Reflecting together to learn together - leading reflection through a Lord Dearing Award Professional Dialogue
Duration90 minutes
Team Professional Development
Lord Dearing Awards: Facilitating the Professional Dialogue (for TLOC Associates)
This welcoming and practical session supports TLOC Associates in facilitating Lord Dearing Award (LDA) Professional Dialogues with confidence, care, and a coaching mindset. The Professional Dialogue is no longer scored, but remains a meaningful and essential part of the LDA process—providing nominees with the space to reflect deeply on the scope, value, and impact of their work.
During the session, we explore how to guide a collegial, reflective conversation that helps nominees clarify their ‘golden thread’, engage with the LDA criteria, and begin shaping a narrative that captures their contribution authentically. Participants will gain a clear sense of how to hold a supportive, well-paced dialogue that encourages insight, evidence, and growth.
Learning Outcomes:
By the end of this session, participants will be able to:
Describe the purpose and flow of the LDA Professional Dialogue, including its reflective, coaching-based nature and its role as an essential (but not scored) part of the award process.
Create a warm, collaborative space for reflection, using open questions and supportive prompts to help nominees explore their contributions.
Help nominees identify or refine their golden thread, selecting an ESE-related theme that meaningfully connects their work.
Support nominees in engaging with the LDA individual and team criteria, including the Principles of Excellence and levels of evidence, in a way that feels natural and grounded in the conversation.
Encourage nominees to surface strong and relevant evidence of scope, value, and impact to inform the next stage of their narrative.