Professional Development Policy
1. 0
Introduction
1.1
The University is committed to professional development and recognises that it is essential to
enable continuous improvement and organisational change. To this end it is keen to promote a
positive ethos towards the process of professional development and ensure that all staff
continually engage in relevant activities and opportunities throughout their careers at the
University.
2.0
Definition and Principles of Professional Development
2.1
Professional development is the process by which individuals and teams engage in a continual
process of learning in line with the strategic direction and intended growth of the University.
2.2.
This process involves the development of knowledge, skills, attitudes and behaviours in order
that individuals and teams are efficient and effective, in response to both current needs and
future demands.
2.3
It is recognised that professional development is a dynamic and continually evolving process that
takes a variety of formats, such as attending skills and updating sessions, self-directed learning,
individual and team reflection, on-the-job learning, work-shadowing, mentoring, coaching and the
involvement in work-related tasks and projects.
2.4
This policy applies to all members of staff, the purpose being to:
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2.5
ensure a common understanding and equality of opportunity in professional development
across the University
provide an overarching cohesive framework for all individual, team and organisational
development activities within the University
outline the responsibilities for professional development
ensure that planning for professional development is an integral part of the University’s cycle
of strategic activities
The University is committed to and believes in the following core principles and values:
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the importance of professional development as a driving force for organisational growth and
change.
the engagement of all staff in lifelong learning.
the pursuit and maintenance of high standards of performance by individuals, teams and the
organisation.
the encouragement of a partnership approach to professional development shared by
individuals/teams, their line managers and the organisation.
the provision of flexible opportunities and approaches to professional development to meet
the changing needs of individuals, teams and the organisation.
the adoption of a strategic approach to professional development in order to respond to both
internal and external drivers for change.
3.0
Responsibilities
3.1
Members of Staff
3.1.1
All staff are expected to take responsibility for continually developing their own knowledge and
skills in order to enhance their current and future performance. This is summarised at appraisals.
Staff are therefore expected to:
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Reflect on their role and career related development needs.
Constructively identify their development needs in liaison with their manager as part of the
University appraisal system.
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In liaison with their manager, Proactively seek out appropriate activities and opportunities to
meet needs identified.
.Engage in a process of continual learning as appropriate to the requirements of their role.
Contribute to the evaluation of professional development activities in order to assist in the
process of continual improvement.
Communicate with their line managers regarding progress against agreed development
targets, as determined by accredited courses or the Professional Development Plan more
generally.
Apply new knowledge and skills learned through development activities to own role and area.
Share with colleagues/team his/her knowledge, experience and insights gained through
participating in development activities.
3.2
University Managers
3.2.1
It is the responsibility of all line managers to help the staff within their area to identify their
development needs (either individually or collectively as a team) and then ensure that these
needs are appropriately addressed. It is expected that managers should:
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Utilise his/her own knowledge of the current strategic priorities of the University to determine
individual and team professional development targets (Anually agreed professional
development priority areas are outlined on the Application for Approval Form-appendix 4) .
Liaise with the Centre for Professional Development, as appropriate, re the addressing of
development needs identified
Seek to identify both individual and team development needs.
Facilitate the release of staff to engage in agreed University mandatory development
activities.
Ensure equity of treatment in the consideration of all requests for staff participation in
professional development activities.
Help staff to continually monitor and evaluate their performance.
Schedule appraisal meetings with staff in a timely way so as to inform future planning of
development activities in line with other University processes.
Contribute to the production of annual professional development reports and plans at the
end of each academic year in order to inform the organisation of local and central
development activities.
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Assist all staff to continually gain maximum feedback on their performance.
Integrate the planning and reviewing of development needs into routine Faculty/Service
procedures and processes.
3.3
Centre for Professional Development, Personnel Services
3.3.1
The Centre for Professional Development, Personnel Services is a centrally funded unit within
the University. The main responsibilities of this unit are to:
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Liaise with Faculty/School and Service managers in order to determine appropriate
strategies to meet identified development needs from the appraisal process.
Provide a range of accredited and non-accredited development opportunities in response to
needs identified.
Act in an advisory capacity in order to support managers within Faculties/Schools and
Services to make decision about professional development issues.
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3.4
The University
3.4.1
The University recognises that all strategic priorities can only be achieved if staff have the
appropriate skills, knowledge, experience and capability. The University therefore has a
responsibility to:
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Ensure that professional development is recognised as an essential function within the
University and an integral part of its strategic planning process
Provide professional development opportunities which ensure the legislative obligations for
staff are delivered.
Allocate appropriate resources to ensure professional development activities are delivered in
a timely and effective manner.
Establish performance indicators in order to measure agreed aspects of professional
development activities
Implement, review and evaluate development related policies and procedures in line with
strategic priorities
3.4.2
On an annual basis, the University will review the professional development priority areas to
ensure continued alignment with the overall strategic direction of the organisation. These are
communicated to Faculties/Schools and Services as part of the professional development
planning process.
