Skip to main content
European Commission logo

Eurydice

EACEA National Policies Platform:Eurydice
Continuing professional development for teachers working in early childhood and school education

Poland

9.Teachers and education staff

9.3Continuing professional development for teachers working in early childhood and school education

Last update: 20 February 2024

Organisational aspects

Continuing professional development for staff taking care of children aged up to 3 years 

There is no continuing professional development (CPD) system for staff taking care of children aged up to 3 years in Poland. However, the Act on the Care for Children Aged up to 3 years (ustawa o opiece nad dziećmi w wieku do lat 3) states that some staff are required to update their knowledge and skills. 

Childminders in a crèche or kids’ club are required to regularly update their knowledge and skills in early childhood education and care for children aged up to 3 years, methods and practice of working with children, understanding children’s needs, collaboration with parents and ensuring one’s own well-being, in particular, through self-study, participation in training courses or support from an entity administering a given crèche or kids’ club. Training courses are provided on a fee-free basis by the entity administering the crèche or kids’ club. 

Childminders and volunteers taking care of children in a crèche or kids’ club are required to complete a training course in first aid for children at least every 2 years. The entity administering a given crèche or kids’ club provides training courses on a fee-free basis. 

Day-care providers are required to regularly update their knowledge and skills in early childhood education and care for children aged up to 3 years, methods and practice of working with children, understanding children’s needs, collaboration with parents and ensuring one’s own well-being, in particular, through self-study, participation in training courses or support from an entity employing the day-care provider.

If a day-care provider is employed by a local government unit or a public institution, the afore-mentioned training courses are provided on a fee-free basis. 

Continuing professional development for teachers 

Organisation 

Teachers are required to develop their professional competence in line with the needs of their schools. Continuing professional development (CPD) is a statutory duty of every teacher; thus, a teacher may not refuse to participate in professional development / in-service training activities related to his / her position.

The professional development process starts with the choice of the teaching profession and lasts throughout the period of the teacher’s professional activity. 

CPD activities include self-study, internal (“intra-school”) in-service training, and external (“out-of-school”) training (for example, additional courses, degree or non-degree programmes). 

CPD activities can take place in the country and abroad.

The head of a school assesses its CPD needs for each year considering:

  • findings from pedagogical supervision;

  • results of the primary school eighth-grader exam, vocational exams and / or the maturity exam, as appropriate;

  • tasks related to the implementation of the national core curriculum for general education or for vocational education;

  • requirements for schools and other educational institutions;

  • applications for CPD funding submitted by teachers.

Teachers of theoretical vocational subjects and practical vocational training teachers, who work in schools providing vocational education and vocational education and training centres and institutions, are required to upgrade their professional skills and qualifications by taking sector-specific training courses in 3-year cycles, with the total duration of 40 hours per cycle. 

Teachers take sector-specific training courses to: 

  • update their professional and specialist knowledge in the area of new technologies used in the sector corresponding to the occupation for which they train pupils; and / or knowledge of technical equipment, including machines, devices, tools, and materials used in manufacturing processes or services; and the specific characteristics of work in the sector concerned;

  • acquire new skills relevant to the occupation for which they train pupils;

  • familiarise themselves with the quality assurance system for a given manufacturing or services sector, and with arrangements for occupational safety and health at employers’ organisations in a given sector;

  • enhance their interpersonal skills in direct contact with staff working at an employer’s organisation or on a private farm;

  • improve the ability to apply their professional and specialist knowledge in practice;

  • identify needs and employment opportunities for school graduates on the regional or local labour market;

  • establish professional links to develop and improve collaboration with employers or individuals running private farms as part of the vocational education and training process.

Participation in CPD activities is also necessary for teacher performance appraisal; see point “Teacher performance appraisal” in Chapter 11 "Quality assurance". 

Institutions 

In-service teacher training is provided by in-service teacher training institutions, higher education institutions (HEIs) and other institutions (for example, counselling and guidance centres, educational resources centres or libraries) whose statutory tasks are related to CPD of teachers. CPD activities can take various forms, for example, qualification courses, professional training courses, non-degree postgraduate programmes, domestic and international internships, methodology conferences, seminars, workshops, and self-study activities. 

The CPD system for teachers covers three levels: national, regional and local:

  1. CPD at the national level: 
    • national-level in-service teacher training institutions;
    • national-level training projects for teachers;
  2. CPD at the regional (province) level: 
    • systemic support measures for teachers in the area of teaching methodology;
    • systemic measures supporting teachers in the implementation of national-level training projects;
  3. CPD in local government units:  
    • focusing on the development of local school education systems;
    • focusing on school development plans.

