Professional Learning & Growth at Robert May’s School

Welcome to Professional Development at RMS. We are a school driven by a singular, non-negotiable mission: Excellence for Every Person, Every Day.

We believe that exceptional student outcomes are the direct result of empowering our staff to be lifelong learners. Our CPD isn’t a paperwork exercise or a series of tick-box events; it is a vibrant, collaborative culture. At RMS, we operate under one shared philosophy: #OneTeamOneDream. Whether you are an Early Career Teacher, an experienced middle leader, or a vital member of our support staff, we are all pulling together in the same direction to unlock the potential of our young people.

The Golden Thread: Our Core Framework

Our school-wide professional development is anchored by a unified theme: The Robert May’s M.E.A.L — Meaningful Engagement, Active Learning.

We want vibrant, high-challenge classrooms where students are actively participating, not just quietly complying. Every internal training milestone across the academic year links directly back to mastering five practical, adaptive pillars:

1. Routines & Belonging: Creating calm, welcoming, and ordered environments from minute one.
2. Responsive Teaching: Using check-ins like mini-whiteboards to catch misconceptions instantly.
3. Modelling Excellence: Showing students exactly "What a Good One Looks Like" to build confidence.
4. Scaffolding & Independence: Providing the right support tools, then fading them out as students fly.
5. Retrieval & Literacy: Embedding core knowledge and fostering a fierce whole-school love for reading.

How We Learn: Two Strands, One Goal

To balance whole-school strategy with individual professional passions, our CPD is delivered through two distinct strands:

Strand 1: Connected Whole-School CPD

This is our shared, strategic journey mapped across the academic year. It aligns our School Improvement Plan directly with classroom practice.

• Statutory Excellence: We proudly partner with The National College to deliver a streamlined, high-quality suite of flexible statutory and compliance training, protecting your time while keeping us safe and expert.
• The Implementation Arc: Our 5 dedicated INSET days across the year flow through a deliberate sequence of Plan, Do, Assess, and Review, giving departments dedicated time to collaborate, co-design resources, and measure real classroom impact.

Strand 2: Our Optional CPD Ecosystem (Driven by You!)

Professional growth is never "one size fits all." We offer three distinct avenues for staff to collaborate, share expertise, and take ownership of their own professional journeys:

• New Staff CPD: A warmly welcoming, highly structured program designed to ensure that colleagues joining RMS feel supported from day one. We focus on unpacking the school's unique context, embedding our shared routines, and providing practical, stress-free mentoring so you can thrive inside our community.
• Optional CPD: Collaborative, research-informed discussion groups that focus on targeted areas of classroom practice and leadership. Rather than sitting through top-down lectures, these hubs give you the space to dive into educational research, test out modern pedagogical ideas with your peers, and strategically develop your career pathways.
• TeachMeets: The ultimate community platform for sharing what actually works. These are informal, fast-paced sessions where teachers from across different subjects come together to pitch one single, actionable strategy, resource, or activity they have used successfully in their own classrooms. It is peer-to-peer inspiration at its very best.

External Courses & Professional Pathways

We love seeing our staff look outward. If there is a specific external course you are passionate about pursuing, we want to support you.

• The Process: Chat through the course with your line manager first. Once you're aligned, simply complete the CPD Request Form on the RMS Intranet, have your manager complete their statement, and pass it forward to our CPD & Professional Learning Lead for strategic approval and cover (Mrs Louisa Chaplin).

Want to explore deeper? RMS Staff can access our full internal library of strategies, schedules, and resources on our VLE.