Supporting Education

Professional development

Whatever stage of your career, length of service or aspirations, Norfolk schools will work with you to enhance your skills to get you to where you want to be and where the school needs you to be.

Along with the excellent CPD structures operated in many Norfolk schools, for example in supporting those in middle leadership, there is a huge amount of formal and informal development available for different roles across Norfolk. This may be formal opportunities such as the National College’s NPQML, NPQSL and NPQH or Teaching Leaders’ Fellows Programme, or local alternatives such as the Norfolk Teaching and Leadership Excellence Centre’s ‘Leadership Portfolio’ for secondary leaders, and the acclaimed Headteacher Support Programme, Lead Teacher Support Programme and Executive Headteacher Support Programme, devised by Sheringham Teaching School for primary colleagues. Some excellent development opportunities are also offered by the Norfolk Integrated Education Advisory Service, particularly the professional networks.

Professional development is also a central element of creating a self-improving system of education and we are great believers that in looking out you improve within. Norfolk’s 5 teaching schools and Norfolk County Council recruit, train and deploy system leaders – LLEs (or Norfolk System Leaders, the Norfolk version) and SLEs – from schools with strength and capacity to support other schools.

Support

Norfolk schools are encouraged to join the primary, secondary and special school headteacher and senior leader associations – Norfolk Primary Headteachers’ Association, Norfolk Secondary Education Leaders and Norfolk Association of Special School Headteachers – to access opportunities for peer support and networking opportunities as well as events and conferences.

There are also many other sources of formal and informal support for senior leaders in the County, for example the West Norfolk Partnership and Norfolk County Council’s flagship programme for school improvement: Norfolk Better to Best.

Middle leaders will find the Professional Networks, linked to phase or subject, a great source of support and reassurance.