As part of their statutory tasks, public in-service teacher training institutions operating at the national level:

  1. design and implement national in-service training programmes for teachers and heads of schools and other educational and training institutions, in line with the needs of the school education system;
  2. support public in-service teacher training institutions, counselling and guidance centres, including specialised centres, and educational resources centres in the implementation of national school education policies;
  3. support public in-service teacher training institutions, counselling and guidance centres, including specialised centres, educational resources centres and teachers-methodological advisers in the following activities:
    • providing support to schools and educational institutions,
    • establishing and maintaining collaboration and self-training networks for teachers and heads of schools and educational institutions;
  4. establish collaboration and self-training networks and conduct other types of in-service training activities for heads, teachers-consultants and teachers-methodological advisers in public in-service teacher training institutions, and for heads and teachers in public counselling and guidance centres, including specialised centres, and educational resources centres, in the following areas: 
    • directions of national school education policies;
    • changes introduced in the school education system;
    • statutory tasks of public in-service teacher training institutions, counselling and guidance centres, including specialised centres, and educational resources centres;
  5. develop and disseminate information and methodological resources on the establishment of collaboration and self-training networks and other types of in-service training activities, for heads, teachers-consultants and teachers-methodological advisers in public in-service teacher training institutions, and for heads and teachers in public counselling and guidance centres, including specialised centres, and educational resources centres;
  6. support schools and other educational institutions in the performance of their tasks, including the development and publication of information and methodological resources;
  7. provide training to prospective experts of qualification and examination boards involved in professional promotion procedures for teachers. 

The public institution involved in continuing professional development for teachers and operating at the national level is the Centre for Education Development (Ośrodek Rozwoju Edukacji), supervised by the Minister of National Education. The activities of the Centre are aimed at improving the school education system and the quality of school education in line with national school education policies. The Centre plans and coordinates initial education and continuing professional development activities for all teachers. It trains staff for the counselling and career guidance system, including the areas of vocational and continuing education, and coordinates professional development activities for teachers working in schools for adults and continuing education institutions.

In-service teacher training institutions are required to obtain accreditation, which confirms that an institution assures high quality of CPD activities for teachers. Accreditation is granted by the Head of the Regional Education Authorities in the province where the main premises of the applicant institution are located. 

 

Incentives, supporting measures and funding for participation in continuing professional development (CPD) activities

In-service teacher training is an integral part of the teacher’s professional development, considered as both a privilege and a duty. Therefore, as a teacher is obliged to undertake CPD, it is not possible to speak of an incentive system for continuing professional development of teachers. 

Full-time teachers are entitled to paid training leave and other training-related benefits and allowances for the participation in compulsory courses / classes, the preparation for exams and the writing of a Master’s thesis (they are usually granted 21 days off a year for class attendance and examination periods, and 21 days off a year for writing a Master’s thesis). Teachers may also take paid or unpaid leave for research, artistic or education-related activities, and unpaid leave for other reasons. 

The funding available for CPD covers or contributes towards the following types of costs:

  • participation costs for teachers attending seminars, conferences, lectures, workshops, training courses, non-degree postgraduate programmes and other types of in-service training activities conducted, respectively, by in-service teacher training institutions, higher education institutions (HEIs) and other institutions whose statutory tasks include in-service teacher training;

  • participation costs for teachers taking the types of teacher training programmes offered by HEIs and in-service teacher institutions;

  • costs of supporting schools and collaboration and self-training networks for teachers run by in-service teacher training institutions, counselling and guidance centres, including specialised centres, and educational resources centres;

  • participation costs for teachers taking sector-specific training courses.

By 31 January, the body administering schools develops a CPD support plan for each financial year, taking into consideration:

  • applications submitted by school heads;

  • results of the eighth-grader exam, vocational exams and / or the maturity exam; 

  • main aims of the national education policy set by the minister responsible for school education;

  • the extent to which the scheduled sector-specific training courses for teachers have been delivered.

In consultation with school heads, the school administering body determines each year:

  • the maximum amount of CPD funding available;

  • types and specialisation / subject areas of training to which funding is allocated. 

To finance a training course or another form of CPD activity for a teacher in a particular specialisation area or field of study / training, the area or field and the form of CPD activity should be included in the CPD funding plan for teachers adopted by the administering body for a given calendar year. 

Within their budgets, province governors set aside a total amount equal to 12,400 average salaries for a chartered teacher to support methodological guidance services in their provinces. 

Within its budget, the Ministry of National Education sets aside an amount equal to 2,700 average salaries for a chartered teacher for CPD measures at the national level. The funding is allocated for:

  • national-level initial and in-service teacher training programmes;

  • initial and in-service teacher training tasks delegated to HEIs and other institutions.