Through the UST School of Education, design and develop a clear structure for talent management across the Trust, which focuses on nurturing our people at all levels and creating a culture of succession planning and excellence which will positively impact the continued growth of the Trust.

Continued Professional Development (CPD) 

CPD plays a vital role in increasing employee motivation, confidence, and commitment to their roles. Learning new skills and applying them in the workplace leads to a more effective working environment.

In support of our commitment to improving how staff performance is managed, we are determined to provide impactful development opportunities. This will help improve practice, enhance existing skills, and nurture talented employees across the trust.

The introduction of a CPD portfolio encourages staff to have ownership of their development journey. This makes learning proactive and intentional, rather than passive and reactive. Each individual will be empowered to document their development journey, keeping a record of their growing skills, knowledge, and experience throughout their career within the Trust.

We will also establish an increase in opportunities to learn, both formally and informally (such as shadowing, observations and volunteering), will be available to all staff at all levels within the scope of current practice and anticipated future changes, that meet the needs of the organisation.

Career Pathways

We are introducing clearly defined career pathways that will outline the Trust’s expectations and aspirations for employees.

These pathways will provide:

• A consistent, equitable mechanism for assessing and rewarding an individual’s contribution to the organisation, aligned with the Trust’s values and behaviours and the People Strategy.
• A framework for line managers to talk with team members about their career aspirations, the opportunities available to them within the Trust and their path to success.
• Clarity of expectations to help members of staff to take more responsibility for the management of their own careers, and to help managers to assess performance.

Opportunities to explore alternative pathways or progression routes will be available, including trial days, observations, mentoring, and secondment placements.

Aspirational Leaders

We are committed to identifying and developing future leaders within the organisation. The introduction of an Aspirational Leaders Programme will offer opportunities for high-performing employees, who demonstrate a sustained commitment to professional development and a desire to progress into leadership roles.

Our aim is to nurture future leaders from within, offering bespoke development opportunities and exposure to leadership roles. This will enable employees to demonstrate and strengthen essential qualities such as integrity, self-awareness, courage, respect, compassion, and resilience, while gaining tangible experience in leadership.