Insights
In this section we share expert knowledge and practical insights based on the latest evidence of what works to help teachers and school leaders reflect on and shape their practice and professional development. We also bring together school leaders’ experiences to help build knowledge of what works in emerging areas.
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Inclusive Teaching Framework
The Inclusive Teaching Framework sets out essential knowledge to help teachers understand and meet a wider range of pupils’ needs in mainstream schools. If you're responsible for teacher development, find out how you can use this knowledge to create evidence-informed professional development on inclusive teaching.
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Early years explained
A series for primary headteachers and early years leaders exploring the four overarching principles of the early years foundation stage: the unique child, positive relationships, enabling environments, and learning and development. Get clear, practical guidance and expert insight on the areas that matter most.
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How to navigate the writing framework
The writing framework is non-statutory guidance for primary school teachers and leaders published by the Department for Education. These articles help teachers and school leaders to navigate the writing framework. Each focuses on a key area of writing and offers practical tips, reflection questions and action steps you can use to support your school’s ongoing writing journey.
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Starting strong: how to value the unique child in early years
How can early years settings put individual children at the heart of their practice? Early years expert practitioners Dixie-Louise Dexter and Nicola Middleton describe how getting to know the unique child and responding to insight on whole-class needs means they can meet children’s needs from the very beginning.
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A research-based guide to pupil motivation and engagement
This guide helps teachers and school leaders understand pupil engagement and motivation, and why it is important in creating positive outcomes for pupils. It sets out 13 research-based insights on what works and why, to support turning the theory into practice.
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Leading reading: putting evidence into practice
This guide explores what research reveals about the science of reading, shares 11 principles that define the underlying features of good practice to support leadership of reading, and brings the principles to life in four case studies showing how schools are putting the principles of effective reading leadership into action.
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The Expert Edits: The best conversations in education
As part of our commitment to getting better through sharing expertise and drawing on the best available evidence, we've put together free, downloadable journals filled with the best conversations in education.
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Deliberate practice for teacher educators: a handbook
Harry Fletcher-Wood shares our participants' experiences introducing and refining deliberate practice in their schools.
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The Learning Curriculum 3.0
Version three of Harry Fletcher-Wood's guide for teacher educators on how to teach teachers the science of learning.
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Remote Teacher Development: A guide
Ambition Institute's Teacher Education Fellows share insights on how to support pupils and colleagues remotely.
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Learning: What is it, and how might we catalyse it?
The paper endeavours to provide a coherent, high-level overview of the science of learning – organised around nine insights, and their implications for our classrooms.
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People Power
Our latest research looks at how MATs can lead the way and help England be the best place to be an educator.
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Building Trusts
The second piece of research in a three-phase project by Ambition School Leadership investigating the traits of high-performing multi-academy trusts.
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How to use Incremental Coaching to support teacher development
Ambition School Leadership has published the first ever report into incremental coaching, a form of teacher development. The report suggests the practice is an effective way to foster the professional growth of teachers and leaders.
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Designing Professional Development for Teacher Change
This paper reviews the existing evidence around professional development to argue for the importance of an underlying theoretical model teacher educators can use.
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What makes an effective MAT?
Ambition School Leadership has conducted a three-phase project investigating the characteristics of high-performing multi-academy trusts (MATs).
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The Trust Diagnostic: a path to expertise, collaboration and peer review
Written by Sir David Carter this report is our first step in codifying and sharing best practice in multi-school improvement.
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Research Insight: Effective middle leadership
What does it mean to be a great middle leader? Sam Baars describes LKMco's findings.
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Persistently disadvantaged children make 20 months less progress in opportunity areas
Our research shows that persistently disadvantaged children in areas of low social mobility made 20.1 months’ less progress than their wealthier peers across England in 2015.
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Executive Headteachers: What's in a name?
This report examines the role and impact of Executive Headteachers (EHT) in England's schools.
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Expert Teaching: What is it, and how might we develop it?
This paper attempts to pull together the best available evidence from education and beyond, to offer a coherent, high-level overview of what expert teaching is, and how we can develop it.
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Teaching Teachers: The bets of American teacher educators
A paper for teacher educators, by Matt Hood and Harry Fletcher-Wood
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School Leader Expertise: What is it and how do we develop it?
This paper explores the topic of school leadership, attempting to answer the question: ‘school leader expertise, what is it and how do we develop it?’.
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Isolated schools: Out on a limb
This research paper explores the relationship between school performance and relative geographical isolation in England, defined as the straight-line distance to the next nearest secondary school.