Case Study:
West Hill Primary School

Providing staff with the ability to complete statutory training as well as pursuing their own personal professional development were two major reasons why West Hill Primary School joined The National College. 

Having a School Membership has not only benefitted the senior leadership team in monitoring staff progression, but also when it comes to seeing that direct impact in the classroom. 

Beth Lloyd, who is a Deputy Head, EYFS, phonics and assessment Lead across the Hednesford Hills Federation, says she can’t speak highly enough of the platform. 

A time-sensitive approach to CPD 

That flexibility and fluid approach which our learning hub affords has worked perfectly for West Hill, who’ve really been able to enhance their staff’s CPD experience. 

Miss Lloyd said: “The National College was recommended to us by our SIP and it fell in line perfectly with the timing, with it being hard to deliver face-to-face staff meetings and development training. We had a look into it and decided to buy it across the federation, and it’s been invaluable that we’ve still been able to offer staff the opportunity for development and training. 

“It’s given staff the opportunity to do something which they’ve got an interest in and, the way in which you can monitor what staff are doing, makes it really easy to chase up any loose ends and ensure that those courses are being completed. 

“Particularly when it comes to those statutory ones which we’re asking them to complete, such as prevent, safeguarding and e-safety. 

“That’s been much easier with The National College because we can just set it, put it on their watchlist and can then very easily see whether it has been completed.” 

Providing direct classroom results 

Speaking in specific terms, Miss Lloyd drew attention to the upcoming EYFS changes and how expert-led training from The National College has helped to alleviate staff worry in this area. 

“With EYFS, where there’s going to be a big change for staff, people are somewhat scared of the change,” she explained. 

“However, having those in-depth webinars, which are about the changes but also good practice and giving people the opportunity to see what good practice in the seven areas would be, gives the possibility to feel less scared about the change. 

“We’ll then be able to see those things drip-feed into the classroom.” 

Ease of access 

From an administrative standpoint too, she’s been impressed with how straightforward it is to track progress throughout the school. 

She stated: “Knowing that you can set something to be done and then being able to very quickly look with the admin system, whether it has been completed, makes it a really quick process. The system is also very easy to use and intuitive. 

“Whenever I’ve suggested things, The National College have been very responsive and give good customer support on that.”