Home > Professional Update > PRD Resources Process What do I need to know and do? Your Professional Context Deferral Process Direct Submissions Professional Learning What is Professional Learning? Using Evidence of Impact Professional Review and Development Coaching and Mentoring Awards and Professional Recognition Research and Practitioner Enquiry Research Practitioner Enquiry PRD Resources and Useful links The links and resources listed below feature in the Professional Review and Development Guidelines (PDF) Professional Review and Development Links GTCS Professional Update and Annual Evaluations: Longitudinal Report: 2014-2018 Professional Standards: Standards for Registration Teacher Professionalism: Teacher Professionalism and Professional Learning in Scotland Professional Learning: What is Professional Learning? Professional Update: What do I need to know and do? Roles and responsibilities for all: PRD Roles and Responsibilities Local Authorities and Employers: PRD for Local Authorities and Employers Protected Characteristics: PRD for Local Authorities and Employers Coaching Approaches: Coaching and Mentoring Unconscious Bias: PRD for Local Authorities and Employers PL Planning Cycle: What is Professional Learning? National Model of Professional Learning: Education Scotland Website Coaching wheels: Using a Coaching Wheel for reflection and self-evaluation against the Standards Professional Learning Records: What is Professional Learning? PRD Myths and Legends: PRD Myths and Legends Resources Guidance to use Resources (PDF) Culture and Climate Resource Green - Culture and Climate of Trust (PPT) Pink - Culture and Climate of Trust (PPT) Blue - Culture and Climate of Trust (PPT) Yellow - Culture and Climate of Trust (PPT) Coloured Box Wheel (doc) Culture and Climate of Trust generic self-evaluation wheel (PDF) Culture and Climate of Trust Split Wheel (doc) Self Evaluation Scoring Table - Questions Only (doc) Self Evaluation Scoring Table - Statements Only (doc) Readiness for PRD Resource Readiness for PRD (PPT) PRD Participant Voice Personal reflections from participants in PRD. Benefits of a good PRD discussion Benefits of a good PRD discussion Susan Ward, Depute Head Teacher, Kingsland Primary School, Scottish Borders Council A good PRD should provide clarity and challenge in equal measure. A good reviewer will push you to ask the difficult questions of yourself and then support you to find the answers. Your PRD is protected me-time when the only item on the agenda is how you will develop your skills and get better at what you do. What a gift! As a reviewer you benefit too, learning more about your reviewee and how best to help them move forward. My experience of the PRD process has been very positive. It has been much more than a cosy chat or a tick-boxing exercise and has left me clearer about what my next steps are. I have felt valued, listened to and like my contributions matter. When reviewees and reviewers make the time to engage with the process it is fortifying for them both.” Culture Culture Jacqueline Stewart, Retired Headteacher, Bankton Primary School, West Lothian Council “Everyone is a lifelong learner in Bankton’ is as relevant for non-teaching and support staff as it is for teachers. The culture we have created values everyone’s contribution to the learning process but also ensures that Support Staff and Nursery Nurses are constantly experiencing, participating in and contributing to professional learning which is stimulating, motivating and impacts on their work with learners. Staff in Bankton Primary School engage in regular self-evaluation and reflection throughout the year and bring this together to update and co-create the school Self-Evaluation Summary, setting next steps for school improvement. As part of this self-evaluation process, professional learning is identified for our staff to enable the development of identified priorities. Aligned with this collegiate process, staffs engage in quality PRD discussions with an emphasis on coaching, self-evaluation against the GTCS standards and professional learning needs identified within the school priorities. These discussions are also a celebration of all the teacher has achieved as a professional – from progress within set targets to challenges faced and met during the year. These PRD discussions have contributed to and enhanced the ethos of professional trust in the school as staff members feel valued by the Senior Leadership Team.” Caroline Bruce, Head Teacher, Torbain and Capshard Primary Schools, Fife Council "There is an ethos of respect for every individual through the PRD process. People are empowered and encouraged to take risks within a coaching culture. All staff are supported and challenged with an emphasis on self-reflection. It is expected that everyone is a learner! At the heart of this are genuine trusting relationships where all feel valued and are given opportunities, thus creating collective teacher efficacy. The success is ultimately the positive impact on our learners." Ongoing professional dialogue Ongoing professional dialogue Christine Rednall, Education Support Officer, Midlothian, Professional Learning and