IRIS Connect, PD

🎉We're excited to invite you to The CPD Exchange 2026 👨‍🏫Join school and MAT leaders for a focused, interactive day exploring real-world strategies for overcoming challenges in coaching, reflection and building strong communities of practice. 🗣️Hear directly from peers using innovative solutions that are making a real difference in practice, such as video technology, AI Insights and adaptive Pathways to strengthen teacher development at scale. 🏫Both current IRIS Connect schools and non-member schools are welcome! 🏙️Join us in person in Manchester on the 24th of April: eu1.hubs.ly/H0s19Rd0

There is a moment many teachers describe when they watch themselves on video for the first time. Not what they expected to see. Sometimes a habit they didn't know they had. A pupil they hadn't quite noticed. A question they thought landed, but didn't. That moment of genuine surprise is where professional growth actually begins. Not in a training room. Not in a policy document. In the quiet, uncomfortable, illuminating act of watching yourself teach. Andrew Newell has spent 17 years thinking about how to make that moment possible for every teacher, not just the ones lucky enough to have the right coach at the right time. His latest talk explores what it really takes to scale that kind of growth across a whole school. 👇 🔗 bit.ly/3PhfJNq #TeacherDevelopment #ProfessionalLearning #InstructionalCoaching

Read the full case study: irisconnect.com/uk/impact/case…

❓What happens when teachers truly take ownership of their professional development? At Sir Thomas Wharton Academy, video-enabled professional learning with IRIS Connect is helping staff reflect on real classroom practice, share effective strategies, and learn from one another. The result is a culture where professional development is ongoing, collaborative, and rooted in everyday teaching.

🎉We’re delighted to be attending this year’s ASCL Conference. If you’re joining fellow senior leaders to explore the future of education, we’d love to connect. Visit us at Stand 37 to meet the IRIS Connect team, discuss how meaningful professional development can strengthen teaching and leadership across your setting, and pick up a few IRIS Connect goodies along the way. See you there. #ascl2026

“Teaching isn’t about delivering a script.” A powerful insight from Megan Clune, ITE Programme Director at the University of Auckland. Expert teachers make countless in-the-moment decisions that often go unseen. Creating space to revisit and reflect on those moments can reveal powerful opportunities for growth. See the full quote below.

🤝For more than 17 years, we have worked alongside schools through changing policies, shifting priorities and evolving professional development approaches. 📈Trends come and go, but the principles that improve teaching remain remarkably consistent. 🏗️That is why IRIS Connect is built around what the research shows works best. 💻Our platform brings together video supported instructional coaching, structured reflection, collaborative practice and personalised professional learning in one place. The goal is not just to refine teaching techniques, but to support the long term development of professional judgement and adaptive expertise. 👀See how it works

📣 Northern Ireland school leaders - join us online! Are you ready to make your Teacher Professional Learning (TPL) funding work harder and smarter in your school? Ashleigh Thomson from Bloomfield Collegiate School will be sharing practical insights from her context about how to move beyond one-off training days and instead build a sustainable, evidence-informed culture of professional growth that strengthens teaching and learning over time. 🔗 eu1.hubs.ly/H0s5Sgk0 Secure your place and join colleagues from across Northern Ireland for this timely conversation.

Ofsted’s new toolkit is set to influence the next phase of inspection and accountability. The key question for school leaders: what does this mean for your improvement priorities and professional development strategy? 🤔 In our latest blog, @IRIS_Founder explores the implications of the changes and how leaders can respond with clarity and confidence - turning evolving expectations into an opportunity for meaningful growth. 🔗 Read more: eu1.hubs.ly/H0s8BnD0 #EducationLeadership #Ofsted #SchoolImprovement #ProfessionalDevelopment

Join us at The CPD Exchange 2026. 📅 24th April 2026 📍 Voco, Manchester 🕣 8.30am - 4pm 🎫 Tickets here: eu1.hubs.ly/H0s8zZy0 #events #teacherPD #manchester #teacherleads #CPD #professionaldevelopment

