Teacher and Learner Effectiveness

“If we create a culture where we all believe that we need to improve, not because we are not good enough, but because we can be even better, there is no limit to what we can achieve.” - Dylan Wiliam

Teaching and Learning is the beating heart of our trust family. We believe that teacher effectiveness unlocks the personal and academic potential of the children in our care, enabling them to be all and more than they ever thought they could be.

"The goal is for every teacher in every classroom to be as good as they can be in what they teach (the curriculum and how they teach it (pedagogy)" - (Knowledge-building-School improvement at scale, February 2021 - The Confederation of School Trusts). Mary Myatt states that "it is as important to think about the implementation of the curriculum, as it is to think about the intent." The CST also proposes that "there is no improvement for pupils without improvement in teaching and no improvement in teaching without the best professional development for teachers."

We strive to create a culture of continuous, incremental improvement by providing the very best professional learning opportunities for our staff. Supporting teachers to improve is our biggest lever to improve learner outcomes.

Over the last few decades, one conclusion has arisen time and time again from studies: the ‘teacher effect’ far outweighs the ‘school effect’ (Muijs and Reynolds, 2000; Nye et al, 2009; Teddie and Reynolds, 2000). As the authors put it: the differences among teachers are substantial compared to the variance between schools.

If we want to improve student outcomes, particularly the outcomes of the most disadvantaged students, and if we want to make a difference, then our biggest lever is improving teacher effectiveness and mitigating the ‘teacher effect’.

How we Develop Teacher Effectiveness

• Having a clear vision, framework and consistent language when we speak about Teaching and Learning
• Supporting staff with their understanding of seminal research so that they have a solid foundation for developing their pedagogy and their understanding of how learning and memory work
• Providing staff with world class professional learning opportunities and resources to help them to become the best teacher they can be