Leadership Seconded to South East Improvement Collaborative “In my experience Professional Review and Development enables me to continually renew, refocus and reshape my professional identity, knowledge, skills and abilities. PRD is best characterised by its ongoing dialogic nature of reflection, analysis and critique in a supportive and challenging setting. It is this support and challenge which has empowered me to critically evaluate, implement and embed new research, practices and methodologies, in order to improve outcomes for the learners in my classrooms and school, throughout my teaching career. The most effective and powerful PRD for me has been when there has been the commitment of both - reviewee (myself) and my reviewer - in ongoing professional dialogue (not merely a one-off meeting) with coaching at its heart, over the whole course of the academic year. This PRD process, which has the National Model for Professional Learning at its heart, allows me as a learner to develop and progress in the same type of supportive environment I create for my own learners, based on the values of trust, respect and integrity for all.” Self-evaluation and reflection Self-evaluation and reflection Karen Broadfoot, Faculty Head of Science. St Andrew’s HS, Glasgow City Council “The coaching wheel has been an invaluable tool in the PRD process, not only reducing the level of paperwork required but also helping staff to focus on identified priorities. Staff appear to feel so much more confident in talking about their strengths and areas for development, perhaps because it's their opinion rather than the opinion of their line manager, and the PRD meeting has become more focused on professional dialogue. It's been great as a Faculty Head to have members of my staff team lead their own PRD meeting, with my input being about prompting further discussion rather than relaying my own opinion. This professional dialogue is always incredibly productive, supportive and teacher centred. As a Faculty Head, the process of leading these professional development meetings with staff has now become an incredibly enjoyable experience, particularly watching how it has helped our less experienced staff grow in confidence, safe in the knowledge that they are supported, valued and that their contribution to our whole school team is appreciated.” Coaching Approaches Coaching Approaches Karen Broadfoot, Faculty Head of Science. St Andrew’s High School, Glasgow “Participating in our whole school coaching programme has been invaluable to me as a Faculty Head over the past couple of years. I have experienced the programme both as a reviewer and as a reviewee. "Coaching has taught me so much about my own practices- how I evaluate myself and how I provide support for my staff team through their own continuous professional development. Prior to the introduction of coaching the professional review was very much led by the principal teacher. Now the focus is supporting colleagues to evaluate their own needs and to help them to identify a suitable pathway for progression, whether that is to identify skills to enhance their classroom practice or to prepare for promotion. "Since the introduction of coaching in my faculty, a number of staff who had previously expressed no interest in seeking a promoted post have now moved on to participate in Middle Manager training opportunities. A number of these staff have said that it was the opportunity to evaluate their practice, particularly highlighting the strengths and key skills they had developed, that had given them the confidence to start thinking about their next career steps. These staff are currently completing their coaching diploma as part of our whole school aspiring principal teacher programme. "As a reviewee, the experience has been incredibly supportive. My line manager had previously been trained in the use of coaching techniques so when they became my line manager the PRD I experienced was very different to that experienced previously. I left the meeting feeling listened to, supported and focused on my next steps as a faculty head. Having completed my coaching diploma it's now very apparent at how often my line manager has used coaching techniques in our conversations.” Louise-Anne Greeves, Class Teacher, St Andrew’s High School, Glasgow “A coaching approach to the PRD process has empowered me to engage with an entirely different mindset. Opportunity and development are very much the focus and I have felt supported in exceeding my potential by the effective use of coaching approaches. I feel this offers much more in terms of value and building capacity than a traditional target setting exercise. As an aspiring subject leader, I have also utilised approaches such as the Coaching Wheel and the Success Walk to support and challenge staff on their own professional learning journeys.” Annemarie McGougan, DHT, St Andrew’s High School, Glasgow City Council “Using the coaching wheel as part of our PRD process ensured that every member of the department had taken time to reflect on their strengths and areas they wished to develop before their PRD session. Due to reflecting against the GTC standards and