How to Plan Your INSET Day – The Year Before.

You’ve been given/volunteered yourself for the job of planning a whole-school INSET day.

Congratulations and obviously no pressure at all!

To help you, we’ve put together a useful guide for planning an inspirational INSET day.

I've planned many a successful INSET day in my career and, combined with Independent Thinking's thirty years’ experience in the field, we think we know a thing or two about planning an INSET day (or indeed any CPD) that is useful, practical, entertaining and inspiring.

Happy Planning!

Allocate the Date

It’s never too early to plan. This not only helps with sorting out your school calendar, it also means you have more chance of booking your preferred INSET day speaker.

You’d be surprised how often we are approached at the last minute for some of our Associates whose diary has been booked up almost a year ahead.

If your plan is to also open the day out to others schools in the area – either free or by buying tickets (and helping to offset your costs) remember to let them know too.

Choose the Theme

Saying, ‘I saw so-and-so speak and she was good fun so we’ll have her’ is perhaps not the best way to address whole-school improvement on an INSET day.

Far better to match an inspirational, entertaining and useful INSET day speaker to your needs.

What are your whole-school priorities for the year ahead? What weaknesses have been identified that you need to address? What new initiatives are being introduced (or foisted upon you) that you need to bring everyone up to speed on?

Like many things, start with the end in mind and work back from there.

Who Will Contribute?

Once you know ‘what’ and ‘when’, the next step is to think about ‘who?’.

In-house...?

It might be that you can save yourself time and money by running the day in-house, especially if you are part of a larger MAT or network of schools.

No need to worry about diaries and fees, travel expenses and time spent briefing the speaker (you were planning on briefing a speaker properly, weren’t you?).

If this is the route for you, either by choice or necessity, a good idea now would be to form a staff group to help plan the day.

Who do you have in house who is both an expert on the chosen topic but also capable of sharing their expertise with their colleagues in an engaging and practical way?

(Some colleagues love this challenge and it does wonders for their confidence but many teachers we know who are fantastic in the classroom go to pieces when faced with an audience of their peers. Choose carefully!)

...Or Guest Speaker?

On the other hand, if you opt for in-house INSET day speakers, where are the new ideas, the surprising insights from beyond your own culture and practice, the bigger overview of the educational world, the sense of where education is heading, beyond the latest government or MAT directive?

A great guest speaker can bring all of this to the table and more, marrying new insights and inspirations with practical ideas that you can try out in your classrooms straight away.

Of course, a dodgy speaker can set you back as a school and make you, the stressed-out organiser, look bad in the process. Just because they have a flashy website, a Twitter following and even a book, you still don’t really know how they will go down with your colleagues.

Word of mouth is the number one way to help choose the best person for the job.

That and having actually seen them in action, either at a conference or even via a video online.

And remember, going back to step one, the sooner you make an enquiry and have the speaker at least pencil the booking in, the better.

(We’re biased we know, but approaching us at this stage on 01267 211432 or by email means we can offer you free, no-obligation advice as you plan your day, help you find the best INSET day speaker or speakers on your topic to match your budget and probably save you time and money in the process.

We like a good haggle!

Our family of Associates cover many, many topics and we will never recommend someone who we don’t think is right for you. We’re in it to make a difference, not a quick buck, and our ‘satisfaction guarantee’ means you can be sure you’re getting the right person.

Make sure the same stands for whoever you make your booking with in the end.)

The Hybrid Model?

Of course, the middle ground – a practice we thoroughly approve of – is to split the day between external and internal input.

The speaker for the morning, for example, is followed up in smaller groups in the afternoon session, allowing time to process and reflect on what the speaker had to share and to plan the implementation of the new ideas.

Sometimes, you can invite the speaker to stay for the afternoon session, working with the smaller groups to help them really understand and embed the new practice.

What’s more, a speaker who can hold their own in a large group is one thing but one that can also work with small groups or even one to one is proof that you have a practitioner not just an entertainer!

Check Your Values

By now you should have an idea of what you will be covering and who will be covering it.

It’s worth at this point just pausing to crosscheck the aims and intentions for the day with your school’s values.

If ‘Inclusivity’ is on your list but you have convened a group of speakers who fall under the ‘male, pale and stale’ heading (or a ‘manel’ as an all-male panel is called apparently!) then maybe you need to rethink.

If ‘Ensuring well-being for all’ is a value you say you believe in, how will the day contribute to that and not just pile more pressure on teachers?

If ‘Building community’ is a value, who do you have coming in from outside the school gates?

You get the idea.

If it isn’t obvious how the day links to the school values, then you should reframe the day (or your values!).

Brief the Speaker

As we mentioned earlier, ensuring everyone is fully briefed is a really important element of the planning process, whether you are going in-house or bringing someone to school.

Everybody’s diaries are really busy but finding time to grab a 15-minute phone call or Zoom will pay dividends on the day when you are working with a speaker who will then adapt his or her message to match your specific needs.

Don’t straitjacket them but do ensure they are not just going to deliver their ‘greatest hit’ for you without making it relevant and purposeful for the people in the room.

Plan the Day

We cover more of this in part two of How To Plan an Inspirational INSET Day, but now is the time to think through the timetable, the venue or venues, the logistics, the catering, the AV equipment, the support team and more.

As you think through the timetable, make sure you include time for moving around if that is part of the day or plan for long enough breaks, especially as you will end up with a queue for the coffee or the ladies loo.

Plan plenty of time for group discussion too. The speaker may hold you all spellbound but there’s more to an inspirational day than just being entertained.

After all, an INSET day is only as good as the change it causes.

We think that pretty much covers it at the early planning stage.

We’ve all sat through pretty dire INSET days but my experience as a Head reassures me of the power a good one has to bring the school together, to create common knowledge and a shared story, to inspire with new ideas and to set the tone for what the school feels is important as the year progresses.

And remember, at Independent Thinking, we’re always happy to chat through your plans and offer some free, no-obligation advice from people who know a thing or two about planning an unforgettable INSET day.

Call us on 01267 211432 or email us and we’ll get back to you reassuringly quickly.

For part two and advice about what to do during the week before the big day from our Ian Gilbert, click here.

And for advice and tips for the day itself, click here.[ITL]

Dave Harris