The school environment is a very dynamic sphere. Changes continually take place in educational policy, curriculum and in a school's physical and social environment. A teacher who wants to be effective in such an environment has to adapt to these changes. Continuous professional development of teachers is essential to addressing the gaps in training that arise through time and change. This article addresses the professional development of teachers at school level by examining the types of staff development practices that are implemented in thirty randomly selected schools. It also examines the staff development programmes of two schools in particular. The implementation process of these programmes, feedback from the staff members during the review of the programmes, and the personal development of the teachers is also examined. The results indicate that staff development in the 30 schools takes place sporadically and in an unstructured manner. The topics addressed during staff development do not focus adequately on the professional needs of the teachers. In the two structured programmes, teachers benefitted tremendously and were eager to continue. Finally, this article proposes a model for staff development in schools and discusses the implications this has for in-service training of teachers. (Contains 1 figure.)