ABSTRACT
The world of continuing professional development (CPD) is fast changing. The emphasis on CPD within The Children’s Plan (Department for Children, Schools and Families, 2007), subsequent documentation and literature has changed since 2010 and the election of the Coalition government. Curriculum changes and the proposed introduction of the English Baccalaureate have signalled a return to a more traditional, subject knowledge-based curriculum. The introduction of Teaching Schools at the heart of alliances of schools and the continued commercialisation of CPD have led to a form of deregulation of CPD, and the belief that teaching is a craft (Gove, 2010) has enabled schools to pay a bigger role in supporting a form of CPD that promotes teachers supporting teachers, and accountability for it resting with schools, their results and Ofsted ratings. Reports from many sources, including the remit for teaching schools (National College of School Leadership, 2012), stress the need for CPD focused on core skills and modern foreign languages.
