Research School Network: Evidence Into Action How John Taylor MAT Schools use Mechanisms to Shape CPD (Part 1)

Across John Taylor Multi Academy Trust, professional development is shaped by a shared commitment to evidence-informed practice, whilst remaining responsive to the individual context of each school and setting.

This two-part blog series explores how schools across the Trust are using carefully selected mechanisms from the EEF’s ​‘Effective Professional Development’ guidance report to strengthen teaching, improve consistency and support sustainable implementation.

In Part 1, colleagues from John Taylor Free School, Chase Terrace Academy and Paulet High School & 6^th Form College reflect on the mechanisms they have prioritised, the challenges they sought to address and the approaches they adopted to embed change successfully.

Part 2will feature reflections from John Taylor High School, The John Taylor SCITT and Kingsmead School.

Leaders of professional development in schools within John Taylor Multi Academy Trust have autonomy over the structure, design, focus and delivery of CPD, ensuring provision remains high-quality and closely aligned to the localised needs of both staff and students.

Alongside this distributed leadership approach sits a clear set of shared principles. These include ensuring CPD is informed by research evidence, including guidance from the Education Endowment Foundation, and carefully designing programmes that incorporate a balanced range of PD Mechanisms to maximise sustainability and impact.

Whilst PD in JTMAT schools has a balanced design, at times and depending on a school’s stage in its implementation journey, different PD mechanisms may require more prominence to deepen learning, strengthen practices and embed lasting habits in teachers and pupils.

With this in mind, we asked CPD leads from a range of JTMAT schools and settings to reflect on three key areas:

Their responses were both honest and insightful, offering valuable perspectives on how CPD priorities evolve alongside the practical realities of leading professional development at scale.

PD mechanisms prioritised:

2. Revisiting prior knowledge
9. Monitoring and providing feedback

Regular retrieval quizzes have become a valuable part of our professional learning programme, helping to ensure that CPD is viewed not as a one-off event, but as a process of sustained improvement. Following each training session, staff complete short retrieval quizzes designed to revisit and reinforce key learning from the CPD. This approach has helped shift professional learning to be more active, engaging, reflective and thus hopefully lead to long-term retention and positive behaviour change.

The key change we wanted to achieve was greater consistency in how staff applied evidence-informed strategies in the classroom. Although CPD sessions were well received, we recognised that important ideas could be lost or misunderstood once staff returned to the demands of everyday teaching. Staff needed more opportunities to revisit core concepts, address misconceptions and reflect on how evidence-informed approaches could be translated effectively into classroom practice.

The retrieval quizzes addressed this gap directly. Regularly revisiting prior learning helped staff deepen their understanding of key pedagogical approaches and apply them with greater confidence and consistency. The retrieval quiz data enabled us to provide meaningful feedback at both a collective and individual level. Crucially, it also provided leaders with valuable insight into areas of common misunderstanding across the staff body. Rather than assuming knowledge had been embedded, we were able to identify misconceptions quickly and adapt future CPD accordingly, as well as providing targeted support and coaching to clarify and strengthen understanding, making professional learning more responsive, targeted and effective.

Importantly, time for feedback was deliberately built into the programme. Each CPD cycle included opportunities to review quiz outcomes, discuss misconceptions openly and revisit core ideas before introducing new content. This ensured feedback remained timely, purposeful and directly informed future professional learning.

PD mechanisms prioritised:

6. Instructing teachers on how to perform a technique
8. Modelling the technique
12. Prompting action planning

Looking ahead to 2026/27, Chase Terrace Academy plan to further enhance the impact of CPD through a focus on developing teaching techniques and embedding practice.

Each half term will centre on a specific aspect of practice aligned to the needs and context of the school. An introductory CPD session will focus on developing teaching techniques for all staff through evidence-informed training, practical strategies and input from teaching ​‘bright spots’ across the school to model effective practices. The subject-specific session will provide time for staff to apply, refine and embed these approaches through implementation and action planning in subject teams.

In previous years, professional development has largely focused on the categories of motivating teachers and developing teaching techniques, and we hope to secure sustained change by incorporating more dedicated implementation time within the training, creating sufficient time and the structures to embed change and evaluate impact over time.

Professional development time is limited, so it has been important to carefully sequence and balance learning alongside the wider demands of the school calendar. Sessions have also been scheduled across different evenings to ensure part-time staff can fully access the programme.

To maximise consistency following whole-school sessions, subject-based embedding practice sessions will require a clear structure and focus. In some cases, departments may work collaboratively or be provided with frameworks and exemplars of effective practice to maintain clarity, consistency and purposeful use of time.

PD mechanisms prioritised:

1. Managing cognitive load
3. Setting and agreeing goals
6. Instructing teachings on how to perform a technique
8. Modelling the technique
10. Rehearsing the technique
11. Providing prompts and cues

From the 14 PD mechanisms, we incorporated a range to structure and sequence our approach to PD, narrowing it down to the 6 key mechanisms above.

Our focus was the implementation of a consistent ​‘Do Now’ routine at the start of lessons. We wanted to improve consistency in how lessons began and reduce cognitive load for both staff and students through predictable routines. We also identified that routine whole-class checking of understanding (before moving on) could be more consistent, meaning opportunities to identify misconceptions early were being missed.

To support implementation, the strategy was introduced through PD with a deliberately narrow focus. We agreed a small number of clear goals which aligned both teaching and learning and school behaviour priorities. Staff were given explicit instructions and practical guidance on what effective implementation looked like, alongside modelling using examples from different subject areas.

We then created opportunities for rehearsal in classrooms before following up through quality assurance and feedback. Prompt sheets were provided for planners and desks as cues to support implementation and we also used recognition postcards to reinforce strong practice. Regular messaging and consistent follow-up helped sustain momentum and maintain clarity of expectations.

• Which PD mechanisms currently receive the greatest emphasis in your setting, and which mechanisms may need greater prominence to strengthen implementation and sustain change?
• What structures, routines or prompts could help staff revisit and embed professional learning over time?