INSET days (or training days, or PD days, depending on where you work) come round a few times a year, and most of us have sat through one that felt like a box being ticked. They don’t have to. The good ones have a few things in common.
Start with what people need
Use the day to meet real needs, not to fill a slot. You probably know them already from appraisals and conversations; if not, a short survey will tell you. Then set those individual needs against the school’s priorities, so the day works for both.
Decide what the day is for
As with a lesson, work out what you want people to leave with. That might be practical, like everyone knowing how to log a concern in the new safeguarding system, or broader, like staff feeling more confident calming an angry pupil. It might equally be longer term: a plan to improve attendance that’s ready to use by half term. Clear aims make the day easier to plan and tell staff why they’re there.
Build shared goals
INSET is one of the few times everyone’s in the same room. Use it to get people working together and agreeing goals, not sitting in rows. Staff will work much harder towards goals they helped set.
Tell people what’s expected
Share the aims well before the day, so staff know what’s in it for them. If they need to prepare anything, make it very clear what and by when. A training day where half the room hasn’t done the pre-reading, because nobody told them properly, gets off to a flat start. It happens more than you’d think.
Choose who leads it with care
Colleagues can lead training brilliantly, as long as they’ve had time to prepare and their colleagues’ respect. They need to know their stuff too. An outside trainer brings something different: a fresh voice, and a clear sign that the school is investing in its staff. Plenty of schools mix the two.
Get the room right
Adults learn badly in the wrong room, just as children do. Find somewhere light, with space and the kit you need, and check the screen and the wifi before anyone arrives.
Take care over the materials
Materials should make sense on their own, for anyone who couldn’t be there and for everyone who wants to look back later. Scrappy handouts tell staff the day isn’t important to leaders, and they’ll treat it that way.
Plan it like a good lesson
Everything you know about good lessons applies. Keep it varied and pitch it for the people in the room. Give them plenty of chances to talk, try things and share ideas.
Be ready before they arrive
Don’t let staff walk in to find you wrestling with the photocopier. It sends the same message as poor materials.
Don’t let people opt out lightly
If the day matters, treat it as though it does. Staff will take their cue from you.
Make it enjoyable
Training days often fall at the start of term, when everyone would secretly rather still be on holiday. Build in proper breaks so people can catch up, put in something light to break the ice, and, most important of all, buy decent biscuits.
If you’re planning a year of training rather than one day, our guide to planning whole-school CPD that sticks picks up where this leaves off. And if you’d like someone from outside to lead a session in your school, have a look at our in-house training.