Hannah Tyreman, Professional Learning Lead at the Teacher Development Trust and Advisory Group Member for our Teacher Development Fund (TDF), explores what we’re learning about the role of trust in teacher professional learning from TDF projects.
Professional learning has the potential to positively impact teachers’ job satisfaction, motivation and longevity in the profession, as well as pupils’ wellbeing and progress (Cordingley et al., 2015; Darling-Hammond et al., 2017). Though all too often, professional learning fails to reach these impacts, affected by finite time, stretched capacity, competing priorities and limited resources in schools, with 39% of teachers recently reporting that CPD has not clearly improved their ability to do their job, and less than 1 in 4 saying it adequately considers the needs of their pupils (TDT, 2025).
This isn’t a situation that should leave us feeling hopeless.
Evidence from research and experience indicates there are ways in which professional learning can be successful for schools, pupils and teachers. The TDF draws upon this evidence as part of its founding principles, as well as encouraging these practices within projects, and adopting them within the design of their own cohort learning programme for grant holders (Cordingley et al., 2015; DfE, 2016; EEF, 2021).
Whilst there are a number of specific design features to consider, including the use of research evidence, goal-setting, collaboration and expert support (Müller et al., 2023), there are many other critical factors affecting success. When professional learning is implemented well, this is how four of these critical factors might look.
Strategic leadership: Leaders understand the importance of professional learning for teachers, prioritise it in wider school planning and implementation, align it with school improvement goals, embed it within regular school activities, and gather evidence to evaluate its impact (DfE, 2016; Guskey, 2016). In Creative Collaboration and Making Change, we hear from Sarah Eastaff about how the success of a TDF project based in Doncaster has relied upon, amongst other factors, the fostering of leadership buy-in.
Sustained duration: Instead of one-off events and activities on separate approaches, teachers are supported to dedicate focus to a single area of their practice over time (Cordingley et al., 2015; Timperley et al., 2020).
Pupil-focused: Whilst professional learning is designed for teachers, the ultimate intentions for pupils, especially for those from under-resourced communities, are clearly defined, monitored and evaluated (Guskey, 2020; Whitworth and Chiu, 2015).
Iterative rhythm: Teachers develop their practice through a coherent set of activities designed to support them with learning, rehearsing, trialling, embedding and refining their approaches in line with their identities, the context in which they teach, and the pupils they work with (Bean, 2025; Cordingley et al., 2015; Darling-Hammond et al., 2017).
Even when all these factors are present, professional learning may still not be successful.
It’s still not the time to lose hope.
These four critical factors don’t exist in a vacuum. They are dependent on and influenced by the conditions that exist in a context, all of which can be intentionally nurtured.
One such condition is the presence, consistency and strength of trust (TDT, 2024).
Trust forms the foundation of successful learning relationships, which enable reciprocal vulnerability, a willingness to take risks, and the collaboration towards shared goals necessary for school improvement.
Where trust is absent, teachers may fear being judged for their actions in the classroom, feel isolated from their colleagues, and experience guarded or dishonest dialogue with leaders, all of which may leave them feeling more pressured, less motivated and may result in limited professional growth.
A Paul Hamlyn Foundation Teacher Development Fund (TDF) project takes place over two years, which may seem like a relatively long period of time, but we’ve learned that trust must be established quickly and considered at different levels of the work to support success.
For many teachers, a TDF project can be the first time they’re exposed to collaborative professional learning over a sustained period of time that exposes them to new approaches and requires vulnerability as they try out new skills.
For many artists, it can be the first time they’ve worked directly in a teacher development role rather than a pupil facilitation role, which demands a different perspective and adapted ways of working as they partner with teachers.
In This is Manchester (2023–2025), a project focused on developing an everyday creative curriculum, many teachers were uncertain to begin with, reluctant to have a go, and unsure whether the approaches would result in a positive impact on children’s learning. Some teachers also expressed feeling guilty for taking the time out of the classroom to invest in their own learning, a luxury they were not used to and unsure they deserved.
By the end of year 2, teachers found, contrary to their initial expectations, that they were able to model approaches to colleagues, use practices in classes with efficacy, and present their arguments for a more creative curriculum to leaders. Their trust in the learning process had evolved gradually over time when they took small and guided steps with artists, saw evidence of their own progress, and had their confidence, sense of agency, and value intentionally nurtured.
In Valued and Nurtured, Eden Court (2024–2026), we hear from Louise Marshall, producer for Dance and Accessible Arts at Eden Court in Inverness, about how a TDF project in the Highlands of Scotland has achieved just this.
