Join a global discussion on teacher development

On Monday 22 October the Institute for Teaching, Ambition School Leadership and The Varkey Foundation will host the Global Teacher Development Forum – a ground-breaking event to share knowledge and expertise in teaching and leadership development from across the world.

The Global Teacher Development Forum is a free event, and will be held at Chobham Academy in Stratford. To ensure delegates get the most out of the Forum, we’ve split all sessions, including interactive workshops, keynotes speeches and panel discussions into three ‘pathways’ – each of which is designed to address an endemic challenge faced by anyone working to improve teaching and leadership development. 

The three pathways are Culture – the conditions required for teachers to grow, Curriculum – the content of teacher development programmes, and Craft – how teachers can be helped to improve. We’ll be asking questions like: how can I create a culture of continuous improvement? What should I be teaching my teachers? And, how can we use deliberate practice to develop teaching expertise?

More information on each pathway, including session titles and speakers is available through the registration link below. On registration we invite you to select the pathway of your choice, so that the sessions you attend can be specifically tailored to your interests.

As well some well-known names in the UK education sector – including Rebecca Allen (Director of the Centre for Education Improvement Science at UCL’s Institute of Education), and David Weston (CEO of the Teacher Development Trust) – we’re excited to have the opportunity to hear from experts in teaching and leadership development from further afield. Speakers joining us from abroad include Jari Salminen of the University of Helsinki, Florencia Mezzadra, of Argentina’s Centre for the Implementation of Public Policies, Bailey Thomson Blake of SPARK Schools (South Africa).

Also contributing to the Forum, alongside fellow members of our team, will be Sir David Carter (former National Schools Commissioner) who recently announced his position in the newly merged Ambition School Leadership and Institute for Teaching. Emphasising the unique opportunities presented by the Global Teacher Development Forum, Sir David said:

"I am looking forward to being part of this ground-breaking day. Teacher development is a huge issue for the sector and to see so many experts coming together under one roof for a world-leading debate on this important topic is not only exciting but a chance for us all to think about not just the what, when and how of teaching educators, but also the conditions in which we teach them."

We’ll end the day with a keynote speech from David Berliner (Former President of the American Educational Research Association), who’ll be asking ‘What’s the point of Teacher Development?’, and calling on the Forum to use the knowledge that we’ve shared and the connections we’ve made to effect positive change in our practice and in our workplaces.

We hope to see you at the Global Teacher Development Forum, for what is sure to be an informative, inspiring and enjoyable event.