CPD That Actually Reflects Your Strategic Priorities
Every school has strategic goals. Whether it's improving literacy, embedding sustainability, preparing for inspection, or tackling workload, leaders know what matters. But all too often, professional development tells a different story.
Too many CPD programmes become generic. Off-the-shelf courses. One-off training sessions. Ideas that feel good in theory, but never quite make their way into day-to-day teaching, or connect back to the school improvement plan.
It doesn’t have to be this way.
At Newham College, the shift began with a single principle: every teacher-led experiment had to link to a meaningful framework. Whether it was the Education & Training Foundation’s professional standards, Education 4.0, sustainability goals, or local priorities, staff were encouraged to connect their development to something bigger.
The result? CPD that wasn’t just personalised, but purposeful.
When CPD is aligned with your school’s priorities:
Teachers know why it matters
Leaders can track its impact
Development feeds directly into improvement
Instead of treating CPD as something separate, it becomes part of your strategy. Every reflection, every objective, every coaching conversation becomes an opportunity to move your school forward.
And with so many frameworks already guiding your work, Ofsted’s EIF, Gatsby Benchmarks, curriculum intent, sustainability goals, it makes sense to connect development efforts to them.
The team at Newham College took an intentional approach. They didn’t just reference standards, they built them into every part of the CPD cycle. When teachers chose their experiment focus, they had to:
Identify which frameworks it supported
Reflect on how it linked to their subject and learners
Consider how it contributed to wider improvement goals
Whether the aim was embedding employability, experimenting with AI, or increasing accessibility through inclusive practice, each teacher saw how their work connected to the wider vision. That clarity mattered. It increased motivation, improved collaboration, and made evaluation more meaningful.
At SchooliP, we believe that CPD should always be connected to what your school is trying to achieve. That’s why our platform is built for customisation and clarity.
With SchooliP, you can:
Create bespoke development objectives tied to your school improvement plan or inspection focus
Align CPD logs to specific frameworks, from ETF to Education for Sustainable Development
Use observation feedback, self-reviews, and surveys to reflect on how development links to your goals
Generate reports that show how staff learning contributes to whole-school progress
No more disjointed spreadsheets. No more vague CPD records. Just clear, actionable insight into how your people are growing, and how that growth supports your mission.
Professional development is one of the biggest investments any school makes. Not just in time or money, but in trust.
If CPD is going to be worth that investment, it needs to reflect the real challenges, goals, and values your school holds. That’s what alignment offers. And that’s what tools like SchooliP are designed to support.
So next time you plan your CPD calendar, ask yourself:
Does this reflect our strategic priorities?
Will this help us move forward as a school?
And how will we know?
If you’re ready for a CPD strategy that’s joined-up, measurable, and impactful, SchooliP is here to help.
