Research School Network: Implementation at work: VAR in the English Premier League What schools can learn from implementation in another context

In the 2019/2020 English Premier League season, VAR will be introduced. Already quite controversial, VAR (Video Assistant Referee) is a literal game-changer, but without careful implementation it could be a disaster.

Anyone who has read our blogs or attended our training will know that effective implementation is crucial to the success of an intervention or initiative, so we are always keen to explore concrete examples of the implementation process. Time will tell if VAR is successfully implemented, but we can learn a lot about successful implementation in schools from the introduction of such a complex new innovation in another context.

Treat it as a process

When Liverpool kick off against Norwich City on the 9^th of August, it might seem like Day 1 for VAR, but everything has been trialled and tested, and the process has long been underway. Recommendation 1 of the EEF’s Implementation Guidance Report is ​‘Treat implementation as a process, not an event; plan and execute it in stages.’

Mike Riley, general manager of the Professional Game Match Officials Limited, the man in charge of the league’s referees, has been working for the last two years to train his team in the use of VAR, including live matches. So Day 1 is closer to Day 731.

But it doesn’t stop at Day 1 (or Day 731) of the introduction, and Riley acknowledges this: ​“It will take us two or three years to get this right.” And this is the attitude that we should have when bringing in new approaches to schools. Not that we assume that it will take years to get right, but that it is an ongoing process that requires constant feedback and improvement.

Communicate the active ingredients

The EEF say the following about ​‘active ingredients’:

For VAR to work, these need to be clear. On any given weekend, there are 10 matches with 10 different referees and hundreds of moments where they may be asked to make a call. If there is not clarity in when and how to use VAR, chaos ensues. Riley specifies some features that he thinks are crucial: ​“minimum interference for maximum benefit” and to ​“maintain where possible the flow, intensity and speed of the game”.

These are still a little hard to define, so this is where communication comes in. ​“The way we get it right is by everyone in the game talking: players, managers, referees, fans, broadcasters.”

There are also specific protocols and expectations where specific things happen. The video assistant referee will always look at goals, penalties and straight red cards, regardless of whether the referee has asked for a review. The on-field referee can also request that VAR looks at an incident. By being clear about exactly when VAR will be used, we can hopefully reduce any risk of inconsistency.

For schools, active ingredients are equally important. In a behaviour policy, for example, we need to communicate exactly where we need to follow a specific approach and also where we can be looser. When we don’t specify, communicate and monitor the active ingredients then nothing will be implemented as intended.

Learn from other contexts

The approach in the English Premier League is influenced by what has come before. For example, Riley says about the threshold for changing original decision, ​“Where VAR has been implemented successfully in other competitions it’s been a very high bar.” But he is also prepared for some intelligent adaptation of the expectations around handball, and there were lots of lessons learnt from the recent Women’s World Cup.

In schools, we can learn from where an approach has already been implemented, but we also need to make these adaptations that account for differences in contexts.

The implementation of VAR is not the same in schools, but introducing complex new ideas into already complex systems requires careful planning and is an ongoing process. We’re interested to see what happens when VAR launches in August. Then you can join us for one of two blogs:

V A Aaaaargh: Where the implementation process fails

OR

V A Aha! How implementation succeeds