For all children, a great teacher makes a huge difference to their success in school and in later life. This is even more true for children from disadvantaged backgrounds because effective teaching benefits them the most.
By considering the bespoke needs of a school, it is possible to deliver tailored training to the classroom teachers and middle leaders who have the biggest impact on pupil outcomes.
This article explores the High Impact Teaching programme and how it can help your teachers focus on specific areas of knowledge, expertise and effective teaching and learning approaches in a way that is most relevant to the needs of your school.
What is High Impact Teaching?
High Impact Teaching focuses closely on developing the classroom practices of teachers and middle leaders who are on the frontline of teaching and in a direct position to enact change.
It is designed to give teachers a shared understanding and shared language of effective teaching and learning. It supports higher quality professional conversations, higher quality decision-making in the classroom, and it increases the sharing and use of more effective and evidence-informed teaching and learning approaches.
So how does it work?
The High Impact Teaching programme allow schools to choose the most impactful and contextually appropriate modules from a range to build knowledge and teaching skills among a group of up to 30 ‘high impact’ teachers.
Enrolling your school or trust on High Impact Teaching begins with a diagnostic teaching and learning survey that all school staff complete. This helps you to understand your school's areas of strength and areas for development.
At the heart of the High Impact Teaching programme is a robust evidence base, developed and facilitated by Ambition’s expert teacher educators.
Exploring the modules
Using the survey results, you will be supported by our team to identify four areas of focus that will offer the highest leverage for your school. These modules cover a wide scope of teaching and learning practices, from building a positive classroom culture to supporting pupils to transfer their learning.
Schools choose four modules from the following, each covering key pedagogical practices that touch on the wider holistic needs of a school:
- Building classroom culture
- Routines for learning
- Building motivation
- Effective modelling
- Independent practice
- Consolidation
- Supporting transfer
- Responsive teaching
Selecting your areas of focus using data-led insights
The diagnostic survey asks your teachers and school leaders about their experiences of the school’s strengths and areas for development in teaching and learning practices.
You will receive the results as a diagnostic report that is sent to you before you start the programme, with feedback from our team specifically aligned to your setting and teachers. It covers areas such as teachers' perspectives on behaviour, instructional practices, pupil learning and responsive teaching. It also compares senior leadership responses with those of classroom teachers.
The report aims to help you objectively identify areas of focus, supported by your Ambition tutor during an in-person onboarding visit. This dialogue considers both your context and organisational priorities.
Here is a page from an example diagnostic report:
What does this mean in practice?
This data helps us to suggest module options that are built around your school or trust’s unique needs. This supports you to build a comprehensive approach to enhancing teaching quality, retention rates and career progression within your setting.
As a focused and highly targeted programme, High Impact Teaching allows you to provide extra training and attention where it is needed most. On the programme, your high impact teachers will learn and practise over the course of one year, allowing plenty of opportunity for implementation and discussion along the way.
This collective form of professional development offers more than simply cultivating foundational knowledge and expertise. It also helps develop a collective and sustainable approach to effective teaching and learning that directly impacts pupils’ classroom experiences.
The research shows that professional development is the most cost-effective and sustainable way to help teachers and school leaders develop their skills (Zuccollo & Fletcher-Wood, 2020).
How is learning delivered?
High Impact Teaching is delivered over one year for up to 30 classroom teachers. It is facilitated through a range of methods including independent study sessions, sessions delivered by our teacher education experts, deliberate practice and self-directed learning.
By enrolling your school or trust on High Impact Teaching, you receive:
- A diagnostic teaching and learning survey and report.
- One half-day, in-person school visit with your Ambition tutor working in partnership with the school lead to:
> Complete a learning walk to review teaching and learning across your school.
> Finalise the programme module choices following the learning walk and review the report findings.
> Select the most suitable participants to benefit from the programme. - One hour-long independent, self-study ‘science of learning’ module.
- 16 one-hour after-school training sessions (‘twilight sessions’) for all participants, with module content delivered by your Ambition tutor.
Who is eligible for High Impact Teaching?
High Impact Teaching is suitable for schools or trusts. It is ideal for teachers and leaders who are passionate about great teaching and driving pupil learning, motivated to develop in their practice and likely to make improvements given the right support.
Suitable roles include:
- Classroom teachers
- Heads of departments
- Middle leaders
- Early Career Teacher mentors
How much does High Impact Teaching cost?
High Impact Teaching costs £6,000. This equates to £200 per participant for a full year of targeted professional development when the full 30 places are used.
Visit our High Impact Teaching programme page to find out more about how the programme could benefit your school and to submit an enquiry.
