With the last of the Easter eggs being gobbled up, spring is well in swing. Bringing longer days (that we hope are brighter, too), the change in seasons also marks the start of one of the busiest times for our schools.
Timetables for end-of-year assessments and exams are being drawn up, ready to assess students’ learning over the last academic year. But it shouldn’t just be pupils reaping the rewards of hard work! This spring, take a moment to think about how you’re making sure the ones teaching are continually being taught, too.
Keep reading to explore why we feel the spring term is the ideal time to give your approach to staff training a refresh, so your workforce can blossom well into the summer!
We’ll be covering:
- Why you should focus on staff development during the spring
- The changing face of training
- How e-learning meets the needs of CPD in education
Why focus on staff training in the spring?
The daffodils are spreading a sea of yellow. The temperature is no longer hovering near zero. And most of us can arrive at work in the daylight! Whilst these seasonal changes are ‘normal’ and come around every year, there’s no denying the cheeriness they bring to staff and student moods.
A Functional Medicine Health Coach is quoted as saying spring carries a ‘dynamic, outward-looking energy’ in an article that explains the ‘joys’ of spring. They go onto say the springtime is ‘prompting us to blossom, just like the trees around us’, and it’s this sense of inspiration that makes it the perfect time to reenergise your staff training and CPD programme!
The changing face of training
As nature works away behind-the-scenes to give us that colourful boost we need, managers can be developing training programmes that work for their staff. Of course, training needs to work for the organisation too, and to stay complaint to statutory and mandatory requirements. But just because it’s ‘mandatory’ doesn’t mean it should miss out on a spring refresh!
Since the Covid-19 pandemic, there’s been a shake-up in how training and upskilling is delivered. We know you’ll be well aware of this if you work in a school or MAT, from the ‘new’ ways staff communicate with parents to the digitisation of central functions, like HR. Schools and MATs are using more digital systems that have needs of the end user in mind – staff training should be no different.
How e-learning makes training work for school staff
Just as you now speak to parents via means that work for them (i.e. email, text message, and even WhatsApp!), you can apply the same to your training provision. Whilst schools and MATs will schedule dedicated training time for teachers and other staff, we’re all realists. One minute, a teacher has a free period that’s just the right amount of time to complete a mandatory ‘working at height’ course. The next, they’re covering for another teacher who’s had to go home to look after their unwell child, attend a funeral, or take their dog to the vet.
Whilst some elements of training need to be timetabled more rigidly to keep staff compliant with necessary requirements, the more flexible you can make your offer, the more receptive your staff are likely to be to it. For instance, courses that are hosted on an e-learning platform that gives staff the flexibility to pause, rewind, and resume the session later. It means time isn’t wasted if they’re halfway through a course and then pulled away – they can simply pick up where they left off.
Empowering wider CPD with e-learning
E-learning is also a way of having a central hub of both mandatory and optional courses for your staff to choose from. Training shouldn’t be limited to just what staff need to know – it can also empower what they want to know.
When you provide courses that tap into their professional interests, you’re more able to drive a workforce that boasts a broader knowledge base, range of skills, and areas of expertise. Showing, not just telling, that you’re invested in staff CPD in schools strengthens the relationship you share with your employees, supporting retention efforts, too.
And when staff have the time and means to dedicate to their own development, they’re likely to feel more positive about their work. It might be that as part of annual CPD provision, staff could be expected to complete a core body of training courses and then pick one of their choosing. This supports a more positive working culture, an environment where staff feel that all-important spring in their step. You’re also at a better stance to promote from the inside, lessening the pressure on recruitment efforts, which we know are a resource-intensive activity.
Why choose e-learning?
Like the students in your school, your staff will all have different ways they learn best. E-learning offers something for everyone, and it’s a far more effective way of keeping users engaged! You can incorporate review stages and quizzes to check and cement learning, too, giving you confidence that new information has been retained.
Spring into the new term with a refreshed approach to staff training and CPD.
Find out more about using Every HR to refine your school or MAT’s continuous training programme by speaking to our team.
