Southfields Teaching School Alliance

If you have been awarded QTS by STSA in the past and have a question related to it please contact Sinead Goodden: sinead.goodden@southfieldsacademy.com or Elizabeth Hambidge: elizabeth.hambidge@southfieldsacademy.com 

If you are interested in training to become a teacher please visit the Department for Education Teaching School Directory by clicking here.

Continuing Professional Development at Southfields Academy

Every teacher needs to improve, not because they are not good enough, but because they can be even better.

The statement by Dylan William underpins our beliefs and actions that guide our model of Continuing Professional Development (CPD) at Southfields Academy.

All of our teaching and support staff participate in CPD that is centred on improving student outcomes and facilitating a love of learning, this is underpinned with robust evidence and expertise of what works well in the classroom.  Our programmes are characterised by collaboration between staff and sustained through every career stage.  We have successfully delivered selected programmes to other schools with positive feedback from participants and facilitators we have collaborated with.

Our Newly Qualified Teacher (NQT) programme is a project-based programme focussing on key aspects of practise with a blend of academic literature and research alongside the development of strategies in the classroom, each project is guided by a Lead Practitioner or a member of staff with expertise in that area.  The Academy bucks the national trend, many of our teachers remain at the Academy for longer than three years, this is due to a relentless focus on providing relevant CPD at every career stage.

The Early Professional Development (EPD) programme for teacher just out of their NQT year ensures continued support and development of classroom skills.  This culminates in a piece of action research from each participant, which is shared amongst all the staff.  The impact on teaching staff is overwhelmingly positive as they report using many of these strategies in their own parctice; recent highlights were questioning strategies with High Achieving students and aspects of the Growth Mind-set.

All staff in year three and above of their career participate in the collaborative, triad based Lesson Study.  They focus on developing teaching strategies through peer planning and observation within their subject area.  Staff enjoy this opportunity to develop strategies that work well with their students, sharing their findings in the annual conference where all staff can pick-up and incorporate techniques to improve student outcomes.