At Willowtown Community Primary School we are committed to designing and delivering our INSPIRE curriculum; continuously learning and exploring to enhance our teaching and learner outcomes.

We want to create an innovative culture and attitude. 

We want to enable staff to take risks and experiment in their practice. 

To develop a culture where staff are open to thinking and doing things differently.

We believe this demands strong personal and professional leadership in every classroom. We believe quality, well planned professional learning lies at the heart of achieving this vision.

Principles that guide Professional Learning at Willowtown

1. Time:  Staff are allocated Professional Learning time fortnightly

2. Evidence informed practice: Whole school enquiries, utilising current research and data, informs any changes to school policy or practice. 

3. Agency: Staff identify areas of PL that would enhance their practice during professional development meetings    

4. Relevant: Ensuring professional learning is focused on the learner’s learning and the school’s goals.PL is carefully planned to meet the current needs of the school and learners

5. Collaboration: Working in triads and groups within and across school as a key feature of PL at Willowtown. 

6. Reflective practice: Opportunities to reflect critically and candidly on current practice, and being open to others’ reflections on how practice can be improved or developed. 

At Willowtown we believe that quality Professional Learning is highly valuable and integral to realising the school’s development priorities and Wales’ national mission, therefore it’s worth allocating the time and effort to do it properly.