How the NIoT can make running schools simpler

Because we are rooted in schools, we understand the pressures that headteachers and trust leaders are under. When budgets are tight or workloads are high, long-term workforce planning can easily drop off the bottom of the to-do list. Consequently, leaders across schools often take individual decisions about professional development, each reflecting their own perceptions of what’s best for staff and pupils. Even where formal staff learning is taking place, its benefit can be dampened by the lack of a unifying approach. 

By contrast, what we offer is coherence. Our driving rationale is: this could be simpler and more effective. We therefore aim to be a collaborative and strategic partner to schools, delivering a full suite of professional development programmes as well as sharing relevant, actionable insights from our research.

Good teachers and leaders are a long-term investment for a school, and this is reflected in our vision and our delivery. We know from our own school leadership experience how important it is to invest in the teachers we work with. We can help you take talented trainees and ECTs, and ensure that they are nurtured and supported in their professional ambitions. And we understand that investing in teachers also means prioritising their wellbeing and mental and physical health.

Our programmes – whether for trainees, teachers or leaders – draw on a common approach, a common language and a common evidence base.  In addition, our research and best-practice unit is continually researching what makes the best and most effective professional development – and then helping our programmes team to adopt their findings in practice. Schools that choose to work with us will be receiving training that reflects the most up-to-date research into what works.

We believe in the importance of meeting schools and trusts where they are. We know the challenges you face; we understand what you need us to do. And we will do it, smoothly, confidently and with sensitivity to a school’s specific circumstances.

Working in a school is not easy; running a school or academy trust is even harder. Our aim is to make the process that bit simpler and more effective.