INSET Day CPD on a Budget: What Still Works in Schools

If you’re planning INSET for a small school or looking for CPD ideas on a budget, this blog is for you.

You don’t need a big CPD subscription, a high-profile speaker or glossy resources to run an INSET session that actually helps your staff. The best INSET training doesn’t have to be expensive — just thoughtful, well-planned and focused on your school's real needs.

We know first-hand how increasingly tight school budgets are, so here’s what still works, even when you don't have the luxury of a big pot to spend.

1. Avoid ‘booking someone’ just for the sake of it

There’s often pressure to book a visiting expert to impress staff or to fill the day. Sometimes it’s absolutely the right call, especially if it fits your school priorities and links to long-term CPD work. However, if you’re only booking someone because you feel the need to have something for INSET, it’s worth pressing pause. Experts visiting your setting can be expensive, and expensive doesn’t always mean effective, especially if the content is shared without any follow-up.

Ask yourself these three questions before going any further with a booking:

  1. Is this linked to the work we’re already doing?
  2. Will staff have time to apply or revisit it?
  3. Could we meet the same goal with something smaller, simpler or internal?

2. Use staff expertise — but support it well

Internal CPD is one of the most affordable and underused resources schools have. Subject leaders, SENDCos, pastoral leads, teaching assistants — your team already has the knowledge, but delivering a session is a separate skill. If you’re asking someone to run part of your INSET day, give them a clear focus and check their materials. Pair them up and point them to tools they can use or adapt.

Our CPD Packs are designed to make this easy — ready to use or tweak with minimal prep.

3. Don’t pay for CPD you don’t use

Some school CPD budgets disappear into subscriptions that never get touched. If you’ve bought a big platform just to access training slides or documents, ask whether it’s worth the cost.

Our ethos is simple: buy what you need, when you need it. No bundles, no upsells. If you only want a safeguarding refresher or a specific behaviour training PowerPoint for INSET day, that’s all you have to buy.

You can also try our free INSET checklist or safeguarding scenario sampler to see how our approach works — no budget needed.

4. Time is money too

Creating your own CPD can feel like the most cost-effective route. But if you’re spending evenings designing handouts and writing slides from scratch, it’s worth asking whether that time could be better used. A flexible INSET day CPD resource you can adapt in ten minutes is often better value than a free one that eats up your time.

We get it. Creating in-house training takes time, and it’s easy to feel like the quickest solution is to just bring someone in. If that sounds familiar, our budget-friendly, ready-to-deliver training packs could be exactly what you need to save time without compromising on quality. Our CPD tools are practical, editable and realistic about how much time leaders actually have.

5. Reuse what you already have

Not every INSET needs a new initiative. Often, the most impactful and cost-effective training builds on what’s already in motion.

To help plan out your INSET, use:

Start where you left off, reconnect your team with something familiar and push it one step further. If you’ve used our audit tools or action plans before, these can be helpful when looking at where to revisit. 

What to spend on (if you can)

If you do have some budget, focus it where it builds capacity, such as:

  • CPD tools that support multiple teams or roles
  • Resources that save you time as well as money
  • Training that feeds into year-long priorities, not just one day

Low-cost INSET ideas don’t have to mean low impact. Some of the most effective CPD happens when the pressure to impress is removed, so be realistic and choose what matters most to your school, regardless of the budget you have available.

Honeyguide's CPD materials are designed to support professional development, offering research-based theories in an easy-to-digest format, scaffolding your thinking so you can choose the learning pathway that’s best for you.

 

Back to blog

Leave a comment

Please note, comments need to be approved before they are published.