3.4.3
The University recognises certain minimum standards associated within specific roles which must
be met through appropriate professional development activities. The current indicative minimum
standards are summarised in Appendix One.
4.0
Equality of Access to Professional Development
4.1
As a minimum, all staff within the University should have access to professional development
activities which are essential to their roles subject to the appraisal process being adhered to and
financial viability.
4.2
The University takes its obligations to Health and Safety and other government legislation very
seriously and ensures that adequate training provision is made to all relevant staff.
4.3
If decisions have to be taken regarding the prioritisation of staff development opportunities due to
operational constraints, the final decision will be made by the Dean of Faculty/School or Director
of Service.
4.4
Professional development activities are designed and organised to ensure that all staff who are
eligible to attend can do so. An inclusive approach is adopted to the organisation and delivery of
all professional development activities, with due consideration being given to the specific timing,
location and duration.
5.0
Funding Professional Development Activities
5.1
The University will determine on an annual basis, as part of the budget setting process, the
allocation of funding for professional development activities. This will be sufficient to deliver the
requisite level of provision. The funding identified by the University will be disaggregated to:
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5.2
the Centre for Professional Development, Personnel Services
Faculties, Schools and Services
The Centre for Professional Development will develop professional development activities for the
forthcoming academic year, based directly on professional development needs identified from
the appraisal process and other review processes. This would be communicated to the Centre
for Professional Development through the annual training needs analysis. These professional
development activities may be on an individual or team basis. The aim of this approach is to
deliver as many of the professional development needs as possible, through in house provision.
All centrally provided professional development activities are without charge. However a charge
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may be made to Faculties/ Schools or Services for late cancellations or non-attendance by their
staff on pre-booked workshops/courses.
5.3
In addition to the professional development needs identified from the appraisal process, the
identification of individual and team development needs may also evolve or new ones identified
through the academic year. The Centre for Professional Development will ensure that these too
are supported, wherever possible.
5.4
In addition, all Faculties/Schools and Services are allocated a professional development budget
to cover specialist activities not provided by the Centre for Professional Development.
Faculties/Schools and Services are required to allocate their professional development budgets
to address needs identified within the annual training needs analysis which cannot be met by the
Centre for Professional Development. Criteria to be considered when determining expenditure
against this budget, is outlined in Appendix Two.
5.5
This inter-relationship between the Centre for Professional Development and Faculties/Schools
and Services and the funding process is illustrated as a flowchart in Appendix Three.
6.0
Monitoring and Evaluation
6.1
All professional development activities within the University are evaluated to ensure that the
provision conforms to high standards and, furthermore, constitutes an effective use of resources.
6.2
The evaluation of professional development activities seeks information from a number of
different perspectives and, whenever possible, involves both participants and their line
managers.
6.3
All in-house professional development activities should be evaluated immediately following the
event and then after 6-12 weeks, if appropriate, to assess the extent of transfer of learning to
working practice.
6.4
The value of specified professional development activities is further evaluated through focused
discussions during appraisals.
6.5
All Faculties/Schools and Services are required to produce an annual report on their professional
development activities to the Centre for Professional Development. This report includes an
analysis of internal and external, accredited and non-accredited professional development
activities undertaken by staff. These individual reports will be considered by the Centre for
Professional Development and a University summary report produced, which is then be
presented at appropriate University meetings.
6.6
Wherever possible, external benchmarking criteria are used to evaluate both the strategic and
operational management of professional development within the University.
7.0
DATA STORAGE
7.1
Information relating to the participation of staff in professional development activities will be
stored in a combination of centralised and localised databases. This will be in accordance with
Data Protection guidelines.
Although staff are encouraged to keep their own records of their participation in professional
development activities, they are allowed to request details from the localised and centralised
databases. These requests should be made in writing (email or letter)
7.2
8.0
Related Policies and Procedures
8.1
There are a number of related policies and procedures that underpin the Professional
Development Policy. These include:
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Training for Approved Qualifications Procedure
Appraisal Scheme
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8.2
Copies of these policies and procedures can be found on the Centre for Professional
Development, Personnel Services website at
http://www.staffs.ac.uk/uniservices/personnel/terms_conditions/ .
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Appendix One
The University recognises certain minimum standards associated within specific roles which must be met
through appropriate professional development activities. These include:
Members of staff involved in teaching
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All newly appointed teaching staff without a teaching qualification and/or with less than three
years relevant experience as a teacher in Higher Education, are required to:
o
o
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complete the Post Graduate Certificate in Higher and Professional Education (PGCHPE)
within the first two years of employment at the University.
complete the European Computer Driving Licence (ECDL)
All newly appointed teaching staff with more than 3 years relevant experience in Higher
Education are required to:
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attend the Contemporary Issues module of the PGCHPE
complete the ECDL (unless already appropriately qualified in IT)
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All part-time teaching staff with less than 3 years relevant experience are required to complete
the Effective Teaching in Teaching in HE award
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All academic staff who are involved in the peer observation of other staff must be trained
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All research supervisors must have completed or be in the process of completing the University
accredited Research Supervision module. Principal Supervisors must have already completed
this qualification.