At our most recent online event, Andy Newell (@IRIS_Founder) explored what it really takes to scale adaptive expertise across schools and trusts. Drawing on years of work in teacher development, he unpacked the limits of one-off training and compliance-driven models, and argued for professional learning that builds teachers’ situational awareness, judgement, and ability to adapt practice in context. Watch his thoughtful and practical perspective on moving beyond technique compliance towards sustainable, adaptive professional growth. eu1.hubs.ly/H0s1cs30 #AI #CPD

👩‍🏫 Leader webinar for IRIS Connect customers | 17 March, 4pm Join us as we welcome Sam Woodward from Wath Academy, who will share how they’re increasing staff participation and maximising the impact of IRIS Connect across their school. Designed for leaders looking to strengthen implementation, boost staff engagement, and drive meaningful professional development at scale. 🎤 Sam Woodward, Wath Academy 🔗 Sign up now: eu1.hubs.ly/H0rW9wx0

🔎 All Change: Reflecting on the new OfSTED toolkit Check out our new blog, from MD Andy Newell (@IRIS_Founder) where he explains the changes and how IRIS Connect has evolved to change the way schools develop teachers: eu1.hubs.ly/H0rNkvN0

Across the talks at our recent online event ‘Professional Development in the Age of AI’, we’ve heard a consistent message: the future of professional development is not about doing more things faster, but about developing deeper professional judgement. Listen to an insightful, multi-perspective conversation with Daljit Shoker, Collette Clifford, Matt Batchelor, James Fish, Emma Smith and Andy Newell exploring what this means in the age of AI, and the choices schools and systems now face. bit.ly/3Mqq6NN

In his talk at our event last week, Andy Newell explored what it really takes to scale adaptive expertise across schools and trusts. Drawing on years of work in teacher development, he unpacked the limits of one-off training and compliance-driven models, and argued for professional learning that builds teachers’ situational awareness, judgement, and ability to adapt practice in context. Watch his thoughtful and practical perspective on moving beyond technique compliance towards sustainable, adaptive professional growth. bit.ly/4bNwmty

💻On Thursday, Laura Knight spoke in her keynote ‘CTRL ALT DEVELOP: AI as a Professional Learning Partner’ about what AI can and cannot do for professional learning, how it can reduce workload while strengthening pedagogy, and the ethical guardrails leaders must consider to keep staff and students safe. Missed it? Watch her talk here: bit.ly/4ch5B0v

@SiddiquiEdu @asklauraknight Recordings here: youtube.com/watch?v=09uUfT…

What a fantastic event last night, with over 140 people joining us live to explore how professional learning can evolve in the age of AI. A huge thank you to our amazing host, @SiddiquiEdu, and our brilliant keynote speaker, @asklauraknight ✨. We’d also like to thank our panelists Daljit Shoker, @ColletteRowleyC, Matt Batchelor, James Fish and Emma Smith for sharing such thoughtful insights with our community, and of course a big thanks to our very own @IRIS_Founder, Matthew Newell and @Anna_IRISC. Thank you to everyone who joined us live and helped make it such a brilliant evening. 😍 Missed it? The full recording is now live on YouTube. Link in the first comment. 👇

🚀In just 24 hours, we kick off our first event of the year. 💻Professional Development in the Age of AI: Reducing Workload, Growing Agency 👨‍🏫Join us to hear from Baasit Siddiqui, Laura Knight and Andy Newell as they explore how AI can support meaningful professional development while empowering educators and easing workload pressures. Haven't got your ticket yet? Last chance to sign up > bit.ly/4kyMYYp

🔴 Did you know IRIS Connect has a YouTube channel? 💻 It’s home to a wide range of practical teaching insights, event recordings, and real examples of IRIS Connect in action. Whether you’re looking to deepen your practice or explore new ways to support teacher development, there’s plenty to discover. ⭐ Take a look today and remember to subscribe to stay updated with our latest content. bit.ly/4a4ZMk7