Our Courses
Our Learning and Development Programme is carefully designed to support school leaders and educators in many areas of school life.
Our Learning and Development Programme is carefully designed to support school leaders and educators in many areas of school life.
Every academic year, the Education Team offer a wide range of training relevant to head teachers, subject leaders, teaching staff and governors working in schools across the Diocese.
The training and events on offer are carefully designed to support many areas of school life including school improvement, Christian distinctiveness, Governance and SIAMS preparation.
For 2024/25, we are offering our virtual and in person courses free of charge. Some courses are very popular and fill up fast – do book early to avoid disappointment. Additional training and support will be offered throughout the year so please subscribe to our Schools Bulletin for notifications of additional courses.
Virtual Courses
We are delighted to offer a number of our courses in a virtual environment, reducing travel time, and providing access to key information in a timely manner. To ensure the best experience we ask all delegates to adhere to the following guidelines:
Cancellations
For in-person courses, where there may be a limit on the number of attendees, we reserve the right to charge a fee for no-shows.
Course Material
We are unable to share course material post the event.
3 October 2024 Having undertaken or planning to do safeguarding training elsewhere, governors of Church schools will find this session helpful to provide theological roots to why and how to develop their strategic role.
26 February 2025 The purpose of the course is to enable those leading RE to develop knowledge, understanding of current expectations and how they relate to your context. Exploring the ways RE curriculum design evolves and ways to adapt to ensure high quality RE for all your pupils. Each participating delegate will be asked to submit their current RE curriculum plan and can raise any specific questions so that the content can be tailored. The session will include input, posing of evaluative questions, identification of areas to be developed and an opportunity to network with other schools.
8 October 2024 Have you been recently elected to a chairing role?
This short course is designed to help all new and potential chairs, vice-chairs and committee chairs to explore their role as leaders and the responsibilities involved specifically in a church school context. Following the session attendees are offered the opportunity of 1:1 support along with an online Learning Page with relevant resources.
10 October 2024 | 30 January 2025 | 8 May 2025 These workshops will help school leaders and governors to prepare for a SIAMS inspection.
15 October 2024 New to Collective Worship Leadership
This session reflects on the legal requirements of your role; ideas to consider in long term planning Of Collective Worship and signposting to great resources to support your practice.
22 October 2024 This course provides an opportunity to develop subject knowledge, engage with a variety of resources, and have a clear understanding of expectations of understanding within each year group / key stage.
5 November 2024 This course will provide recently appointed RE Subject Leaders an overview of the place of Religious Education in Chelmsford Diocesan Schools including an introduction to the current Church of England’s Statement of Entitlement for Religious Education.
12 November 2024 This course open to ALL schools explores the concept of Salvation with reference to a variety of resources, while ensuring clear progression of learning.
18 November 2024 Current knowledge and understanding of assessment, linked directly to the RE curriculum delivered in your school will enable all to evaluate the impact and plan next steps.
This course will provide advice on methods of formative and summative assessment, ways to adapt to your context, and examples of the variety of practice across our Diocese.
13 November 2024 | 20 November 2024 | 27 November 2024 A series of three development sessions for clergy exploring the role of governor in any school.
12 November 2024 | Governors need to access safeguarding training but how and why does that fit within the church school setting. This reflective session will provide the theological and practical basis for why schools must create and safeguard governors, staff and children. The Grove Book ‘Safeguarding as Mission’, its 10 learning points and some biblical text will provide a source of help and information.
21 January 2025 This event is a face-to-face meeting, which provides an encouraging space to meet with other ECTs and to learn more about working in our Church schools.
4 February 2025 We invite schools from across the Diocese bring 2 pupils along to Chelmsford Cathedral - to discover more about the Windrush generation and their life stories - hearing first hand from Windrush generation speakers - and exploring through storytelling, poetry and music, with time for reflection and celebration of Caribbean culture.
