At Bridge Learning Campus, we have a veritable menagerie of teachers. They differ in age and experience, as well as in previous training. They are all individuals, with their own expertise and problem areas. We have everyone from Teach First participants in their first term to senior leaders not far off retirement.

As an added complexity, our teachers work with pupils aged 3-16, covering the early years foundation stage framework to new GCSEs. We are an all-through school in the truest sense.

So planning CPD is tough. One size is not going to fit all. But then, it doesn’t in any school. So how do you ensure teachers have the right resources to improve? And how do you do that on a very tight budget?

Our solution this year was to introduce a personalised CPD programme whereby regular chunks of directed time are disaggregated solely for the purposes of teachers following their own professional development paths. Some choose to remain on site and work collaboratively with colleagues on projects, while others go home, making up for time they have already invested during evenings or weekends. We don’t police it, we are trusting people.

To start everyone off, we suggested a range of activities that could be undertaken:

• We credit the time staff invest in external programmes, such as PhDs, master’s, Teaching Leaders and the National Award for Middle Leaders (NAML).
• We are running two Research Lesson Study projects this year - one looking at building resilience in our learners and one at developing excellent outcomes for learners of all abilities.
• The newly qualified teacher/Teach First package is one of the offers - it is integral to teachers’ development, not something added to their workload.
• We are running a series of special educational needs and disabilities (SEND) workshops aimed at teachers but also support staff - so important in a school where approximately one-third of children have some form of SEND. These also help us to collaborate more effectively with New Fosseway, the special school on our site.

We are crediting any attendance or delivery at TeachMeets, conferences and Edufests. I was delighted that this encouraged three members of staff to drive 200 miles up North for an event on a Saturday and another three to join the #WomenEd Unconference in Reading last October.

And what if nothing on the list appeals? All teachers need to do is to identify something and get it agreed by the leading assistant headteacher. Activities have included early years teachers working towards the Bristol Standard; an out-of-specialism teacher learning coding; someone undertaking paediatric first aid; and a number of staff signing up to coach and be coached.

The approach is enabling teachers who may have wanted to do something but simply didn’t have the chance to go for it. By allocating directed time, we are indicating that it is not an option - it is something that needs to be done.

I have a school full of teachers believing they can be better 

For teachers who are very experienced and have “done everything”, it has provided an opportunity to find something themselves. This has often involved leading and driving a project that will ultimately improve the school and outcomes for children.

It has also meant that we’ve been a bit tougher in holding up mirrors to staff who may have opted for the easy path, doing something they’re already pretty good at and avoiding something more challenging.

It is far too soon to evaluate any impact except how staff are feeling about it. On the first week, I sent an email out in the morning asking teachers what they were going to do with their time. I received 43 responses by lunchtime, all positive. “I did my NAML course last week,” one wrote, “so I am going home to sleep.” Another responded with: “We have our first research lesson study meeting tonight and I’m looking forward to working with people from primary and secondary.”

Ultimately, I’m hoping the scheme engages staff and maintains their interest while also improving the school. There are many ways this could go - and I don’t even know what most of these might be yet. What I do know for sure is that I have a school full of teachers actively believing that they can be better, and we owe them the time to realise that.

Keziah Featherstone is head of Bridge Learning Campus in Bristol, a co-founder of #WomenEd and a member of the Headteachers Roundtable