What is CPD, and why is it important?
This stands for 'Continuous Professional Development'. As educators, we're lifelong learners and there is always room to grow our practice further. Doing CPD means seeking out ways to improve your practice and develop your skills. It can mean doing courses, watching webinars, reading books or articles about early years practice, reflecting on your learning and then, crucially, putting into into practice. So it's not just about doing the learning, but also making changes based on what you've learned. In this way, you will build on your knowledge and skills and increase your impact on the children you work with. Research has shown that when educators focus on their own professional development, there are several positive effects:
Increases your confidence (TALIS, 2019)
Improves your effectiveness and impact as an educator, having a knock-on effect on children's learning outcomes (EEF, 2021)
Increases your motivation and reduces risk of 'burnout' (OECD, 2021)
As adults we need to model and echo the insatiable curiosity we see in our children. Yet, in a busy job and with the juggle of family life, it can be easy to de-prioritise your own growth and not make time for your own reflection and learning. Sometimes it can feel like just one more thing you ‘should be doing’. The truth is, though, spending time on your professional development can actually save you time in the long run, because you’ll increase your efficiency, your motivation, focus and the impact you make on the children’s lives. Investing time on your own professional growth has big returns for you, and for the children you work with.
What counts as CPD?
Attending tiney live or recorded webinars - check them out and sign up here
Attending in person events such as the tiney Conference
Completing a tiney course in your app - there's a great range of courses available, designed to fit with your lifestyle
Completing external training webinars or courses eg. courses on Childcare.co.uk, or accredited courses that are relevant to your practice eg. a L3 Early Years course
Additional safeguarding training or refreshers to ensure you're up to date on safeguarding practice
Listening to a podcast on Early Years Practice e.g. Early Excellence Podcast
Reading a book about Early Years Practice
Reading an article or research about early childhood education
Observing best practice - this could be at tiney book club; observing a skilled, experienced practitioner; watching best practice videos eg. EEF videos of evidence-based techniques in action
How can you set your own goals for your CPD?
So how do you know where to start? A great place to begin is to look at the tiney Quality Framework. You can use this as a tool to self-reflect and identify your strengths and areas for development in your practice. We recommend downloading it from the Resources section in your app, and then:
a) Highlight 3 descriptors that you feel really confident with. What are you really good at in your setting? What are your areas of expertise and strength?
b) Select 3 descriptors that you feel less confident about. What do you not know much about yet? What would you like to develop further?
Once you know your strengths and areas for development, you can make a plan to help you build on your strengths towards mastery; and also to help you plug gaps in your knowledge and skills with further CPD in those areas.
At tiney, there is an expectation that you will do a minimum of 16 hours of CPD per year. Be ready to discuss what you've been learning about and how you've implemented the ideas when you have your Quality Assurance Visit.
However, once you find topics and types of CPD you love, you'll find it's easy to go way beyond those 16 hours, and really relish the journey of professional growth you've created for yourself!
How do I log my CPD?
Go to the Learning tab > select "CPD" at the top > then select the 'Add to CPD' button to begin. Start by adding some basic information such as the date completed, time spent learning and format.
Next, add your reflections:
Impact: What have you learned, and how is it making a difference to you or the children you work with?
Implementation: What will you change as a result of this learning? What will you try out? Are there any ideas you plan to apply to your own practice?
Finally, review the total number of minutes you've spent on your CPD and check how close you are to reaching your goal of 16 hours per year. By getting into the habit of recording your professional learning here, you'll quickly build a great record of your professional growth!
Remember, CPD and Resources are also available on web.tiney.co if you’d like to use a larger screen to record your learnings.