5 December 2024 | 26 February 2025 | 3 June 2025 Learn how to monitor against the School Development Plan as a governor including a focus on Collective Worship, Religious Education, Spirituality and other areas in Inspection frameworks.
6 March 2025 The concept of ‘in a Christian Manner’ was introduced in thinking about education and a SIAMS Inspection. Grove Books have published a book by Mike Simmonds exploring this theme enabling governors to reflect on the impact of their faith as they carry out their roles and responsibilities. The book which includes case studies, quotes and examples of biblical characters will provide a backdrop to the session aimed at enabling governors in church and other schools/academies to develop their thinking and practice.
18 March 2025 Spirituality is at the heart of what it means to be human. The SIAMS Framework asks how school leaders ensure that spiritual development is an intrinsic part of the curriculum and central to the school vision This course will explore what we mean by spirituality and explore ways we capture this in our schools.
9 October 2024 | 15 January 2025 | 23 April 2025 We invite our Church schools interested in developing Courageous Advocacy and Global Citizenship to join our online network meetings.
Each termly session provides:
Any updates about Courageous Advocacy and Global Citizenship (locally and nationally)
Subject knowledge support
Guidance on developing effective courageous advocacy opportunities in your school
Resource updates
Sharing of good practice
24 September 2024 | 28 January 2025 | 29 April 2025 This RE Network meetings provide an opportunity to collaborate, network and share best practice with those across the Diocese. It comprises Diocesan, Local and National updates and opportunities for RE leaders to share examples of good practice to raise standards and to continue to develop as subject leaders.
There is opportunity to explore data and research, share updates on policy and let you know about the lastest resources and tools to support you in your role.
14 November 2024 | 4 February 2025 | 1 May 2025 The new governor will discover the principles and practices of being a governor in a Church of England School. Understanding the church context and the importance of the Church of England's Vision for Education and governance in a school with a religious foundation will enable better engagement. Plenty of tips and ideas will equip you with your role will be explained, and an online Learning Page with resources will be available after the session. This is a required course for Foundation Governors, and others, including more experienced governors, are also welcome.
14 January 2025 | 6 May 2025 This termly one hour online session will seek to update delegates on the messages from the Church of England, suggestions to develop school practice and resourcing.
17 October 2024 | 24 October 2024 | 11 February 2025 | 12 February 2025 | 9 May 2025 | 16 May 2025 If your school is on the list for Inspection this course will give you an overview of the Framework, the process of the inspection and how to develop your approach. With a focus on developing a theologically rooted Christian vision and understanding the Inspection Questions you will be helped to prioritise school improvement whilst being prepared for the inspection. Important for Foundation Governors in pursuing their role but also helpful to all governors.
11 October 2024 | 22 May 2025 Anticipating an Ofsted Inspection? Or want to know more about what to expect and how to strategically support the school to improve in the light of the Ofsted Framework? This course will enable governors to understand the process, think about how to be prepared and more importantly focus on their role in school improvement.
9 June 2025 | 9 June 2025 | 10 June 2025 | 10 June 2025 On 9 and 10 June 2025 , we are hosting four services to bring pupils together as part of our family of Church schools and to celebrate their time at Primary school as they look forward to what comes next in their education journey.
20 November 2024 | 5 March 2025 | 3 June 2025 The purpose of these sessions is to enable those engaged with RE to gain knowledge and understanding of areas of current interest. Exploring implications for individual school contexts and engage in lively discussion with RE colleagues. The session will balance direct input from the RE Adviser, the posing of questions, opportunity for discussion and identifying collaborative working opportunities across the Diocese.
3 October 2024 | 15 October 2024 | 9 January 2025 | 6 March 2025 | 1 May 2025 | 3 July 2025 8 July 2025 Do you anticipate being elected to a chairing role?
This short course is designed to help all new and potential chairs, vice-chairs and committee chairs to explore what role as leaders and the responsibilities involved might involve, specifically in a church school context. Following the session attendees are offered the opportunity of 1:1 support along with an online Learning Page with relevant resources.
