Understanding ourselves better and making improvements by studying others' is the slogan used by the Teachers International Professional Development (TIPD) programme, to convey the value of the overseas study visits it runs for teachers and practitioners. The programme currently provides 2,500 places a year, which are allocated by local authorities. Teams of professionals are invited to bid for a place on the programme, based on their own research and with a destination in mind. Back in 2004 a group of like-minded professionals in Hungerford, Berkshire, decided that a...