Silvana Richardson is a woman on a mission: she wants to help EL teachers get CPD which really makes a difference to their skills.

"I've experienced being in a room with colleagues, some of whom have been teaching for minutes and others for years, with me as the average, and us all having the same CPD session. I went to my manager and said, this isn't working for me - can you let me do something about it?" she says.

It is that kind of approach - with two very specific ideas for implementing it - that Ms Richardson, head of Teacher Development at Bell Educational Services, will be outlining in the closing plenary of the English UK Teachers' Conference next month.

She says: "I want to motivate teachers to be more proactive, that we can do something about this, about seeking more effective CPD in your school, about getting CPD that works, that is conducive to teachers' learning. By which I mean transferring what has been learning into their practice."

Ms Richardson will focus on two techniques in particular, Action Research (which will be a theme at the conference) and also Supported Experimentation, which also gives teachers the chance to look into specific questions or problems in a practical way in their classroom - but as she says, with support.

The conference, which takes place in Prospero House in Borough High Street, South London, on November 1, also includes plenaries on professional development that works and the English UK Action Research scheme and major sessions on identifying what kind of teacher you are, using performing arts, teaching teenagers, creative language practice and much more. Teachers at English UK member centres are eligible for a discounted rate.

Find out more about the English UK Teachers' Conference 2014.