Welcome to the Furze Down therapy team Continuous Professional Development (CPD) site. Our ethos is to deliver staff learning, rather than staff training. When you take a course with us, you will learn new practical strategies to solve problems in your day to day school life. Any theory taught is to help you understand and use strategies more flexibly and fully. The therapy team is fully integrated in class, and we are so excited to see how your learning impacts on the students' development!
Learning at Furze Down is student-focused and practical. We encourage class teams to meet with their allocated therapist to decide on the best training offer to suit the needs of the whole class. Classroom staff should look at their SaLT and OT class profiles to decide with strategies and techniques are most useful in their class, and agree as a team on what changes they will make. All learning will be followed by opportunities to reflect on how you have changed your practice and what impact the learning has had on your students. There are links to Blue Sky throughout this site, and every course is described in line with Blue Sky's CPD course requirements, so it's simple to add the training to your personal account.
If you have worked at school for less than three terms, regardless of start date, you will need to complete our Foundations courses. You then have a choice of Building Blocks courses to complete over the next two terms. Which courses you choose will be heavily influenced by the students you have the most contact with, and by your own experience.
If you have worked at school for more than three terms, or even if you've worked here for fifteen years, you have so many learning opportunities! We have an annual schedule for training, offering staff one or two modules per term. Each module consists of two taught 45 minute sessions, with several weeks between the sessions to reflect on learning and try strategies in class. Decide which modules you will take based on the needs of the students you work with, and discuss with the allocated therapist.
Furze Down school run several accredited courses. Nikki Dutfield and Elle Mansfield are Makaton tutors, and teach courses from beginners to becoming a Makaton tutor. Courses run several times a year, so check when the next is running and for Makaton resources and videos. Makaton is a Universal offer at Furze Down and should be used in every class, with appropriate children.
Kate Makepeace and Michelle Harford are Elklan tutors and Furze Down School currently offers two courses a year, suitable for any member of classroom staff. These comprehensive courses have great feedback from everyone who has attended, and give a strong understanding and knowledge base of all things communication. Find out more and book on a course here.