Helping Teachers Develop

′Helping Teachers Develop is a positive, uplifting, encouraging publication... very good value for money. It is the sort of publication we need in the profession and it is well worth being part of every head teacher or staff development tutor′s collection of really useful books. I have to confess, even before I had finished reading it for review I was using Helping Teachers Develop with my trainee teachers′ - Peter Stammers, in the Journal of In-service Education

`The book explores ways teachers at all levels can mentor others and improve their careers. [It] also contains guidance on ways to cope with having your lessons observed and how to make constructive comments as an observer′ - Michael Shaw, Times Educational Supplement

`This is another excellent and accessible practice guide from someone who, unusually, understands both the classroom teacher from long years of practice and the theory. The chapter on "observation of teachers" should be read by every headteacher, deputy and teacher who engages in monitoring classroom practice. Note, a few inspectors would benefit too! It′s one to read and then refer to on a regular basis if you work in schools or PGCE departments′ - Tim Brighouse, Chief Adviser for London Schools

Helping teachers develop - whether they′re trainees, newly or recently qualified, in their first three, ten or twenty years, and whether they′re superb or struggling - is vital for the profession, for the millions of children who′ll learn more as a result.

Schools have to take greater responsibility for staff′s continuing professional development (CPD) but there is little real help for the people who develop teachers. The best teachers will be expected to mentor trainee and newly qualified teachers (NQTs) and share good practice with all colleagues.

Drawing directly on real-life experience and the latest research, this book will help people in a mentoring, coaching, advisory or management role to:

o develop teachers, through understanding adult learning and the CPD cycle

o meet needs from the range of professional development activities

o carry out observations and give oral and written feedback in a range of situations

o help and monitor planning and other parts of the job

o help teachers develop their careers.

Using examples from current practice, Sara will take you though every stage of CPD, from what professional development is to how you can support and monitor staff in your own school. There are photocopiable materials for you to use.

The guidance in this book will be essential for mentors, induction tutors, CPD/staff development coordinators, people with advanced skills or excellent teacher status, and all those with a leadership and management role in schools or local authorities.

Sara Bubb is the UK′s leading induction expert and has vast expertise in the CPD field. She runs many courses for different levels of school staff, assesses trainee and advanced skills teachers and is the new teacher expert for the Times Educational Supplement.

Sara has been seconded from the Institute of Education to the DfES as the consultant for the Chartered London Teacher initiative. She is the co-author, with Peter Earley, of Leading and Managing Continuing Professional Development and Managing Teacher Workload.

Sara Bubb is an experienced London teacher who helps staff in schools develop. She does this in many ways: through leading professional development, assessing, developing schemes, researching, and writing.

With a national and international reputation in the induction of new teachers and professional development, Sara speaks at conferences and runs courses throughout the country and abroad (e.g. Norway, Taiwan) on topics such as helping staff develop, observation skills, induction, developing pedagogical skills, leading continuing professional development (CPD), subject leadership, monitoring teaching and implementing performance management. She has featured on and been a consultant for eight Teachers TV programmes. She trains a broad range of people, including inspectors, assessors, advisers, consultants, Fasttrack, TeachFirst and advanced skills teachers.

Sara assesses advanced skills, excellent, overseas trained and graduate teachers and higher level teaching assistants and was an external assessor for Threshold. She has inspected over 25 primary schools.

As a senior lecturer at the Institute of Education (0.2) she works on PGCE and Masters programmes and set up the employment-based routes (OTT and GTP) to QTS. She is lead director of the CfBT Education Trust-funded Sef2Si – From Self Evaluation To School Improvement: The Importance Of Professional Development – project. She co-directed the DfES-funded national research Project on the Effectiveness of the Induction Year, was deputy director of the TDA systematic review of induction research and has helped the Northern Ireland GTC revise their teacher competences.

On a 0.2 secondment to the DCSF London Challenge team, Sara is the consultant for Chartered London Teacher status – a scheme involving over 38,600 teachers. She is the London Gifted & Talented Early Years network leader, working with staff in reception and nursery classes to enhance their provision for all children, especially the most able.

She has written books and numerous articles on induction, professional development, workload, and performance management. She is the new teacher expert at the Times Educational Supplement, and writes articles, a weekly advice column and answers questions on its website.