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Commitment to Professional Development
At The Skinners’ Kent Academy our vision is one of a professional community driven by the principle of constant development; aiming to be research informed in everything we do. We believe that quality conversations between thoughtful professionals is the way to improve the quality of education we offer. Staff have autonomy to shape their professional development, to support Academy improvement and are given opportunities to complete external qualifications such as NPQs, Masters and Chartered College Status
For staff at the Academy, Professional Development Time (PDT) consists of independent research, seminar discussions, collaborative planning, time in teams and conferences. New staff joining the Academy at any point in the academic year have an abridged induction programme to familiarise them with our systems and procedures.
The Academy will also support applications from staff to take NPQs offered via Ambition Institute and staff are encouraged to participate in training programmes and courses offered by the Chartered College of Teaching (CCT). At present we have staff completing the Chartered College’s Certificate of Informed Practice as well as staff gaining Chartered status. The Academy is also an unlimited partner school of The Prince’s Teaching Institute (PTI) which facilitates further professional development for teaching staff through CPD subject days, leadership courses and support for new teachers.
More recently, as part of The Skinners’ Company family of schools, staff have had the opportunity to attend seminars from speakers such as Peps Mcrea, Paul McGee and Mary Myatt. This is an area that the Academy is seeking to develop alongside the other Skinners’ schools to deepen the link and relationships between them.
Early Career Teachers
All Early Career Teachers (ECTs) have a specialist, external national comprehensive induction programme. Our ECTs have their ECF (Early Career Framework) delivered through an appropriate body, for us this is the Kent Teaching School Hub; we follow the core induction programme with the Ambition Institute as the lead provider. All ECTs will have a dedicated subject mentor and a dedicated Induction co-ordinator who will champion the programme, support mentors and early career teachers to engage, and hold them to account for doing so effectively whilst ensuring that mentoring time is protected. ECTs will also engage in whole Academy PDT where appropriate.
Initial Teacher Trainees
Our salaried Initial Teacher Trainees (ITTs) join us as a member of staff for a full academic year, they embrace all that the Academy has to offer from having a tutor group and running clubs to attending bespoke training and being on duty! Our ITTs join us from KMT (Kent and Medway Training) and those salaried or non-salaried attend KMT hub training days on a Thursday each week until Easter and then work with us 5 days a week until they qualify in late June. ITTs are supported by subject mentors and their professional tutor (Assistant Principal) constantly throughout their training and will go on a B placement for either 3 weeks (salaried) and 6 weeks (non-salaried) to a contrasting setting. Our trainees will also join us for PDT and will be included with their subject teams.
Skinners' Academies Trust
Skinners’ Academies Trust are committed to investing in our people and as such offer a high-quality suite of professional development opportunities for all our teachers. Everyone at the Trust is committed to being a reflective practitioner, open to learning and motivated to keep getting better.
We know that professional development for our people will lead to impact in our schools. The five pillars of our offer are designed to offer opportunities to all our staff, to support our vision for an excellent education in all our schools and to have a clear impact on outcomes for all our pupils.
Chartered College of Teaching membership
All teaching staff are given full membership to the Chartered College of Teaching. This gives them access to a range of resources including research papers, articles, lesson videos and the quarterly journal, Impact; and opportunities to participate in CCT courses or become a Research Champion.
Research-led networking opportunities
The Trust-wide book group meets online each half term to explore an education-based text and discuss the implications on classroom practice. Copies of the book are free to members.
Our Research Enthusiasts group similarly meets each half term. It offers teachers from across the Trust with a passion for evidence-informed practice the opportunity to debate a range of research and its implications for classroom practice and student outcomes.
Development for middle leaders
Our bespoke Middle Leadership Programme is a 10-month course designed and delivered internally for those at the start of their leadership journey. Throughout the course we explore evidence and good practice around effective leadership, use of data, managing teams and how to implement improvement. All participants are allocated a mentor who supports them throughout the course, and get to visit each Trust school over the course of the year.
Subject-specific collaboration
We have established Subject Communities for English, Maths, Science and MFL, enabling improvement at subject level the Trust through collaboration between subject leads and shared good practice. This gives heads of department an exciting chance to experience and learn from a range of practice across all our schools.
SLT Community of Practice
All senior leaders across the Trust are members of our SLT Community of Practice, giving them the opportunity to share good practice in school improvement. Leaders participate in visits to Trust schools, hear from external experts and provide professional and supportive critique to one another.
