EEF and Gatsby Host Evidence Informed CPD Conference for 16-19 Sector

At the start of July, just under one hundred sector stakeholders and college leaders from across England came together for the inaugural Evidence-Informed Continuous Professional Development conference. Hosted by Gatsby and the Education Endowment Foundation (EEF), the event explored how to embed robust research evidence in CPD across the 16-19 education sector. Bringing together those responsible for the strategic planning, development, and delivery of professional development, the conference was a mix of keynote presentations and smaller break-out sessions. Across the day, the shared ambition was clear: to make CPD more meaningful, impactful, and grounded in research evidence.

A powerful call for sector-wide, evidence-informed CPD

The day opened with an inspiring keynote from Shelagh Legrave, FE Commissioner at the Department for Education. Shelagh reflected on the importance of a high quality, all-staff approach to continuous professional development.

Shelagh’s thought-provoking keynote highlighted the need for teaching and learning to be the essence of every college. She challenged the sector to invest in sustained, collaborative, evidence-informed professional development that connects directly to learner outcomes.

Spotlight on the EEF’s growing work in the 16-19 sector

The audience then heard from Kath Davies, 16-19 Lead at the EEF, who explored the value of robust evidence in 16-19 teaching. Kath explained how different evidence approaches can answer different research questions, with the EEF focusing on impact.

Katie Luxton, senior programme manager at the EEF, introduced their upcoming guidance on professional development; the first report from the EEF specific to the 16-19 sector. Katie unpacked what high-quality CPD looks like, why it matters, and how three key recommendations from the report can help colleges develop impactful CPD that develops professional effectiveness.   

Becoming critical consumers of research

Professor Kevin Orr provided a stimulating perspective on the nature of subject-specific pedagogy, inviting attendees to reflect on their role and judgements of rigour in research. He encouraged attendees to develop a “healthy scepticism”, to examine claims carefully, understand methodological limitations, and consider how findings apply in their own contexts.

Learning from practice

Throughout the day, breakout sessions offered delegates the chance to engage in small group discussions about exciting projects and college CPD successes in the 16-19 education sector.

Highlights included:

• Three Gatsby-led sessions, which:

1. Introduced the Industry Associates project – an exciting training programme to enable industry experts to support quality FE teaching;
2. Shared insights from the recent report  ‘The Experience of Becoming a Teacher in the English Further Education Sector’.
3. Examined the evidence process for the ‘Good Career Guidance: Next Ten Years’ project which resulted in the launch of updated Gatsby Benchmarks in 2024.

• College-led sessions from Newham College, Oldham Sixth Form College and Waltham Forest College, which took attendees on a journey through their evidence-based CPD approaches and the impact this has had on their organisation.

• EEF-facilitated workshops that:

    · Explored the ‘two-way bridge’ between research and practice.

    · Created space for leaders to reflect on their own CPD plans.

   ·  Offered opportunities to share examples of effective practice aligned with the forthcoming EEF guidance.

A shared sense of purpose

What united everyone in the room was deep sense of purpose: a commitment to strengthening the quality and impact of CPD for staff across the 16-19 sector. Both the EEF and Gatsby were inspired by the energy, curiosity and commitment of all those who attended – and look forward to continuing this important work in partnership with colleges across the country.

To learn more about the work of EEF and Gatsby, including future events:

Gatsby Education Newsletter - sign up to receive updates on our latest news and/or projects.

EEF 16-19 updates | EEF - sign up to be the first to hear when the EEF’s guidance report is released, as well as updates on other areas of 16-19 work.

EEF Exchange | EEF - join our community of educators, sharing their experiences to shape the EEF’s work in the sector.