Wednesday 31 March 2021
The Committee for Education, Sport & Culture has agreed to increase the total number of Inset days during each academic year from four to five.
This increase of one extra inset day at the start of every September will bring local schools in line with their UK counterparts, and allow them to dedicate appropriate time to strategic planning and professional development to support school improvement, whether this is via opportunities for teachers to take part in training, or for schools' senior leaders to develop and implement new ideas to improve their wider offering for learners.
Inset days are vital for school improvement, as they are used for professional development and strategic planning, the implementation of new policies, statutory and regulatory training and more.
In recent years Safeguarding, Health and Safety and other statutory Continual Professional Development (CPD) obligations have become an increasing focus of Inset days and the need for schools to prioritise this important work has sometimes reduced the time available for staff to benefit from specific quality non-teaching time to explore the ongoing strategic and professional development needs within individual schools and settings.
This decision will provide school and settings' staff with more opportunity to work together on local school improvement priorities, whilst ensuring that statutory training continues as required and is an example of the commitment of the Committee for Education, Sport & Culture to supporting staff and settings' development.
