Professional Development

Skinners’ Academies Trust are committed to investing in our people and as such offer a highquality suite of professional development opportunities for all our teachers. Everyone at the Trust is committed to being a reflective practitioner, open to learning and motivated to keep getting better.

We know that professional development for our people will lead to impact in our schools. The five pillars of our offer are designed to offer opportunities to all our staff, to support our vision for an excellent education in all our schools and to have a clear impact on outcomesfor all our pupils.

Chartered College of Teaching membership: Open to all

All teaching staff are given full membership to the Chartered College of Teaching. This gives them access to a range of resources including research papers, articles, lesson videos and the quarterly journal, Impact; and opportunities to participate in CCT courses or become a Research Champion.

Research-led networking opportunities: Open to all

The Trust-wide book group meets online each half term to explore an education-based text and discuss the implications on classroom practice. Copies of the book are free to members. Our Research Enthusiasts group similarly meets each half term. It offers teachers from across the Trust, with a passion for evidence-informed practice, the opportunity to debate a range of research and its implications for classroom practice and student outcomes.

Development for middle leaders: Open to aspiring and existing middle leaders

Our bespoke Middle Leadership Programme is a 10-month course designed and delivered internally for those at the start of their leadership journey. Throughout the course we explore evidence and good practice around effective leadership, use of data, managing teams and how to implement improvement. All participants are allocated a mentor who supports them throughout the course, and get to visit each Trust school over the course of the year.

Subject-specific collaboration: Open to subject leads and subject based TLR holders

We have established Subject Communities for English, Maths, Science and MFL, enabling improvement at subject level the Trust through collaboration between subject leads and shared good practice. This gives heads of department an exciting chance to experience and learn from a range of practice across all our schools.

SLT Community of Practice: Open to senior leaders

All senior leaders across the Trust are members of our SLT Community of Practice, giving them the opportunity to share good practice in school improvement. Leaders participate in visits to Trust schools, hear from external experts and provide professional and supportive critique to one another. 

Purposeful Practice Programme: Open to all

Rooted in the best available evidence, this programme provides an opportunity for teachers at all levels to refine and hone their craft. Focusing on granular, high impact teaching strategies, participants will observe these in action before engaging in analysis and review and then planning to incorporate them into their own practice. This is a unique programme to SAT and an exciting opportunity for all practitioners.