Autonomy vs. Accountability: Ending the CPD Tug of War

Online Event | 1 Hour | Hosted by Dr. Chris Baker

Most schools feel this tension. Tighten CPD too much and teachers follow instructions rather than grow. Loosen it and professional development becomes disconnected, difficult to track, and impossible to build on.

The schools getting this right are not choosing a side. They are building something different: a CPD model shaped around their own vision, their own frameworks, and their own definition of what good looks like in the classroom. One that invites genuine reflective growth rather than passive compliance, and gives senior leaders the visibility they need to know it is working.

In this live online session, Dr Chris Baker is joined by S J Eastwood, Assistant Principal at North Cambridge Academy (Meridian Trust), who will share how their school made exactly this shift. Together they will unpack what it actually takes, what changed for staff and leadership, and what it looks like day to day.

What you will take away

• A framework for thinking about whether your current CPD model builds on itself year on year
• Practical examples of how one school structured their professional learning around their own teaching standards and language
• A clearer picture of the next step for your own setting

This session is for you if:

• You lead CPD in a school or MAT and feel the current approach is not coherent or joined up
• You want to move beyond compliance-based PD towards genuine teacher growth
• You are looking for a model that works for both teachers and senior leaders

About your host

Dr Chris Baker is a former teacher and professional development specialist who designs and leads CPD across the 35 schools of the Cabot Learning Federation. He holds a doctorate in leadership self-efficacy, with a particular interest in what it takes to build cultures where teachers and leaders genuinely grow.