Organisational aspects

Care for 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, as stated in the legislation (Act on the Care for Children Aged up to 3 years / ustawa o opiece nad dziećmi w wieku do lat 3), childminders working in a crèche or kids’ club and day-care providers are required to regularly update their knowledge and skills in the areas of 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. Knowledge and skills should be updated, in particular, through self-study, participation in training courses or support from the entity administering a given crèche or kids’ club or the entity employing a day-care provider. 

Both a childminder in a crèche or kids’ club and a day-care provider are also required to attend every 2 years a training course in first aid for children. 

Fee-free training courses for childminders in a crèche and kids’ club are provided by the entity administering the crèche or kids’ club. If a day-care provider is employed by a local government unit or a public institution, the employing entity provides such a course on a fee-free basis. 

In accordance with the childcare standards, which were introduced in September 2023, the areas for the updating of knowledge and skills are identified by the head of a crèche or kids’ club and the entity administering the childcare institution or the entity employing a day-care provider together with the childminder or employed day-care provider, or a self-employed day-care provider. For details about the childcare standards, see Chapter 11.1 ‘Quality assurance in early childhood and school education’. 

The legislation does not address professional development of nannies. 

Preschool education and school education

Organisation 

In accordance with the Teachers’ Charter (Karta Nauczyciela), teachers are required to develop their professional competence in line with the needs of their nursery school or school. Continuing professional development (CPD) is a statutory duty of every teacher; thus, a teacher may not refuse to participate in CPD (in-service training) activities related to his / her position.

Theoretical vocational subject teachers and practical vocational training teachers, who work in vocational schools and other institutions providing vocational education and training, participate on a compulsory basis in sector-specific vocational training courses in 3-year cycles, with the total duration of 40 hours in each cycle. Specific aims of such vocational training courses are set in the legislation (Regulation of the Minister of National Education of 23 August 2019 on the financial support for in-service teacher training, specific aims of sector-specific in-service training of vocational teachers, and the procedure and conditions for teachers to undergo sector-specific in-service training /  Rozporządzenie Ministra Edukacji Narodowej z dnia 23 sierpnia 2019 r. w sprawie dofinansowania doskonalenia zawodowego nauczycieli, szczegółowych celów szkolenia branżowego oraz trybu i warunków kierowania nauczycieli na szkolenia branżowe). 

Engagement in CPD is also considered in performance appraisal of teachers (see the section ‘Teacher performance appraisal’ in Chapter 11.1 ‘Quality assurance in early childhood and school education’). Teachers must receive at least a ‘good’ grade in a performance appraisal for the promotion to the grade of appointed teacher, and at least a ‘very good’ grade to be promoted to the grade of chartered teacher (see Chapter 9.2.9 ‘Promotion, advancement’). 

The total working time of a teacher includes, among other things, activities related to self-study and professional development (see Chapter 9.2.8 ‘Working time and holidays’). 

CPD activities include self-study, internal (‘intra-school’) CPD, and external (‘out-of-school’) CPD activities such as qualification and other courses, degree or non-degree postgraduate programmes, placements or internships, conferences, seminars and workshops. Activities can take place in the country and abroad.

The head of a school (or nursery school) assesses CPD needs of teachers for each year, considering:

• findings from pedagogical supervision;

• results of external exams taken by pupils (the primary school eighth-grader exam, vocational exams and / or the maturity exam);

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

• requirements for schools and other educational institutions (see Chapter 11.1 ‘Quality assurance in early childhood and school education’);

• applications for CPD funding submitted by teachers.

This is the basis for applications for funding that school heads submit each year to the bodies administering their schools and for the administering bodies to draw up financial plans (for funding, see Chapter 9.2.3 ‘Incentives, supporting measures and funding for participation in continuing professional development (CPD) activities’) below. 

Institutions 

External CPD activities are organised, in particular, by in-service teacher training institutions, other institutions within the school education system (for example, counselling and guidance centres, educational resources centres or libraries) whose statutory tasks are related to CPD of teachers, and higher education institutions (HEIs) (providing degree and non-degree postgraduate programmes; for information about degree and non-degree postgraduate programmes, see Chapter 9.1 ‘Initial education for teachers working in early childhood and school education’). 

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

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:

• design and implement national in-service training programmes for teachers and heads of nursery schools, schools and other educational institutions, in line with the needs of the school education system;

• support public in-service teacher training institutions, counselling and guidance centres and educational resources centres in the implementation of national school education policies, and in the provision of various types of support for nursery schools, schools and other educational institutions (for example, conferences, seminars, workshops, training courses) and in the establishment and maintenance of collaboration and self-training networks for teachers and heads of nursery schools, schools and other educational institutions;

• establish collaboration and self-training networks and conduct other types of CPD 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 and educational resources centres in the areas listed in the legislation;  

• develop and disseminate information and methodological resources on the establishment of collaboration and self-training networks and other types of CPD 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;

• support nursery schools, schools and other educational institutions in the performance of their tasks, including the development and publication of information and methodological resources.

As part of their statutory tasks, in-service teacher training institutions at the regional or local level organise CPD activities, for example, in the following areas: 

• directions of the national school education policy and changes in the school education system; 

• requirements for nursery schools, schools and other educational institutions; 

• implementation of the core curricula, including the development of curricula; 

• assessment of pupils’ needs, and adaptation of the education process and psychological and educational support to needs; 

• training for teachers to analyse results and findings of pedagogical supervision and external exams taken by pupils and their use for improvement of teachers’ work; 

• needs identified through an analysis of such results and findings. 

Public in-service teacher training institutions carry out their tasks through, for example: 

• various forms of support (for example, support in the assessment of needs and the planning of activities based on the needs assessment); 

• organisation and maintenance of collaboration and self-training networks for teachers and heads of nursery schools, schools and other educational institutions (except for national-level institutions); 

• various forms of CPD, such as training courses, conferences, lectures, workshops; 

• information and advice sessions; 

• dissemination of good practice examples. 

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 a given province, based on an evaluation of the institution’s activities. 

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

Since teachers are required to undertake CPD in line with the needs of their schools, it is not possible to speak of an incentive system for CPD. However, the legislation provides for some supporting measures. 

Specific types of support

Full-time teachers are entitled to paid training leave and other training-related benefits and allowances: 

• A teacher who has been sent by the head of a school (or nursery school or another educational institution) to follow a part-time degree programme at a higher education institution can take paid training leave of 21-28 days for the participation in compulsory courses / classes and for exams in each year of study, and 21 days for writing a Master’s thesis and the final exam. 

• If a teacher enrols on a degree programme on his/her own initiative, he/she can take paid training leave if funding is available at the school (or the nursery or another educational institution). During the leave, the teacher receives his/her salary.

Teachers may also take paid or unpaid leave for research, artistic or education-related activities, and unpaid leave for other reasons.  

Funding

CPD is funded at the three above-mentioned levels: local, regional and national. 

Funding for CPD is guaranteed by the State as part of revenues of local government units. The bodies administering schools (or nursery schools or other educational institutions) develop a CPD financing plan for each budgetary year. Such a plan takes into account: 

• applications submitted by school heads;

• results of the external exams taken by pupils (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 vocational training courses for teachers of theoretical vocational subjects and practical vocational training teachers have been delivered.

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

• the maximum amount of CPD funding to be provided;

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

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.

To be funded, a training course or another CPD activity for a teacher in a particular area (field of study, specialism, training area) should be included in the CPD financing 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 at the regional level. The level of funding in the budget for each province is proportionate to the total number of employed teachers. 

The minister responsible for school 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.

The amount does not include funding for public in-service teacher training institutions operating at the national level which are administered by the minister.