Image of Curwen Primary School

Case Study:
Curwen Primary School

Primary - Improvement & Inspections School Improvement Leading CPD Primary - Staff & Recruitment

Curwen Primary School have been able to roll out award-winning, remote video CPD to the whole school workforce, thanks to School Membership with The National College.

Emma White, Deputy Headteacher, spoke with us to explain how our individualised approach to CPD has benefited the school.  

Curwen Primary School

Emma began by outlining the school’s culture: “We’re based in Newham, and it’s such a diverse area. It’s fantastic. That’s reflected in our whole school community.”

She continued: “We have 54 different first languages spoken in our school, and it’s great to have such a rich community with people from different backgrounds and cultures.”

Choosing The National College

Reflecting on the school’s decision to join The National College, Emma said: “I found The National College when I was searching for Geography related CPD.”

“Part of my role is to support the subject leaders with CPD and training resources.” she added.

She continued: “We needed something extra, that we could provide our subject leaders with.”

“We wanted to ensure that the CPD was expert-led, that was crucial.” she declared.

Emma explained that Curwen Primary School are pleased with our CPD offer, which enables them to tailor training to individual needs, and helps them keep up with changes in education policy and practice.

She said: “The National College’s CPD selection covers all of the subject areas, and then some.”

“Our whole school workforce has access to a huge CPD library, with webinars which are very engaging.” she continued.

She added: “When you’re new to the role, that’s so helpful and allows you to build your confidence.”

“We have staff in a variety of roles who are utilising the CPD too, which is great.” she said.

She revealed: “The CPD links to all different areas. There are webinars on health & safety, SEND, safeguarding, just everything that you could possibly need.”

A wealth of benefits

Curwen Primary School have seen a strong staff uptake since joining, and Emma is impressed with how the workforce has approached the wealth of training available.

She said: “The feedback from staff has been brilliant.”

“It’s CPD from a range of experts, rather than me delivering CPD for all staff.” she explained.

She commented: “From that point of view, it’s absolutely fantastic.”

“There’s some excellent content on leadership, which is great for those new to the role.” she continued.

Emma concluded by reinforcing just how valuable a resource The National College has been and will continue to be in the future for Curwen Primary School

“I know that there is something available for each staff member, it’s very reliable.” she said.

She added: “I can direct staff members to CPD following their appraisals too.”

“It’s great that staff can search for CPD which they are interested in, for their own personal development as well.” she finished.