Introduction

Teaching is principally a human activity. While new technologies may enhance the learning experience, they will never satisfactorily replace the personal tuition and mentoring that a talented, trained and motivated teacher can provide. The success of the UK's education system is thus inseparable from the quality of its teaching workforce.

Investing in education therefore means investing in people. And this doesn't come cheap. Over a 40-year career, in salary terms alone, something like two million pounds is invested in each and every teacher.

Effective teachers also have to be learners. Whether they seek improved skills to enhance classroom performance, new roles in management, or a better understanding of curriculum developments or the latest work in their subject, teachers need continuing professional development (CPD). 'Lifelong learning' is de rigueur in many fields of employment – and surely if any vocation should embrace the concept, it is the teaching profession.

But what CPD do teachers currently get? What do they think of it? What do they want more of in the future? To help answer these questions, in 2005 the Wellcome Trust commissioned a survey of teachers and managers in state maintained schools in England, focusing on three main aspects of CPD:

• What do different types of teacher want from CPD?
• What are the benefits of CPD, and for whom?
• What, if anything, stops them getting the CPD they want?