Bolder Academy

Staff Development

We believe it is imperative that our staff get the very best professional development, not only to ensure all of our students receive the very best teaching but also, to enable them to develop as professionals.

Our staff are supported in a number of ways:

The Be Bold Network

The Be Bold Network, supported by Evidence Based Education and Teach First, has been established.  The aim of this network is to bring current academic research about education to the forefront of teacher’s minds. Key educational thinkers share their research. So far Bolder has hosted:

• Bradley Busch - an expert on metacognition
• Sam Sims - author of the Teacher Gap
• Lucy Crehan- author of Cleverlands
• Andy Buck – an expert on coaching
• Tom Sherrington - a leader in his field, on dual coding.

Under this umbrella, Bolder staff lead subject specific networks. Each network aims to discuss subject specific pedagogy and the best practice in their respective disciplines. The below list details the national networks our staff lead on:

Partnership with the Subject Research Group at University College London (UCL)

We have formed a partnership with the Subject Research Group at the UCL Institute of Education. This allows our staff to keep abreast of the latest academic research and thinking within each subject discipline, and apply this to lessons and assessments at the Academy.

Partnership with Accenture and Sky

Accenture delivers training sessions throughout the year to our early career teachers, focussing on developing staff as future middle leaders. Sky have continued their support of Bolder Academy by offering a range of professional development sessions. So far, staff have been supported with coaching, effective time management and wellbeing strategies.

Partnership with Teach First

The development of our staff is further supported by our partnership with Teach First. Bolder staff are currently enrolled in the Teach First NPQML – A teaching leadership course aimed at developing Middle Leaders; the Teach First NPQSL – A teaching leadership course aimed at developing Senior Leaders; and the Teach First Careers and employability leadership programme: A course aimed at developing the careers programme within schools across the country.

Partnership with Ark Mastery

To support the development of our curricula in Maths and English, we work closely with colleagues from the Ark Mastery programme. Staff receive regular coaching and support with delivering their respective curriculums, as well as the opportunity to moderate practice and assessments with other schools across the country.

Other Opportunities

We also remain committed to the following professional development programmes:

1. All department teams are members of the Hounslow Subject Network group. This is an opportunity for staff to meet with colleagues across the borough in their subject discipline, moderating schemes of work and assessment as well as sharing best practice.
2. Bolder Academy is a member of the London West Alliance Training Programme, enabling staff to receive regular professional development opportunities.
3. We welcome teachers from across London to work with departments on a subject specific basis. This will allow staff the opportunity to quality assure their teaching and assessments, as well as receive 1:1 support from a subject specialist.
4. We employ a Teaching and Learning consultant, who provides 1:1 coaching with staff around their teaching.