Continuing professional development (CPD) of educators in public ECEC settings for children aged less than three years is regulated by the national labour contracts that can be integrated at local level through agreements with the relevant trade unions. Due to the variety of regulations, CPD of educators in public ECEC settings cannot be described in detail in the following sections.

CPD of teachers in State schools, included the ECEC settings for children aged three years and over, is regulated at central level and in the national labour contracts.

Organisational aspects

The collective labour contract for school staff establishes that CPD is a both a right and a professional duty for teachers, as CPD contributes to the development of their professional life. The law 107/2015, and the subsequent D.Lgs. 59/2017, have established that CPD of teachers, is compulsory, continuing and structural.  

Each school defines CDP activities, also establishing networks with other schools in their territory. Activities must be consistent with the Three-year educational offer plan (Piano Triennale per l'offerta formativa – PTOF) of the school, with the self-evaluation report and the improvement plans of schools. They also must comply with the priorities indicated annually by the Ministry in charge of education, at present called Ministry of education and merit (Ministero dell'istruzione e del merito – MIM).

The priorities for the school year 2022/2023 are:

• teaching of STEM disciplines and enhancement of multilingual skills, 
• implementation of the ‘integrated system 0-6’,
• accompanying measures on assessment in primary schools,
• training initiatives for the enhancement of orientation teaching, 
• inclusive and integration educational practices (also for pupils newly arrived in Italy),
• training initiatives for tackling early school leaving,
• initiatives related to the dissemination of education for sustainability and global citizenship.

CPD covers also digital competences and the critical and responsible use of digital devises. Training initiatives are generally not part of the teaching timetable and teachers have the right to five days with exemption from service during the school year to participate in training initiatives.

Recently, law 79/2022, which amended the D.Lgs. 59/2017, introduced voluntary CPD. This segment of the reform has not completed its approval procedures and, therefore, details are available in the section on National Reforms in School Education.

Incentives for participation in continuing professional development (CPD) activities

In order to help teachers in their CPD activities, law 107/2015 foresees a financial support delivered in the form of an electronic card. The card is personal and not transferable and is destined to permanent full-time and part-time teachers working in state schools, included teachers in their induction period. The Ministry of education and the Ministry of finance have defined the criteria and methods for the attribution of the card. Every year, each teacher will receive a maximum of 500 € for:

• purchasing books, magazines, hardware and software,
• attending courses offered by accredited bodies or by higher education institutions,
• attending cultural events (representations, movies, live events) and visit museums and exhibitions,
• carrying out activities consistent with the three-year educational plan of the school and with the National training plan.

The sum is not considered an ancillary retribution and it is not taxable. Within the end of August of each year, teachers must send the statement of expenses for CPD activities to their school administration that make them available to auditors. In case of late or incomplete documentation, unjustified costs are recovered from the sum allocated to the teacher the following year.

Law 79/2022 has introduced a voluntary CPD that leads, upon a positive assessment at the end of the three-year training period, to a one-off pay element of an ancillary nature. This segment of the reform has not completed its approval procedures and, therefore, details are available in the section on National Reforms in School Education.

Contents revised: February 2024