The challenge of implementing CPD

It is not difficult to recognise an educational manager as you enter a language-teaching organisation (LTO), be it a large, medium-sized or small state school, a language department in a university, or a private language school. All you need to do is spot the really busy person fuelled by sheer adrenaline, the individual in a state of constant alertness, ready for the next crisis: a phone call from the teacher who is unwell and needs cover in an hour; the next knock on the door from a student who wants to change classes while not ready to move up a level yet; the parent who wishes to complain about their daughter's teacher who is not giving her enough homework; the next email from a sales representative announcing their imminent visit or their line manager making a new demand for yesterday …

Whether they show it or not, whether they always make time to chat and listen to everyone or prioritise the long list of tasks to be done, educational managers find themselves typically operating in a web of multiple and competing priorities and demands on their time, their resources, their mental space, their problem-solving abilities and their decision-making skills. Pretty much everything they do matters to almost everyone in their organisation. The timetable and the staff rota for next term needs to be finished, the placement test needs to be administered and the progress test reviewed, the teacher who is not giving her class sufficient challenge needs to be observed and supported, the new coursebooks for the next academic year need to be chosen and ordered, the induction handbook for the next teacher intake needs to be edited, and … hang on a minute – one of the teachers needs help right now.