Southern Rocks 2019 – Why Teachers are Giving up their Saturdays for CPD

Excited to be going to #southernrocks again. And this time I’m going with my student teacher son! And it’s at @BrightonHillSch with @chrisedwardsuk who used to teach him. Happy times eh? @KristianStill? #teaching #bestjobintheworld

Following a hugely successful day at last year’s inaugural Southern Rocks event, the Teachwire team is very much looking forward to the 2019 conference, which is happening at Brighton Hill School, Basingstoke, on Saturday, 2 February.

But why do teachers give up their precious weekends for this kind of CPD? Well, when we spotted the above tweet, we thought we’d ask the tweeter herself, Cate, to explain:

“As a teacher in the private sector, I’m used to working on a Saturday morning,” she says, “but look forward to the rest of the day to chill out, go for walk, be with family and do a bit of knitting. Or I might be rehearsing with my a cappella band, or finishing the edit of a film.

However, finding time to meet up with fellow teachers, listen to inspirational speakers and share thoughts and ideas, is so beneficial that the dates go into the diary at the beginning of the year.

“I’ve been a teacher for a very long time, but there’s always new stuff to learn, and stories to swap. It is so easy to become complacent. It’s also easy to be part of the moaning crowd in the staff room, and I decided a long time ago that if I ever started down that path it was time to leave the profession.

“I’ve taught in state secondary, FE, primary, special needs school and private schools (I have a low boredom threshold), and I’m still excited about being a teacher. This must have come across at home, as my son Thomas starts his PGCE training this year!

“Oh, and there’s usually cake.”

“It’s such an incredible privilege to be able to host such a prestigious teacher-led event as Southern Rocks at Brighton Hill Community School,” adds head teacher Chris Edwards.

“There is a real buzz about the conference already on social media and I was delighted to see that an ex-colleague, Cate, will be attending and not only that, but her son, who I used to teach, will be coming along as a soon-to-train, wide-eyed, future teacher.”

If you’d like to join Cate, her son, Chris and the Teachwire team, there are still a few tickets left – get yours here (and be aware – there may be cake – but there will definitely be ice cream!).

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