Some thoughts about leading CPD on assessment, arising from the fact that I'm planning on doing exactly that next week. To be honest, quite a few of them probably apply to CPD on anything.

Make sure you know enough about assessment to be the expert in the room. If you don't, read stuff like Responsive Teaching by @HFletcherWood, Making Good Progress by @daisychristo and Measuring Up by @DanKoretz. Consider doing the Assessment Lead Programme from @EvidenceInEdu.

Consider whether staff have thought deeply enough about the curriculum first. Assessment can't really be of better quality than the curriculum it is designed to assess, so if they haven't, postpone the assessment stuff and maybe do some CPD on curriculum instead.

On that note, does your CPD include the phrase, 'the curriculum as the progression model'? If not, it definitely should. Assessment which is divorced from curricular thinking is not effective assessment.

Don't try to include everything you know about assessment. It's a massive topic, so pick one thing and focus on that. If you can comfortably get everything you know about assessment into your session without compromising, return to the point about whether you know enough.

Ask yourself whether your CPD is really about making everyone mark more. If it is, scrap it and go back to whether you know enough. I cringe when I think of times in the past when I led sessions disguised as AfL CPD when really they were about how to look good in work scrutiny.

Base your CPD on what the main needs are in the school. This is why it is easiest to do this as an insider with your finger firmly on the pulse. Work out the common areas of weakness and target them in what you deliver.

Don't be afraid of assessment theory. It underpins good practice and without understanding of concepts like validity, reliability etc teachers will find it hard to transfer ideas to their own practice. But make sure theory is clearly exemplified and has practical implications.

Try to find the sweet spot between the generic framework of assessment knowledge which all teachers need and the subject-specific autonomy to implement it effectively. You won't ever get this just right for everyone, but you will get closer from making the effort.

Take advantage of internal expertise to co-deliver your CPD. There will definitely be excellent practitioners of assessment in the school. Do your homework first, find them and bully them into leading it with you. This adds credibility to what you want to say and exemplifies it.

Have clear expectations of what you want staff to learn, just as you would when you plan your teaching. Also plan what you want them to do as a result and what will be different when they have, but remember not to ride roughshod over the unique needs of each subject.

Consider whether your school's systems and procedures accommodate what you want the outcome to be. It's no use asking everyone to plan amazing hinge questions if they are bogged down having to write weekly essays in fuchsia ink in kids' books. Change the policy first.

Take your time to prepare your session carefully. You owe that to your colleagues. It's very hard work, but it's definitely worthwhile. If you doubt this, think back to a time when you sat through CPD which was shoddy and a complete waste of your time. Don't do that.

Treat your CPD as part of a longer process, not a standalone event. People will need to try things out and refine them, things you cover will need revisiting, things you don't cover will need addressing later and embedding change properly across the school takes ages.

On that theme, plan for implementation time after your CPD has taken place. Has further inset been allocated to departments to work on what you have taught them? Is department meeting time available rather than clogged up with centrally imposed administrative tasks?

That's all I can think of for now. No doubt my own session will fall foul of at least half of these points, but I'll do my utmost to avoid it, and I'm hoping my colleagues on here won't come back and quote me back at myself by way of accusation afterwards.