Learning & research
The academy believes that all educators must be learners themselves and as such is committed to the highest levels of professional development.
We encourage all staff to be critically reflective practitioners.
Staff are supported through a dedicated programme of development which includes:
- A minimum of 5 INSET days a year which covers all statutory training e.g. Prevent, Safeguarding
- A-Fest
- Access to fully-funded Level 2 NCFE courses
- A range of solution focused professional surgeries e.g. behaviour, speech and language, subject-specific
- Access to external specialised support e.g. education psychologists
- Development of Quality First Teaching and SEND knowledge
- Team Teach and de-escalation training
- A subscription to The National College and BlueSky
Our partnerships with a range of institutions allow us to draw on their knowledge and expertise to provide training for staff e.g. training on Dyslexia from Bath Spa University.
Staff are encouraged to be active readers. The academy has a wide range of reading material which staff can borrow. CPD opportunities across the Trust are regularly shared with staff through a termly bulletin.
We embrace our trust’s values of being evidence-informed and adopt the principles of Visible Learning to meet the needs of our learners. Staff are also encouraged to use action research approaches as we believe an enquiry approach, rooted in classroom practice, will help us determine what does and does not work for our learners.
Some staff will choose to extend their skills through enrolling in academic qualifications which contain a research element, for example Level 5 diplomas, undergraduate degrees, the Chartered Teacher Programme and Masters’ degrees.
Staff are actively encouraged to develop Practice as Research approaches.
Published Staff Writing
Articles by staff which have published are available to view below.
- Publications for Teach Secondary by Nicola Brooks
- 'Supporting Autistic Learners' by Nicola Whitcombe
Published Staff Training
Our Headteacher, Nicola Whitcombe, was commissioned by The National College to produce several webinars, including:
'Understanding and Supporting Autistic Girls'.
Understanding & Supporting Autistic Girls (nationalcollege.com)
'How to Manage Dysregulation for Pupils with Complex SEND in Primary Schools'
'How to Manage Dysregulation for Pupils with Complex SEND in Secondary Schools'
To commission us for writing, multimedia or other content creation opportunities please email: autismsupport@springfieldsacademy.org
