Continuing Professional Development Policy
Overall aims
Trinity Diploma/Cambridge DELTA
Oxford School of English is keen to provide financial support for any staff wishing to study the LTCL Diploma TESOL or Cambridge DELTA, in return for a two-year commitment (upon qualification) to the school. Please ask the Principal or the Director of Studies for further details if you are interested.
Formal Observations
All new teachers will be briefly observed within their first month of service and monitored and appraised during the three-month probationary period. There will be at least one formal observation with a full lesson plan every year for all teaching staff. This will regularly take place in November before the staff appraisals. This is to ensure quality of teaching is being maintained and to identify any areas that needs addressing so that it meets the needs of the individual, the students and the organisation. Further observations may be scheduled with notice at a six-month interval. If a teacher wishes to be observed on a particular class at any time this can be arranged.
Peer Observations
Formal peer observations of other teachers are arranged each term. The Director of Studies will arrange for a lesson to be covered or one will be asked to peer observe at another suitable time. Due to the number of teachers in the school this facility is limited to one observation per person per term. However, arrangements can be made at any time for teachers to peer observe. This can be arranged and encouraged amongst the teachers themselves. A record of formally arranged peer observations are kept and teachers are encouraged to use one of the peer observation tasks in the light blue file in the staff room or use their own notes. These will be filed in the teachers’ records.
Staff Appraisals
Staff appraisals are conducted annually (preferably with an interim appraisal at a six monthly interval) and are linked to the school’s wider management of teaching staff which includes recruitment, induction, development and support, and problem handling. In other words, appraisals are just one part of the ongoing process of communication between management and staff. It is both developmental and evaluative, and is seen as an opportunity both to encourage and praise good work and to provide help with difficulties.
EFL Membership, Publications and Subscriptions
The school is a member of English UK, IATEFL and OXDOSA. The school also subscribes to the ELT Journal, EL Gazette, onestopenglish, Cambridge English Teacher, Teaching English.
June 2022
This policy is reviewed on an annual basis. However, if any issues relating to the policy should arise, the policy will be reviewed immediately.
Date of next scheduled review:
June 2023