In this paper, published with Evidence Based Education, we draw on research evidence and practical insights to focus on one part of CST's model for trust-led school improvement: Implement improvement initiatives. In doing so, our aim is to provide prompts that help trust leaders reflect on how they enact improvement, rather than what to improve, with specific reference to the number one priority: developing high-quality teaching so that every learner has a great teacher.
We live in turbulent times. Times in which we all seek secure, unchanging ‘anchors’ that help us serve the learners in our schools and trusts in ways that help them - and their teachers – to grow and flourish.
With so much uncertainty in our lives, deepening our understanding of evidence based, learner-centred and workload-aware implementation practices can help teachers and leaders breathe a little more deeply and plan for the long-term, secure in the knowledge that they are focusing their time, effort, money and energy on the things most likely to help learners and teachers flourish.
Research evidence can rarely prescribe what trust leaders or teachers should do; it can, however, provide strong ‘best bets’ to inform your plans and actions. It can – and should – provide the theory underpinning the excellence in classrooms, leadership meetings, governing bodies and trust-level policy-making discussions.
