Are you thinking about what to do for Your Next INSET Day?

INSET days should provide a valuable opportunity to come together with other teachers to really focus on how to improve learning. However, research suggests that on many occasions this is not the case.

“In England, for more than two decades, teachers have been required to participate in five in-service training days per year. The research evidence demonstrates that these are rarely well organised, are seen as of little use by participating teachers and represent a wasted resource.” – Brighouse and Moon (2013)

Our own conversations with teachers back up this finding with one remarking:

“I would love a training day that actually makes me a better teacher. And I’m going to scream if I have another one that is focused on how I can make OFSTED like my lessons better. Instead, the focus should be on making sure my pupils like my lessons and actually get something out of them. Is a jargon-free day with some actionable insights too much to ask for?”

To ensure our work delivers quality, we’ve spoken with teachers to learn what they do and don’t value in INSET days and concluded that a strong INSET day has the following qualities:

1. Clear Objectives

2. Engaging, Enjoyable, But Useful, Activities

3. Focus On Improving Pupil Learning

Our Developing Independent Learners Course is ideal to be delivered as an INSET, either as a whole day or a series of twilights, and fits all the qualities of a strong INSET.

Developing Independent Learners uses playful and creative activities to give teachers a set of principles on which to build their curriculum and new methods and strategies to improve the independent learning capacity of pupils. We explore why independent learning is so beneficial, and prompt teachers to re-examine how they think about their teaching and view it through a framework that encourages creativity and independent learning. We support teachers to understand how curriculum intent might be implemented so as to achieve maximum impact on standards and learning.

The experiential, challenging activities we deliver help teachers make new discoveries and open minds to ‘what if?’, ‘how can we…?’ and ‘let’s try this’. Teachers will learn how to develop a more creative mindset incorporating imagination, a drive to be inquisitive and the confidence to take controlled risks. Teachers will be supported to develop vision, strategy and structures that support creativity and consciously nurture and develop the independent learning capacities of their pupils.

Teachers that have completed Developing Independent Learners have said about it:

“Really enjoyable day that had an excellent mix of practical activities and opportunities to reflect on my practice”

 “Some useful tips and techniques that will help students to be creative”

“This training offered great challenge to the concept of how we prepare kids for exams”

“Really great training delivered by an outstanding trainer!”

“Although I’ve been teaching for a number of years, I’ve learned lots from this training; Sharing ideas empowers others to make impact stronger”

“We became more mindful about our teaching, practice”

 “I think 3 words sum up this training: supportive, purposeful, mindful.”

Interested? For a bespoke quote on delivering Developing Independent Learners at your school please contact drew@weareive.org or, to find out more, visit our Developing Independent Learners course page.