Professional development is a big part of being an English teacher. But let’s be honest: it can sometimes feel overwhelming. There are endless webinars, conferences, podcasts, books, and online courses all promising to make you a better teacher. The real challenge isn’t finding opportunities, it’s choosing the right ones, and fitting them into your already busy life.

Here’s a simple guide to help you plan your professional development for the year so it feels meaningful, manageable and genuinely useful for your teaching.

With September just around the corner, don’t forget to give some attention to the business side of your work too. A little bit of planning now can make the year ahead smoother, more enjoyable, and far less stressful. Here are some ideas to help you get set up for success this school year.

Being a teacher very often involves working 7 days a week. You might have classes only 4 or 5 times a week but your teacher brain definitely works more than that. Our to-do lists are never-ending, there are always tests to mark, things to cut out, lessons to prepare and homework to check. Of course, we all know it’s not good for us to be working all the time, but do we really take care of ourselves as we should? Today we want to ask you to look after yourself a little bit more with these 6 tips.

Nowadays, it’s very easy to develop as a teacher. You can get better in any areas you want, anytime you want. But it’s also easy to get overwhelmed with all of the ideas, new teaching techniques, articles etc. So before you start binge-watching all the webinars, have a look at these few tips on how to develop without burning out. 

The end of the year is a great moment to take stock of what happened in that year. Very often we don’t realise just how much we’ve accomplished as teachers. In this article we have 10 questions to help you reflect on your teaching experience this year. These questions will help you recall your achievements and they will also pinpoint areas that you still might need help with next year. 

Creativity is essential for teachers. But as we all know, sometimes, it just doesn’t happen. You’re trying so hard to come up with an idea for a lesson, but the opposite seems to happen. The harder you try, the more difficult it gets.