areas linked to our School Improvement Plan, our meetings had a clear direction and were very productive. Using the GROW model to discuss strengths and areas to develop helped us to identify suitable professional learning activities for this session which genuinely helped to build capacity in our department; this included identifying staff with leadership aspirations and providing appropriate leadership roles within the department this session.” Pauline Donaghy, Acting PT English, St Andrew’s High School, Glasgow City Council “A strong culture and ethos of coaching has been established in our school and has become very much a part of our PRD process. Coaching is at the heart of our professional dialogue and all teachers have experience of this as part of their PRD conversation. Following engagement in a coaching diploma by all reviewers, a series of coaching wheels were developed in consultation with staff to allow meaningful discussion using a coaching approach. This has impacted positively on the quality of the professional discussion during PRD conversations and teachers feel more empowered in discussing their professional learning needs and aspirations. The coaching wheels, linked to the GTCS standards, also provide a reflection tool for staff and this has allowed a focus on authentic discussion rather than paperwork associated with the PRD process.” Protecting time for PRD Protecting time for PRD Jayne Rowe, Education Officer, Teacher Professionalism, Glasgow City Council “Time is essential for an effective PRD. Schools and local authorities need to ensure that time for PRD is protected in working time agreements, including time for self-evaluation prior to the PRD. It is vital that the time for the PRD conversation is undisturbed, no phone calls or chaps at the door. Both people need to shut off from the other demands on their time in that moment to ensure a conversation that is powerful and can lead to a route forward within identified areas for development. If time is not protected or is disturbed it sends a clear message that the process is not valued.” Being a Reviewer Being a Reviewer Alice Clegg, Curriculum Leader Expressive Arts/ Professional Learning and Development Lead, Boroughmuir High School, City of Edinburgh Council “I have thoroughly enjoyed the process of being a reviewer within our whole school PRD process - I lead three departments. What I value most is the opportunity to meet one to one with my reviewee with no other distractions. It is a power hour! Using coaching dialogue too often leads to dynamic conversations with reviewees about their strengths, areas for development and next steps. It is empowering. "Interestingly reviewees have fed-back to me that they genuinely value the opportunity too, to have time to speak about themselves, their job, their professional development and vision for the future. We cover a lot of ground! One of my colleagues said to me it had been the most ‘useful hour of the year’ for him that session! "For me as a reviewer the PRD process is extremely positive; it builds staff capacity, it celebrates the positives, it leads to improvement and builds relationship.” Jay Helbert, Head Teacher, Inveraray Primary School, Argyll and Bute Council “As a HT reviewer, using a coaching approach for professional review discussions, enables the teachers to be advocates for, and drivers of, their own professional learning. It enables me to truly listen to teachers, and by asking guiding questions, help them to challenge their own thinking and to align their own professional learning to the context and needs of the school. Teachers then take control, with me playing a support role as they learn and apply that learning to meet the school’s improvement priorities.” Leila J Martin, Head Teacher, Angus Virtual School “Throughout my career my PRD meeting has always been an extremely positive experience. It has provided me with the opportunity to reflect on my progress and meaningfully consider the most appropriate next steps for myself. I have benefitted from reviewers adopting a coaching approach which has in turn influenced me to also adopt this approach when reviewing colleagues. I believe the quality of relationship between reviewer and reviewee is central to a successful PRD. In meetings I actively listen to understand and support colleagues in a non-directive manner to find their own solutions. This approach has supported the successful development of a highly effective and high-performing team working to achieve the best possible outcomes for all our learners.” Jason Fitzgerald DHT, Westhill Academy, Aberdeenshire “It is a privilege to see people recognise their own growth and successes and provide richer opportunities for the learners in their charge. Opportunity to talk about who you are, why you do what you do and where you want to go next.” Being a Reviewee Being a Reviewee Being a Reviewee Jackie Cathcart, Hamilton Grammar “I found my PRD to be a valuable tool that enhanced the quality of my progress as a teacher by allowing ownership of my professional development; leading to further enhancement of the learning and teaching experience for both myself and the pupils