How are the dark, wintry days of the academic year’s second term treating you so far?
It’s a time of year that can leave us feeling somewhat adrift and demotivated – the festivities and overindulgence of Christmas gone in a flash, replaced by an acute awareness that those restorative summer months are a very, very long way away…
The tradition, of course, is to try and tackle that sense of inertia head-on by making some high-minded New Year’s Resolution with the best of intentions, only to experience the disappointment of failing to make much of a dent in the challenge we’ve set ourselves by early February.
Now, far be it from me to offer the trite suggestion of making a mini-resolution to examine your current CPD arrangements and improve them – but genuinely, now really is a great time to set yourself some specific CPD goals, touch base with colleagues and online acquaintances, and hopefully add another string or two to your bow.
Before you do, though, be sure to check pages 27 to 33 of this issue for some friendly advice on when ECTs should think about commencing their CPD journey, and those ways in which CPD efforts can sometimes fail to deliver in the way we want them to.
“Your school’s next inspection could well be a very different experience to those in years gone by.”
It’s not just teachers who could benefit from some self-reflection at the moment, though. With teacher recruitment rates still giving SLTs across the country sleepless nights, Jennifer Hampton examines how other countries have responded to their own recruitment issues, and whether the wider profession in England might be able to learn from their example (page 48).
Elsewhere this issue, Adrian Lyons shares his thoughts on Ofsted’s widely-publicised listening exercises, and queries whether the regulator is taking on board the right messages. With single-word judgements consigned to history and new ‘report cards’ on their way, your school’s next inspection could well be a very different experience to those in years gone by – or potentially business as usual, accompanied by the same old concerns around stress, accountability and public perceptions, albeit dressed up in slightly different packaging…
For all that, though, there will be one reliable bright spot in January, when the annual Bett show rolls into the London ExCel. Our preview coverage of the event commences on page 37, with details of some of the show’s key features and presentations worth looking out for.
I should also mention that we’ll be there too, exhibiting at stand SS62 – so if you’re planning on going, why not pop over and say hello?
Enjoy the issue,
Callum Fauser – Editor
