Professional Development Opportunities for Teachers
As the largest teachers' Union in the UK, the NASUWT continues to look to ways of providing professional development opportunities to teachers that are members of the Union. Accessing the professional development opportunities that the Union can offer, is part of the overall package of membership benefits and support that is on offer to teachers choosing the NASUWT as the Union for them. Join today to take advantage of the development opportunities on offer.
Save 10% on selected Open University Online Professional Development Courses
NASUWT has negotiated with the Open University for members to receive 10% off selected CPD courses.
The Open University (OU) has a range of flexible online courses, especially designed for people who wish to extend or update their skills. The OU CPD courses can give new skills, knowledge and ideas, which can be applied in the workplace. Most take around 20-30 hours split into 1-2 hour bite-sized learning chunks to complete and can be studied at a time and pace to suit each individual without the need to take days off work or the need for cover.
The courses fall in two categories:
CPD for Teachers – These courses, which are described below, are already priced favourably for teachers and cost £275 each.
- classroom research and action;
- learning to lead;
- teaching primary languages;
- beginning French, German and Spanish for primary teaching;;
- using data smartly in your classroom;
- using VLE in my teaching.
A full overview of the Open University's CPD courses for teachers can be found on the Open University website.
General Skills - these courses are subject to a 10% discount for NASUWT members. The discounted course fee is £445 (usually £495).
The general skills courses most relevant to teachers are listed below;
- managing conflict;
- managing diversity;
- mentoring at work;
- understanding stress at work
All the courses draw on the Open University's expertise within the field of work-based professional development and offer relevance to your work/teaching practice.
Each course is designed to help you respond to the actual challenges you face in your day-to-day work and because there is a strong link between a course of learning and your work practice it means that you can immediately use newly acquired skills and knowledge.
The courses are also online providing flexibility and convenience to the learner and the courses are 'chunked' into convenient 1-2 hour elements to enable you to spread your skills development, to keep pace with your work patterns and take in total around 20-30 hours, starting and finishing when it suits you. You can learn online, at work or wherever it is convenient. The Open University also offer learners guidance and feedback, with an expert learning adviser providing learners with continuing guidance and feedback.
By the end of a course you will have built your own Personal Development or Action Plan and be awarded a certificate.
To take advantage of the NASUWT/Open University CPD opportunities you must be a member of the Union, you can join online today.
Professional Development for Newly Qualified Teachers
A major element of the NASUWT newly qualified teachers' support package are the free seminars the Union provides for new teachers. The NASUWT currently run seminars for new teachers at 3 key periods within the first year after qualification. Every August all NASUWT newly qualified members are invited to attend our FREE Preparing For Your First Teaching Post one-day seminars after completing their ITT training but prior to taking up their first teaching post. The seminars aim to give new teachers the confidence to arrive at school for the first day of their new career believing that they are properly equipped to deal with any situation they may be faced with.To find out more about the Preparing for your First Teaching Post seminars visit the New Teachers page of this website. The dates and venues for August 2013's seminars will be available shortly and qualifying teachers will also be able to register online for the August 2013 seminars early in 2013.
The NASUWT also hold a new teacher seminar in November every year after new teachers first term in the classroom and then a seminar in June of every year after new teachers have completed an academic year of teaching. The new teacher seminars that took place in June 2012 for those people coming to the end of their first year of teaching discussed the Coalition Governments reforms and cuts to education, what had gone well and not so well for new teachers in their first year of teaching and there were also a number of practical workshops to aid new teachers CPD, from managing behaviour in the classroom, stress management, discussing how teachers can remain safe when using social networking sites and using the voice effectively in the classroom. The November 2011 seminar was targeted at those members that had qualified in 2011 and were coming towards the end of their first term as a qualified teacher. This seminar discussed the NASUWT's impending role in the National day of action on 30 November 2011, the NASUWT's action short of strike action and also specifically how the induction year was going so far. The seminar also provided CPD for members including new sessions on 'winning that teaching job'. Find out more about the discussions that took place in the June 2012's new teacher seminar and the November 2011 new teacher seminar.
NASUWT Seminars for Teachers
The NASUWT also provide a number of seminars for members throughout the year. The Union provides seminars specifically for Black and Ethnic Minority (BME) members, Women members, members with disabilities and young members. These seminars cover issues related to teaching and also being part of these groups as well as providing professional development workshops on a range of issues relevant to teaching practice.
The NASUWT also provide a range of other professional development based seminars throughout the year, ranging from seminars based on educational practice and policy to seminars for members within school leadership teams. To find out more and book onto any of the Unions seminars visit the events page of the website.
