Professional development means different things to different people.
For some, it’s about building confidence in a new area.
For others, it’s about taking the next step, refreshing skills, or simply understanding the needs of children a little better.

Wherever you are in your journey, we want you to feel supported.

At ESP, we believe that supply staff deserve access to the same opportunities for growth as anyone else in education. Whether you work one day a week, full time, or somewhere in between. And because we’re a not-for-profit service, our focus is always on helping you develop in ways that feel useful, practical and achievable.

Why CPD matters for supply staff
Supply staff often step into classrooms at short notice, meeting new pupils, new routines and new expectations. Having confidence in key areas — from behaviour to SEND to safeguarding — makes a huge difference to how supported you feel and how smoothly your day goes.

Background knowledge

It is extremely important to ensure that you prepare thoroughly for the job you are applying for and that you spend time looking at a wide variety of schools. You may have in your mind the type of school you would like to work in i.e.  this may be a large school or a small rural school, but try not to narrow your search and be open minded about the schools you visit.

Make sure that you have a good look around the school website which will tell you about the curriculum the school follows, the policies school has and will give you an initial sense of what the school is like.

If you get the chance it is also really helpful to go and visit the school and take the opportunity to meet the headteacher, the senior leadership team, teachers and pupils. Take time to look around the classrooms, look at the displays on the walls and look in the pupil’s books. Ask questions of the senior leadership team which will help when the school receive your application form and remind them of the great conversation and discussion they had with you.

Working on supply is a great way to ‘try before you buy’ and allows you to spend time working in a variety of schools to find out what works best for you. Link here to find out more about working on supply in primary schools -
https://www.exetersupplypartnership.com/

Continuing professional development is important in all industries, but for teachers it’s especially vital to ensure effectiveness in the classroom.

Not only that, it can increase teacher motivation and confidence and stand you in good stead when moving between schools – something supply teachers know all too well.

CPD for teachers helps keep you up to date with your chosen specialism, if you have one, as well as stay abreast of the latest approaches to teaching.

It’s easy to get swallowed up in the day-to-day busyness that being a teacher inevitably attracts; however, investing in CPD can put you head and shoulders above the rest, as well as making sure you offer the best possible teaching environment for the students in your classroom.

What is CPD and why should you do it?

So, what exactly is CPD training for teachers?

Put simply, continuing professional development is the practice of engaging in activities which develop your professional skills in a given industry.

It encourages teachers to take an active role in their career, enabling them to keep their qualifications up to date and even train in new areas.

It is of huge benefit to supply teachers because not only does it strengthen your professional credibility, it can also boost your confidence levels and allow you to be more creative in the classroom.

An additional benefit, and one great reason why schools and supply teaching agencies promote CPD, is it underpins high teaching standards and ensures everyone in a school is working towards the same goal.
Finally, CPD ensures teachers are compliant and up to date with the Department for Education and Ofsted’s requirements, which are continually evolving and changing.