It is 12:45pm on a Friday afternoon and as I enter the staff parking, mine is one of only a handful of cars left.

Even though I’ve worked “late” today, and stayed 45 minutes after our official finish time to wrap up some jobs, I still have an entire afternoon to spend as I please.

This scenario is now the norm across all schools in the United Arab Emirates (UAE) since they introduced the 4.5-day school week in January 2022.

Of course, though, a reduced workweek should, in theory, result in some of the same workload and professional development problems recently reported by Ofsted in the UK.

However, in the UAE, this appears far less of a problem for teachers. A recent study by the Organisation for Economic Cooperation and Development reported that a “high percentage of teachers in Dubai engage in collaborative activities in their schools, such as team conferences and discussions”, with 59 per cent of teachers participating in inter-school professional networks for professional development purposes.

As such, as the first full year of a 4.5-day week concludes, it is important to reflect on lessons that can be learned about how schools can ensure they create time for CPD to help teachers grow, whether operating on a shorter week or not.

1. Protect dedicated professional development time

If professional development is shoehorned into teachers’ ever-increasing workload along with department meetings, planning and marking, it is inevitable it will not be engaged with, nor meaningful, and so slip down the agenda.

To avoid this, we have made a point of ensuring there is dedicated time for professional development each week, for two hours from 2:30pm to 4:30pm after pupils have left. This includes keeping Tuesdays and Fridays free from after-school clubs so that all staff can attend.

By planning for and protecting this time each week, it becomes impossible for professional development to get lost among other commitments. Our senior leadership team are in complete support of this and often lead the sessions.

The only time it ever is sacrificed completely is the week prior to our Dubai Schools Inspection Board visit (Dubai’s equivalent to Ofsted) during which the time is given entirely to preparation for the visit.

2. Make it relevant

Furthermore, we also work to make sure professional development time is used productively for teachers. This means that while the hours are “protected” hours each Tuesday, what is being delivered can look quite different from week to week.

For example, if there is a whole school cultural change intended in how we do something, like home learning, this may take two hours with the idea revisited in a future session.

If it is something on a smaller scale, the first hour may be the explanation of the idea, with the second hour digesting in department groups and exploring how to apply it in each subject.

The goal is to keep professional development as a priority, but with a practical approach so that it retains its value to staff and is not seen as impinging on their time.

3. Embrace internal talent

An ex-colleague of mine, who now works in the UK, informed me their professional development is often from external speakers. This means it must start after school, and for it to be worth the visitor’s time, last at least a couple of hours.

While expert external speakers are a great resource to use every now and then, schools should utilise in-house expertise to avoid taking up too much time on top of already busy workloads.

We do this by hosting what we call “Bitesize PD” sessions hosted by staff in an area they are especially proficient in. These are short, informal, 20-minute sessions that run in the morning and after school. This year has ranged from practical sessions on using an electronic planner or behaviour management to specialised topics, such as spaced learning or managing cognitive load in students.

4. Have CPD champions

Finally, to ensure there is a culture that promotes CPD and its benefits, we have appointed several
learning coaches who are responsible for driving professional development in the school.

This includes running some of our Tuesday professional development sessions, mentoring newer staff and identifying potential areas for further development.

For example, this week we have revisited our home learning policy and, following research by one of our coaches into the lack of evidence behind the success of weekly homework, are trialling “opt-in” independent home learning for our key stage 3 students.

While the context in which we operate may not work for state schools, or indeed other international schools, the value of CPD means that finding ways to ensure there is protected time for sessions, and that they are focused in the right areas, can reap real rewards.

David Keating is an English teacher at Deira International School in Dubai. He has taught internationally for ten years. He tweets @DavidKeatingEdu