Building a career at Emmaus: the support behind your professional learning
Emmaus is one of the largest Catholic Academy Trusts in the Northwest, already a community of more than 30 schools across Greater Manchester and set to grow to 67 by 2030. We are the only Catholic Academy Trust covering the whole of the region. That scale, combined with the close working relationships across our community of schools, gives us the capacity to invest seriously in the careers of the people who work in them. The professional learning offer at Emmaus is built around a simple idea: that great teaching is shaped, deepened and sustained over a whole career, not in a one-off training session. This page introduces what that looks like in practice, and the wider support that comes with working at Emmaus.
A practical offer at every stage of your career
Whether you are stepping into your first classroom or leading at the most senior level, you have structured, research-informed support for the next stage. Here is some of what that looks like in practice.
Our Professional Learning Networks meet termly across subjects, including primary maths, science and writing, and secondary English, maths and science, and across specialist roles including EYFS leads, SENCOs, DSLs, pastoral leads, early career teachers, subject leadership and research champions. Each network is a place for colleagues to share best practice and develop their thinking together.
Our Development Boards work a little differently. These cross-phase action research groups meet half-termly to explore best practice and produce practical toolkits that schools across Emmaus can use. The current strands are transition, pedagogy and reading.
Beyond our own networks, our schools are part of the lab school network based at the University of Greater Manchester, led by Professor David Hopkins. Through it, Emmaus colleagues take part in instructional rounds across schools in the Northwest and learn from leading voices in education, both in the UK and internationally.
Every colleague also has access to two PTI Hubs, with three sessions a year on different subject specialisms, and to PTI Staffroom, an on-demand library covering subjects, SEND and professional studies. Every Emmaus school is signed up to the National College too, with its accredited safeguarding suite and content on curriculum delivery and pedagogy.
Our Talent-Ed Matrix, set out in more detail on the Institute of Professional Learning page, helps every colleague see where they can go next and the CPD that will get them there. Colleagues can also play a direct role in shaping the next generation of teachers through our school-based initial teacher training programme with Liverpool Hope University.
Looking after our people
A working life with Emmaus comes with practical support for the wider person too. That includes an Employee Assistance Programme, mental health first aiders, an occupational health pathway, peer support networks and access to chaplaincy. It also includes flexible working arrangements, generous parental leave, careful return-to-work plans for new parents, and a clear expectation that work emails do not need to land in inboxes late at night. These are the kind of arrangements you would expect of a Catholic trust that takes the dignity of every person on its team seriously.
Great schools, strong in faith, serving society
That is what Emmaus is here to build, and the teachers, leaders and support staff in our schools are the people who make it possible. If a long, well-supported career in Catholic education sounds like the kind of move you are looking for, we would be very glad to hear from you.
For the full picture of every programme, network and qualification you can access through Emmaus, our detailed Professional Learning Offer is set out in the flipbook below.