Continued Professional Development (CPD) makes several appearances in 7 top tips for spending the Primary PE and Sport Premium.

(Shout-out to the Association for Physical Education (afPE), Youth Sport Trust and Active Partnerships for putting this together.)

Why is CPD a sustainable use of the primary PE and sport premium?  

CPD directly relates to point three of DfE’s five key indicators of effective PE and sport premium spending. But, when you look at the other four, it’s clear that CPD can contribute to achieving all five. 

By increasing the confidence, knowledge and skills of all staff in teaching PE and sport:

• more children can be engaged in regular physical activity

• the profile of PE and sport can be raised across the school as a tool for whole-school improvement

• broader experience of a range of sports and activities can be offered

• and increased participation in competitive sport can be achieved.

It all starts with confident, knowledgeable and skillful teachers.

But what about the barriers?

Despite its value, nine out of 10 teachers report barriers to CPD.

When so many opportunities require teachers to be ‘in the room’, it’s not surprising that over half of those who experienced barriers to CPD identified insufficient time as a key obstacle.

Having to attend in person at a set time means opportunities can be limited for teachers who have an already packed schedule with minimal flexibility.

And with the pandemic impinging on face-to-face contact, even those ‘in the room’ opportunities that teachers could make time for are no longer possible.

So, what’s the solution?

No doubt you already know where we’re going with this, what with the past eight months seeing virtual solutions for everything from weekly team meetings to entire global conferences (personally, we’re looking forward to the virtual office Christmas party ideas). 

Yes, the solution is a virtual one.

What do you get with online CPD?

• Easier access – online CPD means you can learn when you want, where you want and how you want. 

• Flexibility – You can pause, fast forward and rewind. So, no more frenzied scribbling down of notes, no more missing key points and no more rushed endings as everyone realises what the time is.

• Thinking time – Pause to confirm understanding, to reflect on learning and for further research.

• Accessibility – Unrivalled access to industry experts from anywhere in the world.

How do you know it’s high-quality CPD?

Another barrier to CPD teachers identified was a lack of good quality opportunities.

So, to be sure what you’re getting is good quality and is delivered by industry experts, make sure it meets the DfE’s Teacher CPD Guidance and look out for afPE’s Professional Development Board kite mark.

To make it easier, afPE lists all approved providers here.

As it turns out, Aspire Training Solutions are on that list (look at that for chance). That’s who brings you Aspire:ED (LINK) (the experts who bring you all the My CPD Group’s high quality PE CPD courses).

So, if you’ve read through this thinking: yes that’s me, I want to develop my confidence, knowledge and skill in PE, but am finding it hard to locate anything suited or of quality, do take a look at the Aspire:ED course ‘Embedding a Powerful Physical Curriculum’ (LINK).

(LINK)Go forth and get started this very minute (or in an hour, this evening, or tomorrow…)