Whilst trust in learning is generally about the teacher’s trust in themselves and the learning process, equally crucial is the trust teachers have in one another, as well as in the artists they partner with, and those leading projects.
Two teachers from Letchworth’s Teacher-Artist Exchange project work at opposite ends of the curriculum and had not collaborated before. When they first stepped into this project, it was filled with surprises: the focus was to be on their own learning rather than the children’s, the timescale was generous, and they would be experimenting towards outcomes they had the agency to shape. This project was suddenly a site of both freedom and uncertainty, which the teachers learned to navigate together as they awaited news of their initial artist match and later, a change to accommodate a more local partnership.
Surrendering to the exploratory nature of this co-created project took a little time, especially with no fixed point to aim towards, but the lack of usual constraints, rigid structures, and rush to ‘figure things out’ offered the pair a rare gift of space and time. This freed teachers to take risks, appreciate one another’s unique qualities, and nurture each other’s curiosity for continuous development. An artist who has listened closely to their perspectives, responded to their unique circumstances, and shared practices from other schools in similar and differing contexts has quickly nurtured trust. The full support of their Head teacher, who has modelled trust in their capability and judgement, and has aligned the project with the school’s wider emotional literacy and behaviour approaches, has reassured them that their investment in these relationships and arts practices is worthwhile.
One year in, and already these combined factors have resulted in reciprocal trust and respect for each other’s professional expertise, where each member of this trio has faith that the other ‘has their back’ as they continue to co-create, experiment and adapt to see what they might discover together.
Teachers are not necessarily accustomed to experiencing trust in their roles and settings, where their responsibilities, expectations and accountability measures mean they may often feel constrained (Bean, 2025; TDT, 2025).
A TDF project is often the first time that arts organisations and schools are designing and delivering such an extended and collaborative project that calls for a responsive and experimental approach to teacher learning.
Project leads often have to ensure that they account for a school’s unique context in their learning design, and ensure that senior leaders understand the project’s aims and are fully committed to its implementation, since their active involvement is central to the success of any professional learning (Timperley et al., 2007). This involvement could be a combination of actions, such as accompanying teachers in learning sessions, providing resources, protecting time so that learning can happen, and sustaining the learning beyond the scope of the project. This means that a project doesn’t sit as an isolated entity within a system that doesn’t embrace it, but is fully embedded in the school’s wider ecology.
Across TDF projects, we’ve noticed that when teachers see that their learning efforts won’t be wasted, and trust that leaders are supportive of embedding the arts approaches in other classrooms and the wider curriculum long term, they invest more of themselves in the project, and their professional growth is more extensive as a result.
In Meeting Everyone Where and Who They Are, we hear from Rob Elkington, Director of Arts Connect (2024 – 2026), about how they’re setting out to embed arts practices in the curriculum and achieve a long-term impact on the school’s culture through their TDF project.
Whilst trust may feel like an abstract entity, it can be fostered through everyday actions.
Whether trust is present, consistent, or strong in the school already or not, we’ve learned that trust can be intentionally fostered through TDF projects.
Across TDF projects, we’ve noticed that trust is slow to build but often secured by the end. Once teachers step into the shoes of a learner, engage with models, rehearsal, and feedback, receive praise and encouragement, and see evidence of their progress, their professional learning is successful. They embed arts approaches into their daily practice, reconnect with their own love of the arts, and realise that, despite their initial doubts, they are in fact creative after all.
Ultimately, whether it’s teachers trusting themselves and the learning process, each other, their leaders, artists, or organisations, trust is a central consideration for the success of professional learning.
When trust is present, the conditions are created for teachers to fully realise ‘their own capacity and power’; transforming their personal worlds, their teaching practice, and pupils’ lives.
These are reasons to be hopeful, indeed.
Thank you to Bernie Furey from This Is Manchester, and Annabelle Roberts, Alexa Loy, and Marie Ellis from Letchworth Teacher Artist Exchange for speaking to us further about your experiences of trust on TDF projects. Thank you to Sarah Eastaff, Louise Marshall, and Rob Elkington for sharing your insights in written form for this term’s newsletter.
Louise Marshall, Project Coordinator for Everyone is an Artist (Eden Court, Inverness) shares their Teacher Development Fund learning journey so far and highlights the importance of trust and nurturing within their professional learning design.
Sarah Eastaff, Director of Creative Learning, darts, offers insights into their Teacher Development Fund learning process. She highlights the team’s focus on iterative and responsive design, and reflects on the importance of fostering a culture of care in which confidence can be nurtured and sustained.
