Cate Clegg, Northumbria Police

For the last five years, Cate Clegg has been running initial teacher training (ITT) courses for police officers and staff at Northumbria Police, one of the largest forces in the country. She is responsible for assessing the trainers against learning and development national vocational qualification (NVQ) levels 3 and 4, including the A1 assessor qualification. As an IfL Volunteer Connection, her role is to encourage trainers to carry out continuing professional development (CPD), reflect on it, and record it.

I am a learning and development assessor in the quality assurance and accreditation section of the dedicated learning and development department at Northumbria Police. My role involves supporting trainer development for training deliverers across the organisation.

Having recently piloted a new three-week course for Preparing to Teach in the Lifelong Learning Sector (PTLLS), which incorporates all the assessment for the qualification, I am currently developing a training course and the associated assessment for the Certificate in Teaching in the Lifelong Learning Sector (CTLLS).

I also run presentation skills courses, and handle training in other areas, such as facilitation and coaching. Quality assurance of training delivery and planning falls within my remit too, and I am the forum co-ordinator for a trainers discussion group.

Being an IfL Volunteer Connection means that I also have responsibility for spreading the word about effective CPD.

The current management team encourages CPD, but does not enforce it. There is an appraisal system in place to identify learning needs, but as with many public bodies, financial constraints mean that it is not possible to accommodate all of these.

Until recently, access to technology was limited. This year, all staff have been given access to the internet, which was previously restricted quite severely.

Becoming an IfL Volunteer Connection

As a member of IfL, I was informally promoting the benefits of CPD and the use of REfLECT to my own students, that is, trainee trainers.

When I found out about the IfL Volunteer Connections programme, I spoke with my supervisor about the possibility of formalising my role in this area. My supervisor and first‑line manager supported my request. I became an IfL Volunteer Connection last autumn and attended an IfL workshop in December 2009.

I am also supported by Darrin Cutting, the head of learning and development, who agreed to my participating in this case study.

As an IfL Volunteer Connection, my challenge is to spread the word about CPD and encourage trainers not only to carry out professional development, but also to reflect on this and record it. My experience is that most trainers do reflect, but very few have recorded what they have done in the past.

In the quality assurance and accreditation section in which I work, we have been recording CPD for several years, as it is a requirement for awarding bodies. For those trainers who do not work with external bodies, however, it had not been a requirement until recently.

Also, many of them were unclear about what actually constitutes CPD and in many cases equated it only with formal courses.

Benefits

My involvement as an IfL Volunteer Connection has provided several benefits for me and for other IfL members within Northumbria Police:

• I have improved my own computer skills as a result of using REfLECT
  
  
• Whereas this was rather piecemeal in the past, I am now recording all my own CPD
  
  
• Through member workshops, I have helped many colleagues get started on using REfLECT to record their CPD
  
  
• Having successfully completed the Qualified Teacher Learning and Skills (QTLS) process myself, I have so far supported three other members through the process, and am currently supporting two more.
  
  
• My own CPD record is used as a basis for discussion during my yearly appraisal with my supervisor.
  
  

Impact

In just a few months, my involvement as an IfL Volunteer Connection has had a significant impact:

• More IfL members within Northumbria Police are using REfLECT to record meaningful CPD
  
  
• There is more awareness of what CPD and reflective practice are and how they can help develop effective teaching practice
  
  
• More trainers in Northumbria Police are going through the Qualified Teacher Learning and Skills (QTLS) or Associate Teacher Learning and Skills (ATLS) process
  
  
• I personally use REfLECT to help with action planning, as well as reflection
  
  
• I have also started using REfLECT to create blogs to chart progress on courses that I am running. On the most recent PTLLS pilot course, I collaborated with my colleague on the course to create a daily blog, which we have used as part of our review process of the course with our manager.
  
  

What’s next as an IfL Volunteer Connection?

I plan to run more workshops, possibly of a more advanced nature, incorporating some of the new technology available. I also intend to continue providing information, guidance and support for those thinking about or undergoing Professional Formation.

In terms of my own CPD, I plan to develop my coaching skills, and have recently joined a co- coaching forum run by the Association for Coaching.

I also need to develop my own technological skills, and plan to set up a webfolio on REfLECT, learn how REfLECT Mobile works, and get more involved in the social networking side of learning, for which I am currently taking part in the IfL pilot.

I would also like to increase my competence in using Smartboard™ and PowerPoint™ to a more advanced level.

Cate’s recommendations for effective CPD

• Don’t always look for CPD opportunities to come to you – create your own
  
  
• Action plan yourself – REfLECT Action Plans are a great way to structure your CPD plans
  
  
• Be creative with REfLECT – it’s not just a tool for recording your statutory CPD: use it as your personal filing cabinet in ways that suit you
  
  
• Share your good practice with colleagues and employer, and encourage others to do the same