We have all been there. A long day of PowerPoints, too many voices competing for time, and you leave feeling more exhausted than inspired. You did not choose the programme, and you cannot control it. So now what? Do you give up and repeat last year’s routines, or do you take responsibility for your own development?
The truth is, one bad INSET does not have to derail your growth. What happens next matters more than what happened that day.
I want to look at three things:
- Why INSET often falls short
- What teachers really need to develop
- How you can fill in the missing stages yourself
Why Does INSET Fail?
It is easy to criticise, but most of the time it is not about leaders not caring. September INSET carries impossible demands; behaviour systems, curriculum updates, safeguarding reminders, teaching and learning priorities, all crammed into a single day. To cut anything would be risky, so schools try to do it all.
The result is too much, too fast, with little space for depth. If you left feeling overwhelmed, try to resist the temptation to blame it all on poor leadership. The problem is usually structural.
What Do We Need to Develop?
When we strip it back, effective professional development rests on a few essentials:
- A singular focus
- A clear understanding of the problem
- A practical technique to solve it
- Success criteria to guide progress
- Modelling of the approach
- Time to rehearse outside the classroom
- Time to embed inside the classroom
- Feedback to refine implementation
Ideally, schools would provide all of this in a coherent framework. But when they do not, you can still take a more guerrilla-style approach to your own growth.
How Can You Build the Missing Stages?
Here are some practical ways to take control of your own development:
Singular focus
Schools love three performance targets, but you do not have to juggle them all at once. Break them into a sequence, one per term, so each gets your undivided attention. This protects you from surface-level dabbling and gives each approach time to take root. When scanning back over INSET, choose the one idea that you believe will most transform your classroom. Do your best, forget the rest.
Understanding the problem
Many strategies are launched with little explanation. Instead of writing them off, pause and ask: What problem is this supposed to solve? Is that a problem I actually face? For example, if your school emphasises cold calling, it may be to tackle low participation. If your classes already respond well, the technique may not be your priority, but if disengagement is an issue, it could be exactly what you need. Curiosity allows you to test ideas in good faith before judging them.
Finding the right technique
Once you know the problem, look for a practical solution. Speak with teaching and learning leads, borrow ideas from colleagues you respect, or explore CPD platforms and strategy-driven books like Teach Like a Champion. Do not settle for vague platitudes such as “make it more engaging”; aim for specific, observable practices that you can actually implement.
Clarifying success criteria
Every effective technique comes with signs that it is working, success criteria. Too often, these are skimmed or treated as box-ticking. Instead, interrogate them. Ask: What does each criterion look like in action? Why does it matter? For instance, if one step of a routine is “students respond in full sentences,” be clear on why that step is included, to build academic language, and how you will know it is happening consistently.
Modelling the technique
Seeing it done well is invaluable. Observe colleagues, watch recorded lessons, or arrange for someone to demonstrate in your context. If no models are available, accept that you will need to experiment, reflect, and adapt. Build in patience; without modelling, you will likely take longer, but persistence still leads to mastery.
Practice outside the classroom
This step is often reserved for ECTs but is just as powerful for experienced teachers. Rehearse with a colleague, take turns role-playing teacher and student. If that is not possible, rehearse mentally or walk through the steps in an empty classroom. This builds fluency so that when you introduce it live, you focus on your students rather than on remembering the script.
Embedding in the classroom
Implementation takes longer than you think. Resist the urge to move on too quickly, even if observers nudge you towards a new target. A technique only becomes reliable when it is habitual, when you use it without conscious effort. Give yourself weeks of sustained practice before considering it “done.”
Seeking feedback
Feedback accelerates growth. Be proactive; tell observers what you are focusing on so they can watch with purpose. Invite trusted colleagues into your classroom. Use technology to your advantage, record your own lessons with the camera on you, not students, to avoid GDPR issues, and reflect on your delivery. The more loops of feedback and adjustment you create, the quicker you will refine your practice.
Final Thought
We all want inspiring INSET to start the year. Sometimes, that is just not realistic. But with a clear understanding of what genuine teacher development requires, and the will to improvise when structures do not provide it, you can make sure your growth does not stall.
Bad INSET does not decide your year. What you do next does.
Want to avoid bad INSETs?
This blog might help and so will Unlocking Teacher Development the book that aims to help all leaders understand the factors that improve teacher development and CPD
Adam Robbins Education 
Leave a comment