Education Today Education Today Magazine
Cambridgeshire & Peterborough Teaching School Hub (CPTSH), which has already supported over 350 schools in the region since it opened in September 2021, has launched its mission for the next four years.
Local Leadership, Local Impact sets out CPTSH’s contribution to the region’s priorities for high-quality training and personalised support to date, its detailed commitments for delivering the ‘golden thread’ from 2024-28, and the opportunity for schools and early years settings to join CPTSH on the next phase of its journey.
CPTSH, which is the third largest Teaching School Hub, has targeted increasing the “breadth and depth” of its support for teachers, educators and leaders at every stage of their career in Cambridgeshire and Peterborough through its five areas of provision: Initial Teacher Training (ITT), Early Career Framework (ECF), Appropriate Body (AB), National Professional Qualifications (NPQs), and wider Continuous Professional Development (CPD).
The Hub has already sought to understand the specific barriers and gaps in accessing evidence-based professional development by collaborating with local leaders in the region, and “will continue to be responsive to local need” as it seeks to build on the 2,725 Early Career Teachers, Mentors and NPQ participants it has impacted on.
“Teaching School Hubs are a critical vehicle for teacher development,” explained Lesley Birch, CPTSH Strategic Lead, and Deputy CEO of Meridian Trust. “In February, we were delighted to receive Teaching School Hub reaccreditation for the next four years and be given the opportunity to continue to deliver the ‘golden thread’ for Cambridgeshire and Peterborough. We now look forward to enhancing our support for the profession under the new government.
“Whilst Labour’s pledge to recruit 6,500 new teachers in key subjects as part of their first steps for change has caught the headlines nationally, we warmly welcome their wider commitment to further raise the status of the teaching profession. In Labour’s Manifesto, the new government set out its intention to update the ECF, maintaining its grounding in evidence, and ensuring that any new teacher entering the classroom has, or is working towards, Qualified Teacher Status. Introducing a new Teacher Training Entitlement to ensure teachers stay up-to-date on best practice with continuing professional development is another pledge.
“As a tried-and-tested local provider, our aim is to build a strong and sustainable model to support our region’s schools and early years settings with the objective of raising teaching standards and contributing to school improvement.”
Lynne Birch, CPTSH Hub Lead, commented: “Relationships are key, and we will develop the strong partnerships with schools that characterise our compelling local offer and offer communities high-quality training and personalised support. To achieve our goals, we will build on our proven track record, engagement and involvement with schools, trusts, educators, settings, groups, clusters and partnerships in the region, and continue to seek feedback to deliver personalised, locally-led, professional development. We welcome further dialogue with partners on how we can support schools in Cambridgeshire and Peterborough with the ‘golden thread’, as we embark on a new dawn for the sector.”
