This past year has been a different kind of year for me as I decided to take a yearlong course with the Open University; it’s safe to say it has been one of the best things I have ever done!

I wanted to do something for myself, and I thought I’d try a course at the Open University – this gave me the flexibility to study alongside my busy job. It has made me think that we all have chaotic lives but we shouldn’t forget to invest time in ourselves. If we want to progress in our careers or our personal lives, making sure that we commit that time to enhance our practices and our jobs we need to focus on our professional learning. Whilst the course I completed (well, I don’t know if I have passed yet but fingers crossed!) was something I am doing outside of my job it has given me more confidence and skills that I can use in my BSA role.

I submitted my last course essay this week and it has coincided with the recruitment of some of our professional learning programmes. I have had the absolute pleasure of working with such a wide range of teachers and educators in my role and to see the feedback that they have given us on what the programmes have given them is outstanding!

When I registered for my course I remember thinking because it was open learning I might be on my own and it would be difficult to “meet” my fellow students. This was something I didn’t need to worry about since the forums and the tutorials meant I definitely managed to network. This is something I have seen in the teams spaces we have for our participants. I keep a close eye on these spaces and can see collaboration with practitioners helping each other and discussing the work. When I reflect back on the networking opportunities I have received during my university course I think again of our programme participants telling us how much they love to network, and I really see the value in that.

My tutor was so supportive with tutorials and with the guidance on essays. Our Lead Specialists on the Education Scotland Professional Learning team are there to support our participants, help with any questions and guidance – you are never alone in your professional learning. Each of them is in a different team and they have different responsibilities for the programmes which means they know them really well.

Professional learning is something that can sometimes be hard to accommodate, but from personal experience it is certainly something worth doing.

Our recruitment for the following courses are currently open – they remain open until June 13th 2022 and beyond:

• Aspiring to Middle Leadership (education.gov.scot)
• Building Racial Literacy (education.gov.scot)
• Educator Leadership Programme (education.gov.scot)
• Middle Leaders - Leading Change (education.gov.scot)
• Towards Headship (education.gov.scot)
• In Headship (education.gov.scot)