At Hart Learning & Development, we are committed to helping our staff to succeed and achieve their goals just as much as our learners. Teams from across Hart Learning & Development were invited to take time to explore their professional development through a series of in-house CPD programmes.

The programme provided colleagues with a choice of five different topics that would see them continue to thrive in their roles and assist their apprentices to achieve their best. Each person then had dedicated time to listen to guest speaker sessions, explore new ideas, and plan ways to implement their new learning to help them succeed.

Feedback across Hart Learning & Development was positive, with all staff who completed the post-training survey reporting they had built new knowledge that they would use in their own practice. Some strategies have also already been implemented in our classrooms, including embracing different features in Microsoft Teams and making adaptations for learners with vision difficulties.

Topic strands covered throughout the CPD workshops included:

• Pedagogy – exploring a variety of teaching and learning topics through a series of guest speaker sessions.
• Digital Skills – workshops focused on improving digital skills, digital teaching methods, and applying technology for dyslexia support. These sessions were delivered by the Group’s in-house Microsoft Educator Expert staff.
• Additional Learning Needs – covering a broad range of issues and approaches such as in-class support, mental health, and supporting care leavers. Optional additional sessions included a range of online training resources focused on supporting specific learning difficulties.
• Industry Knowledge – Hart Learning & Development colleagues have the option of completing individual projects to update their industry knowledge, helping them to feel confident in their teaching and to share the latest information and advice to their learners. Projects worked on in the latest CPD sessions included returning to the floor in their industry, researching new developments, and industrial event activities.
• Leadership – designed for staff seeking to progress their careers, these sessions included a series of workshops and a guest speaker session from Hart Learning Group’s CEO and North Hertfordshire College Principal, Kit Davies. Staff also completed the ETF Managing Your Team course for further support and advice.

As well as having applications for their professional work, the content covered in the sessions is also beneficial to our teams’ personal lives. Emily True, a Management Apprenticeship Tutor with Hart Learning & Development, commented:

“Thank you for sharing the resources. I really enjoyed the session. I discussed the video with an autistic person and they found this helpful. The session included lots of useful strategies too, which I can use with my learners.”

Another of Hart Learning & Development’s tutors, who asked to remain anonymous, said: “It was useful to learn about the immersive reader for VARK, how to support dyslexic learners, and how to champion equality, diversity, and inclusion.”

This programme of CPD has been invaluable for our staff, and subsequently our students, and plans are in place to widen the opportunity across the team to further grow the skills and knowledge of our team. We are looking forward to seeing the continued positive effects of this training in the classroom.