in my care. "My PRD gave me the opportunity to have dialogue with my line manager enabling a quality discussion to take place about my strengths and next steps. Achieved without pressure, but with total support and encouragement. "Preparing for my PRD encouraged me to have dialogue with colleagues from other disciplines, allowing greater depth and expertise ultimately benefiting my own professional development. "Recording my PRD gave me the opportunity to reflect, change and further develop my career path by referring back to previous experiences, and moving forward.” Teacher, Leith Academy “I have found the PRD process to be a useful way for me to evaluate my current work against the Standards, and at the same time plan my next steps in my Career Long Professional Learning. The PRD Meeting was carried out in a coaching style, which enabled a supportive environment for discussion and planning.” A Supply Teacher's Positive Perspective A Supply Teacher's Positive Perspective Karen Woods, Supply Teacher, Glasgow City Council “PRD is crucial to my own professional learning and development. I am a two day per week supply teacher based in one of Glasgow’s Primary School (Saint Martha's). I am delighted to be included in the PRD emails and documentation sent from the Headteacher. I am part of the PRD timetabling like all the permanent full-time teaching staff. The feeling of inclusion is vital. Our Headteacher has invested time, energy and considerable expertise in my PRD. This helps me to feel motivated, challenged and empowered to be the best teacher that I can be in my two days temporary contract. PRD ensures that my contribution to school life is as important to me professionally as it was when I was a full time, permanent member of staff in my early teaching career with another local authority.” Local Authority perspectives Local Authority perspectives Lesley Henderson, Professional Learning and Leadership Development Officer, Fife Council “Fife Education and Children’s Services Directorate firmly believe that at the heart of an empowered system are highly skilled education professionals who engage in career-long professional learning activity from the outset of their career. "It is essential that high quality professional learning opportunities underpin the PRD process to ensure that our education professionals see themselves as leaders of their own learning and engage in learning that is collaborative, enquiring and deepens knowledge and understanding. "Our aim is to ensure that all education professionals in Fife experience their entitlement to an annual PRD meeting where reviewees report that they feel that their professional learning is valued and where they are encouraged to identify next steps in their professional learning journey. Our education professionals are encouraged to keep a record of their PRD activity throughout the session using their online learning logs, self-evaluate against the relevant GTCS Standards in preparation for their meeting and are able to, with the support of their reviewer, identify next steps in professional learning which is reflected in their Professional Learning Plan. "All reviewers are trained in using a coaching approach during the PRD meeting to ensure that the quality of the dialogue ensures that the reviewee is given the opportunity to reflect on the impact of their professional learning and to identify goals for continuing improvements. "We are fully committed to tackling bureaucracy and believe that the quality of the PRD conversation is the key to ensuring that our education professionals are confident and committed to their ongoing professional learning rather than it being solely about the paperwork completed in advance of the meeting.” “Margo Cunningham, Training and Development Officer, East Lothian Council "As a Local Authority we believe in the power of coaching to develop practice and build capacity across the system. "We listen to feedback from our practitioners about their experience of PRD and Professional Update (PU) through our annual review of the PRD and PU process. This informs our decisions about how we continue to develop a coaching culture. In response to feedback about the need for reviewees to build their knowledge and understanding of coaching “Having a coaching conversation” workshop was designed to build knowledge, understanding and practice in the context of a PRD. At the workshop reviewers and reviewees use skill practice exercises to enable them to put the theory and knowledge of coaching into practice. Participants have shared how this learning has raised their awareness and importance of “talking less and listening more not just at a PRD meeting but in my day to day practice”. "To build on the learning from “Having a Coaching Conversation” the local authority introduced the GTCS accredited Coaching for Success Diploma. This programme takes coaching to a deeper level as participants engage with reading and research to reflect upon their practice as a coach. "Our next steps to developing our coaching culture will be the introduction of coaching masterclasses, this learning will build on the learning from the Coaching for Success diploma.”