Image of Exmouth Community College

Case Study:
Exmouth Community College

Exmouth Community College discovered high-quality CPD available through The National College and ultimately opted for a School Membership.

Philippa Rowe, Deputy Headteacher, offered an insight into how School Membership has provided the whole school workforce with immediate access to award-winning video CPD, keeping them informed of changes in the education sector.

Joining The National College

When asked what importance Exmouth Community College places on continued professional development, Philippa stated: "We're always on the lookout for high-quality CPD."

"Since COVID-19, everything has gone online which has made it all so much more accessible." she explained.

"I saw an email from The National College and noticed that the webinars were really high quality."

"I thought it would be a lot more cost-effective to take out a School Membership rather than allocating webinars to individual staff members." she commented.

At The National College, we deliver expert advice and guidance on the latest education policy, practice, and research, through an ever-growing library of expert-led webinars and courses.

"Our staff are constantly craving more CPD which we usually cannot provide them with." Philippa added.

"When I saw how many webinars and courses were available for the price, it was just a no brainer really."

"That's where it came from initially and the reason why we signed up with School Membership." she said.

Individualised CPD

Reflecting on the school’s vision, Philippa said: "Our ethos for staff when it comes to CPD is to take every opportunity that is available."

When assessing their CPD needs, Exmouth Community College wanted to offer all staff the opportunity to access training which was relevant and bespoke to their respective roles.

Philippa explained: "We use The National College for really individualised CPD for staff. We use it collectively too, sometimes I designate a webinar for all staff members to watch."

"The platform is really easy to use. I have been able to delegate to our admin staff to monitor the platform." she added.

"It saves us a lot of time and money. It's really easy to use."

"Having watched the webinars, they are really high quality too." she declared.

A cost-effective CPD solution

The comprehensive nature of our platform appealed to Exmouth Community College, with reporting and monitoring available at the click of a button.

Philippa said: "The monitoring and reporting tools are fantastic as we can hold staff accountable for how much CPD has been done."

"I've been able to present to our governors exactly how much CPD has been completed by each staff member." she added.

"We utilise the safeguarding CPD and mental health-related CPD a lot."

"The SEND-related webinars and courses have been extremely beneficial. We have directed staff to those as they have been great."

Philippa commented that all staff have been positive in their response to The National College’s School Membership.

"We are just about to send out a staff survey, asking for feedback on The National College."

"Lots of staff members have said individually that they have found it very beneficial and enjoyed the individualised CPD offering." she said.

"The biggest benefit is that School Membership saves us a lot of time having to find good CPD. The quality of the training available is great."

"As a large college with a lot of staff members, School Membership has been really cost effective." she stated.