Members of staff involved in management activities
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All newly appointed managers are offered a mentor to support them in their role. The length of
time this mentoring relationship lasts will be decided jointly be the new manager and his/her
respective mentor but is not normally longer than one year.
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All staff in designated management roles are required to attend a continual programme of
University agreed leadership and management development activities
Members of staff involved in business support activities
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All newly appointed business support/administration staff with less than three years experience in
Higher Education are required to:
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attend the Contemporary Issues module of the Working in Higher Education award.
complete the ECDL (unless already appropriately qualified in IT) within the first two years
of employment
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All administrative staff using University agreed systems (e.g. Thesis, Oracle, Business Objects)
must take part in relevant training (and any updates required)
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All newly appointed facilities staff are required to take a range of workshops covering:
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Customer Service
Disability Awareness
Health and Safety
Fire Safety
Manual Handling
Ladder and high-level working (if appropriate)
All members of staff
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All new staff are required to participate in the University’s induction process
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All newly appointed staff, irrespective of their role, are required to attend a University Induction
workshop within the first 6 months of employment within the University
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All members of staff are required to engage in Fire Safety and Health and Safety training
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All staff who undertake appraisal interviews with other staff are required to attend the University’s
appraisal professional development activities
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All designated first-aiders are required to have a relevant and current First Aid qualification
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All designated fire marshals are required to have recently attended a fire safety training session
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All staff who participate in recruitment and selection short-listing and interviews are required to
attend the University agreed designated training
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All staff are required to engage with University wide training initiatives relating to:
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Disability
Customer Service
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Appendix Two
Approval for an individual to undertake professional development activities is based on the following
principles:
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All requests for professional development should be made to the appropriate line manager using
the standardised, University application form (Appendix Four)
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The requirement for the requested course/activity would normally be determined through the
annual appraisal process. If a member of staff has not had an appraisal within the past 12
months, the application cannot be supported by the University, until such time as an appraisal
has been conducted.
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If the Centre for Professional Development is already providing the same or a similar
professional development activity as the one requested, the individual should attend the in house
provision.
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Wherever possible, all external courses and conferences requested by staff should be in the
United Kingdom. Where an external course or conference is located in another country,unless
the member of staff is delivering a conference paper, evidence will need to be provided that an
individual would not be able to attend a similar event within the UK.
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For accredited routes, unless not available within the current portfolio, only attendance at
Staffordshire University courses would normally be supported. Requests to attend accredited
courses should be made using the Training for Approved Qualifications. A copy of this
completed form must be sent to the Centre for Professional Development in accordance with the
current procedure.
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If an individual is in the formal performance management system, only development activities
directly related to their improvement in their current areas of weakness should be approved.
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All travel and subsistence costs should be in accordance with the University’s financial
regulations.
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The budget is not designed to provide financial assistance to staff for membership to professional
organisations.
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Appendix Three
Inter-Relationship of the
Centre for Professional Development and Faculties/Schools/Services
Organisation Needs
Team Needs
Individual Needs
Individual Appraisals
Identified Professional Development
needs for each individual
Training Needs Analysis from
Faculties/Schools/Services collating
all individual /team professional
development needs
Determination of professional development
activities to be delivered in house by the Centre for
Professional Development to meet these needs
Other professional development
needs delivered externally if not
delivered by Professional
Development
Evaluation of professional
development activities undertaken by
Faculties/Schools/Services through
the annual report
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Appendix Four
Professional Development: Application for Approval(Recommended template for Faculties and Services)
Name
Job Title
Email
Faculty/Service
Title of Activity
Venue
Provider
Date(s)
Course
Fee
Travel &
Subsistence
Other
costs
Accommodation
Total Cost
Priority Area
To which of the following University agreed professional development priority areas
is the proposed activity aligned?
Subject updating
(teaching related)
Widening participation and
student retention
Subject updating
(professional support)
Inclusive teaching and
assessment
Health and Safety
Technology supported
learning
Customer Service
Student employability
IT
Research informed teaching
Leadership and
Management
Employer engagement and
work-based learning
Anticipated benefits and outcomes for:
a) The University
b) The team of staff in which you work
c) You as an individual
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Intended Procedure for sharing information with colleagues (e.g. Email
summary, briefing at team meetings etc), as appropriate
How has this development need been identified (tick appropriate box)
University Plan requirement
Faculty/School/Service Plan
Appraisal
Scholarly Activity/Professional Updating
Other (please specify)
Health & Safety requirement
Signature of Applicant
Date:
Name of Line Manager
(please print clearly)
Signature of Line Manager
Date:
SMT Approval (as
appropriate)
Date:
Cost Centre
Once completed please return to: Faculty, School or Service Business Manager.
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