On Friday 29 November 2019, Oxford International English Schools had the privilege to host a very special Inset Day where we were able to officially launch our Continuous Professional Development (CPD) programme for 2020.
Run by our Teacher Training and Academic departments, Inset Day brings together the teaching, student services and administration staff for all of our UK schools. This jam-packed day provides the opportunity for our teams to further develop their professional skills, to collaborate and learn from each other, while also having the space to discuss recent industry trends.

Overview of Inset Day

The day began with a presentation and questions session with Lil Bremermann-Richard (Group CEO), where our teachers and staff had the opportunity to discuss the company, the education industry and the future direction of Oxford International Education Group. Following Lil’s presentation, Gary Palmer (EFL UK Managing Director), presented his vision for Oxford International’s English Language division for 2020 and beyond, informing our employees on how their work helps deliver our vision.
The morning session continued with lectures on successful student development and academic decision making by our Academic Team and finished with a presentation on the trends and changes in the ESL industry by our Teacher Training department. These workshops provided our teachers and staff with industry insights and practical advice that inspired discussion and creative outcomes.
In the afternoon, our staff returned to their skills-focused sessions. Utilising our senior teaching and operations staff, these sessions provided training on a range of topics including 21st Century Skills, Helping Students Listen Better, Pronunciation for International English, Using Creative Teaching Methods, Getting more out of our E-Learning Tools and Market Trends in Junior Education.

More going forward

Excitingly, our latest Inset Day is just the first of many days like this planned as part of our CPD programme for 2020. Throughout the next year within our UK schools, our teachers will also have ongoing CPD sessions with internal and external trainers. This holistic approach gives our teachers direct feedback and opportunities to continuously improve their skills and academic delivery to our students.

Reflections from participants

Following the launch, Gary Palmer remarked: “Inset Day was a fantastic day for our teachers and staff to continue to develop their careers, engage with our fantastic community and improve Oxford International’s English education delivery. We are excited about all the development opportunities we are offering this year and our continued investment in our teachers, who are the heart of our schools, will also help provide amazing education experiences to all our students.”
Some of our teaching staff also shared their thoughts on the day saying:
“In three words – informative, well-organised and practical.” ~ Will
“It was really good for people to see the bigger picture and to understand people’s roles and how each school fits into the bigger picture. It was also good for the teachers to be able to go to different sessions and pick the topic that interested them.” ~ Gemma
“This really makes me feel like things are progressing, Gary seems to be driving a lot of development and is well endorsed by Lil which is really encouraging.” ~ Maria

Stay tuned in the coming months for more on our CPD programme and how our schools are implementing development opportunities for our teachers and staff. To discover more or to apply for teacher training programmes at Oxford International visit: https://www.oxfordinternationalenglish.com/teacher-training/