of any sort. Thankfully, a large market of, often free, on-line training has emerged to keep your teaching up-to date.
Here are our reviews of the best on-line CPD currently available:
All The Safeguarding Training You Could Ever Need (Herefordshire – endless)
Herefordshire Safeguarding Board have brought together in one feed so much free safeguarding training, on PREVENT, FGM and even allows you access to the resources of the NSPCC on-line safeguarding course (usually about £20). Not sure about the certification though (which most agencies need).
Herefordshire Safeguarding Board
You can also find Safeguarding and Prevent training through Free Courses In England.
Online Safety Alliance: Free CPD-Certified training for school staff
The OSA online safety CPD training for school staff is a CPD-Certified course ensuring those working with children have an up to date knowledge of the statutory requirements they must meet, the threats to children online, how to reduce these risks, and guidance on ensuring staff use of digital technology is safe and responsible.
Understanding Autism, Asperger’s and ADHD (University of Derby – 18 Hours)
A University short course comprised of 6 modules which covers the assessment, diagnosis and treatment of Autism, Asperger’s and ADHD. This course is more intensive than some shorter CPD courses. It is very informative and provides a comprehensive understanding of the conditions, but can be quite theory-heavy and is mostly reading with a few videos. Good for professionals wanting a deeper understanding of the conditions. There is an online portal with the option to record notes and mini-quizzes to track your learning. Free course with free certificate.
Wellbeing Webinar Series (Oxford University Press – 2 hours)
A pre-recorded webinar session featuring 2 key speakers who explore the ‘PERMA’ model for well being and its implications in the classroom. As a webinar, this is easy to listen to and engage with. It is short but informative and also covers some issues raised by the Covid-19 pandemic. Free course with free certificate.
Part 1:
Part 2:
Introduction to Adverse Childhood Experiences (ACEs) and Early Trauma (Home Office – 1 hour)
A good introduction for beginners wanting to know about trauma and its impact on children in the classroom. Short, engaging and easy to complete. However, does not delve as deeply into trauma’s impact within the classroom as the Queensland course. Free course with free certificate.
https://www.acesonlinelearning.com
Teaching Students who have Suffered Complex Trauma (Queensland University via Future Learn – 3 hours)
An extremely engaging and informative short course exploring the impact of trauma on the brain, how this affects behaviour and practical behaviour management strategies to accommodate this. Some of the statistics are Australian, but all of the theory and practical advice applies to UK classrooms. Highly recommend as excellent CPD for anyone and everyone working in schools. Registration is free for a month, but certificate must be paid for.
https://www.futurelearn.com/courses/teaching-students-trauma
Suicide Prevention Training (Zero Suicide Alliance – 30 mins)
This course is not specifically for teachers, but provides skills which are useful to everyone when speaking to teenagers, colleagues and in daily life. It is short and engaging, but provides key skills on how to discuss suicide in a variety of situations which you may find yourself in. Free course with free certificate.
https://www.zerosuicidealliance.com/training
Introduction to British Sign Language (British Sign – 18 hours)
With many schools beginning to teach Sign Language, this is a useful introduction to the essentials. A certified course which covers fingerspelling, colours, introductions and basic communication. There are 10 lessons comprised of text and videos with an assessment at the end of each lesson. There is currently a Covid-19 ‘pay as you can’ scheme (recommended £10 for key workers, £3 for students or those on furlough or financially struggling). Certificate on completion of assessments (85% pass mark).
CPD Pages
There are some pages that regularly post CPD.
The Supply Educators Assistance Campaign has a number of pages which are regularly updated with useful CPD courses. The link is only to the first page of CPD offered: to see more pages, hover over the the News & CPD button to see all of the pages.
Another good page is TeachPal, which has got a huge number of recommended courses, sites and books which would take and absolute age to work through and are also sorted by subject which is good for secondary teachers.