CPD: How is it for you? - Angela Fretwell

During the academic year 2015-16 the CPD Services team has processed over 10,000 delegate bookings so far and over 10,000 of our free downloadable resources have been accessed. 98.6% of our delegates are satisfied or very satisfied with the courses that we run.

Wow my head is bulging. Excellent

This startling comment appeared on a delegate feedback form after one of our events. The compliments aren’t always as entertaining and succinct, but the take-up of our courses and response to our training demonstrate that teachers are more and more eager to find out about OCR specifications, past exams and future direction, not to mention the resources and support we provide for our qualifications. We offer teachers face-to-face training courses at venues all over the country along with live online training events which run after school hours and give teachers the opportunity to ask questions and exchange views with subject experts from the comfort of their PCs. This is a popular option for centres, as it means they don’t have to worry about providing cover for teachers or paying travel expenses.

Expos exposé

We are well aware that education professionals have understandable concerns when specifications change and we are committed to offering them as much support as possible. We recently held eight events for the new Cambridge Technicals suite of qualifications in Leeds, Bristol, London and Birmingham. In addition to accessing useful information and resources, delegates could soak up the atmosphere of venues such as Aston Villa or Edgbaston Cricket Ground.

I love my subject 

As an ex-teacher myself, I know that it is easy to lose sight of the excitement and fascination of your specialist subject as they disappear in the labyrinth of specifications, schemes of work and marking grids. OCR’s premier events are designed to remind teachers why they do what they do, to re-ignite their passion for their chosen field and to offer innovative and exciting ideas to inspire their students. These events are often held in interesting and appropriate locations such as The Royal Institution for our A Level Science Conference and Waitrose Cookery School for our Food Skills Feast (Heston Blumenthal supports OCR’s new GCSE 9-1 Food Preparation and Nutrition specification and will attend the event to meet teachers and engage in discussions about the subject).

Behind the scenes 

We have a small team of dedicated and experienced events organisers, numerous expert trainers and developers and thousands of folders and USB sticks for our materials packs. After training events have taken place, the materials used are made available for anyone to access free of charge on our CPD Hub.

Supplying teachers and tutors with information, training, resources and support is a vital part of OCR’s work, and the feedback we receive confirms that we’re in tune with the needs of the people in the thick of it.

About the author

Angela Fretwell - CPD Services Supervisor

As CPD Services Supervisor, Angela manages the team of 10 people who are responsible for all OCR’s CPD events and materials. With 25 years’ teaching experience and 17 years as an exams officer behind her, Angela is very familiar with all the important aspects involved within the area of CPD. She enjoys the challenge of working on the delivery of face-to-face and digital events and resources to as many teachers as possible, satisfying their need for information and their desire to impart their knowledge to the teachers of tomorrow.