When a member of staff resigns, one of the first questions school managers typically ask is, “What more did they want?” Often, the assumption is that remuneration is the deciding factor. However, this is not always the case.
Frequently, the member of staff has been performing the same role for two or more years: the same responsibilities, the same level of decision-making, the same conversations, and the same routine. At this point, they begin to ask themselves a critical question: “Am I actually growing here?”
This is a matter that school managers must take seriously. Staff are not only evaluating what they earn; they are also evaluating who they are becoming. For schools committed to developing personnel who can grow with the institution, there are six essential experiences that must be embedded into the staff development framework. This is particularly significant in the context of Continuing Professional Development (CPD), which should be understood not merely as attendance at workshops, but as a deliberate, structured investment in the ongoing growth of every member of staff.
1. Growth in Responsibility
Where a member of staff has demonstrated competence and consistency, they should be entrusted with additional responsibility. Staff need to see a clear connection between proven competence and increased responsibility. In a school setting, this may take the form of coordinating a subject area, mentoring a newly qualified teacher, leading a curriculum review, or overseeing a co-curricular programme.
CPD implication: Responsibility should be assigned strategically, accompanied by the necessary support and guidance, so that it functions as a genuine development opportunity rather than simply an additional burden.
2. Growth in Skill
School managers should routinely reflect on the following questions:
- What has this member of staff learned since joining the school?
- What can they do now that they could not do previously?
- Are they being exposed to new experiences and areas of professional practice?
- Are we merely utilising the skills they arrived with?
A school should be a place where people become better at what they do. This is the core purpose of CPD. Professional development should be planned, personalised, and progressive, ensuring that every member of staff acquires new competencies, pedagogical approaches, and professional knowledge over time. It should not be left to chance or limited to generic training sessions.
3. Growth in Decision-Making
Where every decision, however minor, must be referred to senior leadership, staff are not being developed; they are being kept dependent. This dependency limits professional growth and diminishes the capacity of the school as a whole.
Staff should be given appropriate autonomy within clearly defined boundaries. They will occasionally make errors, and this is an acceptable and necessary part of developing professional judgement and capacity. Effective CPD includes creating safe opportunities for staff to exercise discretion and learn from the outcomes.
4. Growth in Leadership
Not every member of staff will become a manager, nor should this be the expectation. However, all staff should have opportunities to lead where appropriate. Leadership is developed through the exercise of responsibility, not merely through the conferment of titles.
In a school context, leadership development may include leading a department, chairing a working group, presenting at staff meetings, coordinating an event, or representing the school in external forums. These experiences build leadership capacity across the institution and prepare staff for future roles.
5. Growth in Confidence
When a member of staff has served the school for two or three years, they should not still require the constant involvement of their line manager in order to function effectively. The purpose of leadership is to increase the capacity of staff, not their dependence.
Confidence is built through a combination of acquired skill, expanded responsibility, and the trust placed in them by school leadership. A well-designed CPD programme should deliberately cultivate this confidence, enabling staff to act decisively and professionally within their areas of responsibility.
6. Seeing That Their Work Matters
Staff need to understand that their work contributes to something larger than the completion of daily tasks. No member of staff should come to work each day, complete their duties, and leave without understanding the broader picture.
School managers should make a deliberate effort to:
- Demonstrate the impact of each person’s work;
- Connect individual roles to the school’s vision and mission;
- Help staff see what their contribution is making possible for learners and the wider school community.
This sense of purpose is a powerful driver of retention and engagement, and it should be reinforced through regular communication, recognition, and reflection within the CPD framework.
Sometimes the reason staff leave is not “They did not pay me enough.” Sometimes it is “I do not see where I am going here.” This should concern every school manager.
Retention is not solely a matter of compensation. It is a matter of growth. A school that embeds structured, purposeful CPD into its culture, and that deliberately provides opportunities for responsibility, skill development, decision-making, leadership, confidence, and meaningful contribution, will be far better positioned to retain capable staff and to build a sustainable leadership pipeline for the future.
The question for school managers is therefore not simply, “What more did they want?” but rather, “What are we doing to develop the people we have?”
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My name is Stephen Aremu, I am an Education Strategist and a School Growth Consultant. 08055266237
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