The Scottish Association of Teachers of History, which aspires to be the subject’s leading provider of continuing professional development, is offering a travel bursary.

The association asserted its commitment to CPD in a mission statement two years ago, and since then has arranged a series of well-received workshops, conferences and other events. It has also linked up with international experts to help Scottish teachers keep their practice up to date.

The CPD bursary allows members to travel outwith Scotland for training, on the understanding that they report back to members with their findings.

The first recipient was Neil Johnstone, from Glasgow, who used the bursary to attend a Schools History Project conference in England and is due to report back at the association’s spring conference.

President Neil McLennan said: “CPD is vital to the good health of the profession and to increasing attainment and the positive experiences of our learners; professional associations have a key role to play in promoting these aspirational aims.

“The Scottish Association of Teachers of History has shown the way as a subject professional association, highlighting the importance of members getting the chance to attend high-quality CPD and creating pathways for them to feed back CPD experiences to a wider audience.”

Bursary applications will be considered annually, with up to #163;250 awarded to an association member. They should be with the secretary and president before the spring conference.

A recent conference hosted by the Royal Society of Edinburgh looked to a future in which there is greater collaboration among those involved in history research, teaching and learning at all levels.

Organisers said there were “inspiring examples of cooperation, and the Scottish Association of Teachers of History has a key role in bringing partners together”.