Case Study:
Lawnswood School
When determining their CPD priorities, Lawnswood School identified the need to offer all staff the opportunity to access bespoke, role-specific training.
Fiona Gillbank, Assistant Headteacher, joined us to explain how School Membership has benefited the college in terms of access to our intuitive, online learning hub and expert-led CPD programme.
Lawnswood School
Fiona said: "We're a large, comprehensive, inner-city school."
"It's such an exciting, diverse school community and the key driver for us is to aim for high standards with no compromise." she added.
Remote access to a wealth of CPD
Reflecting on the school’s decision to join The National College, Fiona said: "Initially, we heard about The National College from an email. It looked interesting enough for me to enquire."
"When I had a call with your CPD consultants, it was the wide range of training that is available which appealed to me." she continued.
"We look at a range of different ways to put CPD in the hands of staff themselves, as opposed to us directing what individuals must complete."
Award-winning online learning hub
The accessibility of our platform appealed to Lawnswood School, with reporting and monitoring available at the click of a button.
Fiona explained: "It's the fact that I can track the completion of CPD and see what staff members are engaging with too."
"The platform has been extremely helpful." she commented.
"Being able to track all staff CPD is really useful."
"I think the biggest benefit is that flexibility." she stated.
A flexible approach to CPD
Fiona added that The National College offers bespoke professional development, with individuals able to utilise our webinar and course programmes to fit their own specific needs.
She said: "I can direct particular CPD to all staff, if we have school improvement goals to meet, but there is that flexibility for staff members to choose what they would like to develop."
"We have staff who have looked at the fire safety training, then staff who are utilising the mental health CPD. It's very expansive."
"The subject-specific CPD is fantastic too. They're very useful for faculty leaders in terms of planning."
"We chose The National College to widen our offer, it runs alongside our CPD at school." she explained.
"Staff are exploring their own CPD, finding development that suits their particular role and fills a gap that they may have."
"They can complete the CPD at their own convenient time, without any prompting, which is great."
She declared: "The cost is a significant factor too, for all schools, and The National College is very cost-effective."