This paper, published with Steplab, responds to the publication of CST's model for trust-led school improvement, exemplifying how trust leaders have translated the CST theoretical model into practice, combining curating clear goals; building capability and capacity, and implementing improvement initiatives, as part of a codified implementation model enabling the delivery of high-impact professional development.
Great teaching changes students’ lives. But developing great teaching, particularly at scale, is fraught with challenges. School leaders need to actively tackle the barriers to teacher learning, caused by the ‘noisiness’ of schools and conflicting priorities; time pressures and stress, unique training needs, limited resources, cultural barriers, or insufficient expertise.
In 2023, our CST and Steplab co-publication explored how trusts can leverage their capacity to address these barriers and deliver effective professional development.
This paper expands on these ideas by illustrating the processes employed by high-achieving trusts to implement large-scale, high-impact professional development programmes that ensure all students have access to great teaching.
