Research School Network: Implementation – A Multi-Activities Approach to Implementation Across a MAT Jo Ashcroft talks about the planned use of a range of activities and strategies for successful implementation across a MAT.

Jo Ashcroft (Director of the Aspirer Research School and Director of Education for the Aspire Educational Trust) talks about the planned use of a range of activities and strategies for successful implementation across a MAT.

The Aspire Educational Trust (AET) Senior Leaders (Deputy and Assistant Headteachers) are now two terms in to a five term MAT wide implementation of Metacognition and Self-Regulated Learning (based on the recommendations within the EEF guidance report).

For the first three half terms, the leaders engaged thoroughly in setting the foundations for effective implementation and in the ​‘explore’ and ​‘prepare’ phases of implementation, writing a collaborative implementation plan for the 11 academies. Once the problem, intended pupil outcomes, active ingredients and implementation outcomes were clearly defined, the group then began considering the implementation activities that would be undertaken in order to give the project the best possible chance of success and sustainability. This led to interesting conversations within the group about the importance of the use of a range of activities, some of which were new to the schools, to build capacity and maintain momentum over the five terms, and beyond. The group used the Implementation Strategies list within the EEF’s Implementation Guidance Report and decided upon: audit and provide feedback; conduct on-going training; create a learning collaborative (the senior leaders group themselves); develop and use tools for monitoring implementation quality; develop and distribute educational materials; identify and prepare champions; make training dynamic; provide follow on coaching and mentoring support; remind teachers; and use train the trainer strategies. 

At first, the group reflected on whether the number of activities was too great, however the conversation turned to the importance of the intervention ​‘sticking’ and being valued and sustained (especially in terms of staff well-being and retention and fidelity of the implementation to the research), and the blend of different activities were selected with this goal in mind. The Train the Trainer element of the collaborative intervention has been especially interesting and effective so far. The senior leaders attend two sessions together receiving training from the Research School about the evidence in an area of Metacognition and Self-Regulated learning, and then attend a third ​‘train the trainer’ session looking at the staff meeting pack (slides, activities and facilitator plan) before delivering back in their own schools. So far, we have undertaken this for the first two whole staff training sessions and leaders are confident in the evidence to deliver in their own schools.