Why is webinar training so popular for school INSET days?

When school term time comes around again, so too follows the rush to get a whole host of tasks done in a short space of time. With training to complete, lesson plans to write up and everything in between, where can teachers buy themselves some time on INSET days?

Online training, which includes e-learning and webinars, has been adopted by many professionals across all industries due to its accessibility, flexibility and time-efficient means of up-skilling staff.

With teachers against the clock to be ready for the return of students, webinars provide a simple alternative to normal classroom-based teaching without losing the benefits of face-to-face interactivity.

What is an INSET day?

INSET day, an abbreviation of In-service Education and Training or In-service Training, is a teacher training day. INSET days are non-teaching days so students do not attend schools, allowing for mandatory and CPD training for teachers to be completed, alongside other administrative tasks.

How many INSET days per year do schools have?

As per the School Teachers’ Pay and Conditions Document (STPCD), maintained schools and any other school in the UK that follows the STPCD must have 5 INSET days each year. Across each of these 5 days, 6 hours of directed time should be allocated, allowing teachers and other school staff to complete their activities.

When it comes to part-time support staff and INSET days, the STPCD states that there is no requirement for part-time teachers to "be available for work on any day of the week or part of any day of the week on which the teacher is not normally required to be available for work under their contract of employment". For example, if a part-time teacher does not work on Mondays, they are not required to attend an INSET day held on a Monday.

What is INSET training for teachers?

INSET days are the ideal opportunity to provide both CPD and mandatory training for school staff. This training ranges from safeguarding children, health and safety, and first aid training for schools, to learning about safer recruitment in education and the SEND code of practice.

Teachers training days are used for staff to refresh their knowledge or develop new skills out of teaching hours.

How can webinars help schools train staff during INSET days?

With training and other administrative tasks to complete, time is precious for teachers and other school staff on INSET days. The benefits of webinars in education are extensive.

Online training increases retention of information up to 60% more than face-to-face training.

Save staff time

Webinar training has many benefits, none more relevant for INSET training than its time efficiency. In fact, online training takes 40 to 60% less time than traditional classroom-based training, making it an ideal delivery method for school INSET days.

Not only do webinars take less time than in-person training, they are available to follow in real-time, with the ability to interact with an expert instructor, or be watched at a later point. This gives teachers much more flexibility, and means training can be completed from their desk, in between other tasks.

More effective learning

Both e-learning and webinars can increase information retention by a huge 25% to 60%, making INSET days more effective and highly beneficial for the entire organisation.

The benefits of live interaction with the instructor during webinar training is something school teaching staff will appreciate more than most. The ability to engage with the trainer about the course material allows questions and answers to be tailored to the learner's specific situation or query, which they can apply in their own lessons or elsewhere on campus.

Flexible training

Webinars can be watched anywhere at any time, giving schools flexibility particularly when managing part-time teacher training. For instance, if a support teacher has a long commute or only needs to be in for an afternoon of training, they could instead complete their online teacher training at home.

Training online is also more adaptable for school staff whose training varies depending on their responsibilities. With a central training portal all staff can be added and assigned the appropriate courses for their needs. For instance, health and safety in schools varies across the campus, so sports teachers may undertake Concussion in Schools training whilst kitchen staff complete a Food Safety course.

Cost-effective

Not only will staff save money by not having to travel, schools don't need to provide a training room, print training resources or bring a trainer in.

Webinars are typically a much cheaper means of training compared to other training methods, particularly when onboarding a number of staff, with discounted packages available for organisations.

Boost revenue and reputation

Schools can increase their reputation even further by becoming an online training reseller. White-labelling allows schools to resell training under their own name, in turn boosting their budget. Course certificates printed with the school's logo on can help increase reputation as an education provider. Learn more about how to resell training courses here.

Getting started

With more than 200 courses, a weekly webinar schedule and a team of experts ready to give your organisation a speedy onboarding process, you can start saving time and money today.

Take a look at our Webinars page to discover more about how they can benefit your business. For school staff wanting the full classroom feel from their training, you could also consider Train the Trainer courses. These certify staff as instructors in the course subject they choose, meaning you can always have a trainer ready to deliver training on campus whenever needed.