Our partnership with the Chartered College of Teaching demonstrates a shared commitment to nurturing a community of educators dedicated to continuous learning and evidence-based practice. These initiatives aim to create a more robust educational landscape, benefiting both educators and students.

A little more about the initiatives is below, but first, our CEO, Dr Andrew Campbell, explains what it means to him:

“Our people are the beating heart of Brooke Weston Trust. We support the professional ambition of all teaching staff here, as we want them to be the torchbearers for our young people. We take their career aspirations very seriously, as without them, we have nothing.”

Brooke Weston Trust is proud to empower its educators by offering them free membership to the Chartered College of Teaching, providing access to valuable resources like the 'Impact' journal and a vast education and research database. This membership also includes participation in networks, webinars, and exclusive events, allowing teachers to influence professional policies through consultations and roundtable discussions.

Dr Rachel Lawrence-Byron, Director of Professional Development at Brooke Weston Trust said:

“I am delighted that the Trust have been awarded Institutional Member Status, which recognises the strength of the partnership between the Chartered College of Teaching and Brooke Weston Trust.

“The Chartered College of Teaching has helped us to weave engagement with education research into day-to-day school life and create a culture where teachers use research to help them reflect on their teaching. Institutional Member Status will help us to continue to develop this culture.”

For those seeking professional growth, Chartered Status offers a structured pathway involving assessment units to showcase expertise across various domains. The first module in the award is the Certificate in Evidence Informed Practice, which helps teachers to build their expertise in using evidence to inform their practice. Brooke Weston Trust encourages engagement with this module by funding the module for any teacher in the Trust who would like to undertake it.

In collaboration with the Chartered College of Teaching and Impact Ed, teachers at Thomas Clarkson are completing the full Chartered Teacher Award. Last year teachers at the Academy completed modules in Education Research and Inquiry. This partnership enabled rigorous analysis of intervention impacts, detailed in the case study 'Developing a culture of Evidence Informed Practice in the Classroom.' This year two cohorts of teachers at Thomas Clarkson Academy are working on the award, with teachers completing the ‘Development of Teaching Practice’ module which employs deliberate practice to help teachers improve an aspect of their teaching.

The award of Institutional Member Status will further strengthen the trust’s partnership with the Chartered College of Teaching, and in February 2024 the trust will be appointing Research Champions who will play a crucial role as a liaison between the Chartered College of Teaching and their school. They will serve as advocates for the Chartered College of Teaching and actively support colleagues with engaging with Chartered College of Teaching resources and content, with the primary objective of promoting ongoing professional learning and the adopting of evidence-informed approaches within their school context.

Jonny Goggs, Head of Partnerships at the Chartered College of Teaching said:

“We were thrilled to award Institutional Member Status to Brooke Weston Trust, which represents richly-deserved recognition for the trust's commitment to empowering and developing their teaching staff through professional membership and accreditation. The culture of research engagement across Brooke Weston Trust is clearly evident, and we look forward to continued partnership with the trust to support strong outcomes for young people across their communities.”

This partnership underlines our commitment to transforming educational performance in the communities where we work. If you would like to find out more about the Chartered College of Teaching, please visit: https://chartered.college/

Across our Trust, Teaching Assistants also have the opportunity to enhance their professional development through Associate membership. In fact, we extend our support to many other colleagues across our organisation by providing professional membership for their chosen pathway, more about which we’ll cover in a future article.