High-quality professional development (PD) is a powerful tool for supporting teachers to thrive – helping them stay effective, motivated, and at the top of their game.
In many 16 – 19 settings, the wide range of teaching experience, course types, and site structures brings valuable diversity. At the same time, this complexity can make planning and delivering PD more complex.
Across the sector, there is a strong appetite for PD and a clear dedication to high-quality provision. But we know that embedding new approaches takes time, resources and thoughtful design. This is why we’ve published new guidance on Effective Professional Development in 16 – 19 settings to help maximise the impact of the PD you offer. Drawing on evidence-informed principles, tailored to the 16 – 19 context, the guidance aims to help PD leads create the best conditions for meaningful and lasting change in practice.
Three key areas to focus on
Our guidance is centred on three actionable recommendations:
1. Build a culture of continuous professional development
Building a culture of continuous PD requires more than delivering training – it involves engaging practitioners meaningfully, uniting teams around shared values, and reflecting regularly to adapt and improve. In this recommendation we explore how leaders play a vital role in steering this process, but also how the collective involvement of practitioners sustains it.
2. Use the KEEP framework to plan, design and deliver professional development
The KEEP framework provides a practical blueprint that can build on existing systems and approaches. The framework outlines four fundamental principles for behaviour change – Knowledge, Engagement, Execution, and Practice. When applied through the approaches detailed in the EEF guidance, PD aligning more closely with the framework has been demonstrated to be more likely to be effective than PD that does not (Sims et al., 2021).
3. Carefully consider evidence-informed content
Engagement with high-quality evidence is a valuable part of PD but interpreting research in the 16 – 19 context can be complex. A pragmatic approach is often necessary – one that critically examines evidence, considers its relevance, and adapts findings to inform PD. Whether you are selecting programmes, shaping strategy, or refining content, this guidance aims to support you to align PD with your goals and context, while drawing on what works.
These three recommendations aim to address a complex challenge: ensuring that PD focused on high-quality teaching becomes deeply embedded into practice. They are grounded in robust research evidence and a deep understanding of current PD practice across the sector.
Supporting PD in your setting going forward
We invite leaders, educators, and stakeholders across the 16 – 19 sector to explore this new guidance, reflecting on your current approaches, and consider how these recommendations can be used to deepen the impact of professional development in your setting.
The guidance includes editable tools to support reflection and planning of PD in your setting. There are also examples from practice where you can hear from PD leads from across England. We are grateful for their insights and the expertise shared from across the sector during the development of this guidance.
Explore the guidance: https://educationendowmentfoundation.org.uk/16 – 19/continuing-professional-development
There is a reflection document to help you and your teams plan for action.
There is a KEEP framework to support your planning for PD.