Setting Up a Portfolio of Evidence
The recent pace of change in education in general, and the changes in the curriculum in particular, have made the need for teachers to update old skills and acquire new skills unavoidable. Professional development will be less than effective if participants are passive and the priorities are determined solely by the school or service. Planned, self-directed development can be shown to have a greater impact on the quality of work in the classroom. The use of a portfolio will support a proactive approach to professional development.

The benefits of continuing professional development which is properly defined and targeted will enable teachers to:

• maintain and improve their performance in their current job
• cope with change
• increase their capacity for learning
• contextualise professional development to school development
• enhance their career prospects

The Portfolio of Evidence
What is a portfolio? A professional development portfolio is a confidential and voluntary collection of material that records and reflects your work. It is a way of using past experiences and present activities to demonstrate and reflect on skills learnt, to identify future learning needs and priorities, and to inform and plan prospective development. It provides a mechanism for thinking about your practice in a planned and systematic way.

A portfolio links across all CPD initiatives including the Standards Framework, which provides a 'starting point' for teachers to recognise the diverse skills they already have and may require at different stages in their career. The framework enables teachers to plan training and development to make the best use of their talents within the teaching profession and to support performance management.

The first part of a portfolio contains evidence of 'achievements' such as certificates, qualifications, relevant courses attended, posts held and particular responsibilities.

The second part is a developmental portfolio section where you can:

• record your experience, skills and attributes
• record your learning and development
• reflect on your teaching and learning and its impact
• analyse your strengths and areas for further development
• set learning priorities and plan your future

Why Keep a Record ?
The process will encourage you to reflect on your experiences and this will enhance your learning. A record of your CPD is likely to become a common requirement for teachers and managers.

In the future you may well need such a record in a variety of circumstances:

• when your performance management review is due
• when you come to apply for threshold assessment
• when your job description is reviewed
• when your school conducts any internal self-review
• when your school is inspected by ESTYN
• when you appIy for a new post or promotion

How to Start?
Undertake an audit of your personal professional skills and competencies. From this you will identify:

1. areas of strength
2. areas which need refreshing
3. areas where you have little or no experience and will need further training and development

As your checklist you might use:

1. your job description
2. the Standards Framework
3. a SWOT analysis
4. other self-review instruments

Using the above as your prompts you may wish to reflect on:

• the parts of your job in which you excel
• particular contributions that you have made to the school
• an important initiative that you have recently led
• aspects of your work that prevent you from achieving your goals
• the main challenge in your present or future role
• parts of your present role that you want to develop
• skills and qualities that you have, but are not fully utiIised
• skills and qualities that you need to develop
• the sort of support that would enable you to make more of your role

Continue: What Your Portfolio Might Contain