: Implementation: every step we take… Hannah, Helen and Kat explore the process of developing federation-wide ​‘Teaching and Learning Principles’

As leaders, our sole purpose, amongst the tides and ripples of school improvement, is to ensure high quality teaching impacts outcomes for all learners. To strive for this, we know that it’s imperative to take time diagnosing the issues and preparing for successful implementation. Step in…

We are a hard federation of two primary schools in Camden, North London. Through thorough evaluation, we identified the following:

- Strong existing areas of pedagogical practice within the federation have been developed over the years.

However…

- There is varying knowledge, experience and expertise in the staff body.
- There are new staff joining each year who need to be inducted into the federation approach.
- We are preparing to implement more tailored professional development through Instructional Coaching, which necessitates a coherent understanding and language for great teaching.

In the ​‘Explore’ phase we set about defining the approach. When ​‘exploring’, the EEF’s School’s Guide to Implementation guidance report recommends that we ask ourselves: ​“What does the research evidence suggest and how does it relate to our setting?” (EEF, p. 22). As well as ​“consider how well the approach addresses the problem and fits the setting”(ibid)

We know, teaching is incredibly complex (Kennedy, 2016)

SO…

We aimed to distil the components of effective teaching into an agreed and accessible framework.

We know, there is an abundance of research strategies and summaries

SO…

under the guidance of the EEF’s CLAIMS resource, we found the ​‘best fit’ of high-quality research, grounded in our professional experience (keep hold of the tried and tested good bits you’ve learned along the way!).

We know, there are different views of what ​‘good’ teaching looks like

SO…

we aimed to develop a shared understanding and meaning. With the cautionary warning that this shouldn’t stifle teacher autonomy and decision-making, but in turn, give the teachers the tools to exercise agile, responsive teaching.

In essence, we wanted to brush the dust off the teaching and learning policy, lying idle on the website, and co-create a set of live, meaningful Teaching and Learning Principles that form the foundation of our professional development offer and instructional coaching programme.

We wanted the Teaching and Learning Principles to be a critical tool for driving effective collaboration in the federation, an opportunity to further engage and unite staff as communities of improvement. The core premise of the updated School’s Guide to Implementation has helped illustrate the behaviours that underpin this process. Effective implementation is a collaborative and social process determined by the interactions and behaviours of the staff communities. The report reminds us of how people can influence change and behaviour, and without belief and authentic engagement, the ​‘best-laid plans’ can ebb away.

To avoid this being a ​‘bolt-on’, another ​‘thing’ to do, we thought deeply about the contextual factors that would support successful implementation.

We asked ourselves these important questions:

1. What is being implemented?

• What is the ​‘best bet’ for evidence-informed teaching and learning principles and what do we already know from our practice?
  
  
• Is there an existing framework that is appropriate for our setting? If not, how can we learn from other frameworks in the creation of our own?
  
  
• Do we have the right assets (timeframe, people, and resources) to ensure it is feasible?

2. Systems and structures

• Is this a core priority in the strategic plan, pivotal to the federation’s commitment to improving outcomes for all pupils?

• Is there a feasible and comprehensive implementation and detailed work plan which is understood by all relevant stakeholders?

• Have we agreed on what success looks like and are we regularly monitoring the development of the principles along the way?

3. People who enact change

• Have we ensured engagement and accountability for all levels of leadership, e.g. governors and SLT?

• Have we given the people (e.g. support staff, teachers, middle leaders) on the ground the opportunity to input and feedback on the Teaching and Learning Principles?

• Have we provided the staff community (including governors) a clear roadmap that signposts opportunities for staff input and also updates on implementation?

Earlier we referenced how the guidance supports that people can influence change and behaviour. Every interaction matters as it can inform perceptions and increase ownership. With this in mind, the following components of our ​‘prepare’ stage were fundamental.

Working groups: We understood that every teacher needed to be invited to join the working groups, including ECTs. First, working groups attended a launch, where the process for the work was agreed. Each working group was allocated a domain from the Teaching and Learning Principles (for example Questioning or Culture for Learning). They then long-listed strategies to sit within their domain, drawing from their own professional experience. They refined this list by engaging with relevant high-quality research and had opportunities to feedback to others. This proved to be a very valuable process in synthesising a range of understanding and experience of the habits pertaining to each principle from both high-quality research and our context.

Planned touch points with wider stakeholders: We know these things can drop off in the busy day-to-day of school life and competing priorities. So, we planned regular points to revisit the rationale and progress of the development of the principles with dedicated, ​‘top of the bill’ time, in cross-federation learning and INSET. It was also a standing item on governors termly curriculum meetings. We have kept it live in the conversation through feedback opportunities from all stakeholders.

Throughout this year-long journey of exploration and preparation, a constant cycle of reflection has enabled us to make adaptations to our implementation process. We know that to ensure momentum and impact in the next phase of delivery, planning opportunities for engagement and reflection with our wider stakeholders will remain crucial.

References

Education Endowment Foundation, 2024. Using Research Evidence. A Concise Guide (Online)

Kennedy, M., 2016. Parsing the practice of teaching. Journal of teacher education, 67(1), pp.6 – 17.

Sharples, J., Eaton, J. and Boughelaf, J., 2024. A School’s Guide to Implementation. Guidance Report. Education Endowment Foundation.