Research School Network: Remembering the importance of implementation The pandemic created emergency thinking, a juxtaposition to the intention of implementation plans. Can we reset?

Voices of leadership make up a part of the soundscape of education; in a meeting, a conference, sharing a vision with colleagues, connecting with those in school governance. Their voices are part of the vocal symphony of communication, a beat in the complex rhythms of driving educational momentum. The pandemic arrived and silence and stillness moved in and lay over the world outside. Conversations were confined to homes and meetings were kept alive through Zoom and Teams meetings. Time was passed grappling with shaping blended learning and internet resources boomed. On line access to learning was gradually rolled out as schools and colleges grappled with systems and technology without implementation timescales to keep pedagogical practice and reflection alive and student learning moving forward.

Attentions were turned to the ​‘here and now’ and implementation plans may not have received the attention that was perhaps required. The pandemic created emergency thinking, a juxtaposition to the intention of implementation plans – namely a staged process of strengthening approaches into practice, soaked in explicit discussions of ​‘the characteristics and qualities that make it effective’.

Part of my role in my school is to look at keeping the momentum of coaching moving forward. As an academy, we have worked hard on creating a culture of coaching; a dialogic platform where professional learners take ownership of their development. The pandemic left a tough educational landscape to navigate but one reality stays the same – professional learner development underpins school improvement and provides a vehicle for raising attainment and achievement. My own reflections led me to question how I could capture the intent, context and quality of how to create coaching momentum whilst ensuring the right mix of challenge and support for not only teaching staff but all professional learners at the academy:

• How can coaching conversations support vulnerability and capture working hard on hard problems and solving them side by side?
• Are there other coaching platforms that need to be built to strengthen how coaching withstands the day to day pressures and rigours of school life?
• What else is needed to strengthen learning opportunities, create reflective depth and develop practice together?
• How can coaching be used to support professional learners that are not classroom practitioners?
• How can these changes be managed?

I needed to map out my thinking in an organised way. Cue the EEF ​‘Putting Evidence to Work – A School’s Guide to Implementation’. I found the plan a useful thinking tool to map out my ideas to dovetail into the bigger picture of the whole school changes taking place. It’s a bit like planting a seed for each problem identified and changing the problem into a challenge that is nurtured through implementation activities shaped by the vision of the final outcome(s).

We’re on our way, executing the planning in stages, living and breathing our active ingredients through our coaching dialogic platform. The long-term final outcome? An increased depth of reflection around professional learner attributes, not only for teaching colleagues, but for teaching assistants, our behaviour team and our office staff too. Will it be quick? No. Will it have its challenges? Yes. At the beating heart of this implementation plan is a culture of thinking that is growing autonomy and learning pathways that are continuous.

Cath Proffitt
Senior Lead Practitioner
Coaching and Development
The Halifax Academy